Job Discussion Forums

BLAH · Joined: 12 Jan 2006 Posts: 29

i want to go to south america very badly. my choices are between argentina, chile. or peru.
i surf and snowboard a lot so chile sounds great, but i here it is really expensive. is it true? i live in hawaii right now so anything would be cheaper than here.
are the chicks in argentina really that conservative?
is lima really that trashy?
i am going solo, i am a veteran traveller throughout central america and my spanish is alright.
i just want to have a good time, found out if teaching is right for me, meet girls and not worry about going broke.
i have a healthy amount of money saved up so i want tot sretch it for as long as i can.
what do you think would be the best place for myself?
thanks for checking it out

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

It seems you live on another planet- what is a 'healthy amount of money'?

Maybe you should just go and decide for yourself. You don't sound like you even want to be a professional teacher, so you may not get really good feedback.

Hawaii is cheaper than London and Oslo, by the way.

dribom · Joined: 04 May 2006 Posts: 17 Location: USA

Are you for real?

Firstly, the difference between Chile/Argentina and Peru is like... well, the difference between Spain and Egypt. Just because they're on the corner of the globe doesn't mean they're alike.

Your attitude about women should make you very unpopular anywhere you go in Latin America though, and I hope it does. With God's grace some lovely girl's big brother will beat you to a bloody pulp (or at least scare you into respecting the culture).

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Re. the snowboarding--I'm a snowboarder too, and it is expensive here! I brought some extra cash along so that I could hit the mountains in Chile, and in four months I think I went five times. You could go more often if you stuck with the resorts outside of Santiago, but I wanted to go further afield, and I had to pay for it...

Prices for lift tickets are similar to what they are in Japan, but you earn something like 1/74th the salary.

With my salary in Peru (which is good "by local standards"), I was able to fund a snowboarding trip to Argentina on six months' savings.

d

tomteacher · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 34 Location: Changwon Korea

The flamers who criticised the OP are unwelcome on this board in my opinion unless they change their attitudes. What are you talking about guys. His attitude towards women won't hurt his chances at all in Latin America. The women are used to that type of thing, the local men are all like that. And he likes surfing, so what?

He's never taught before, wants to see if he likes it or not, fair enough! It's a free market economy and if he's no good he won't get paid much, it's as simple as. I don't think he's doing anything wrong. He might really like it and make a really good professional teacher.

As I see it this is a board where people can ask for and receive constructive advice. Arguing and flaming is for the Korean boards.

My advice mate is that Peru is a great destination if you want. You can make 4 to 7 dollars an hour with classes which is a great salary depending on where you are (7 dollars in Lima, 4 in a small town). It's more than enough to live on. The women are great looking and love western men. The lifestyle is laid back, the parties are fantastic, enjoy it!

grahamb · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945

Wrong, tomteacher. English language students do not exist for the benefit of backpackers, religious evangelists or hedonists; surfers, loafers, hippies or otherwise. The OP's priority is clear: he wants to have a good time and meet girls. Nothing wrong in that, but teaching is a lot more than earning enough money to get stoned/wasted/laid. Look at it from the point of view of the student: learning English is often a way of escaping from poverty, real poverty, not just being temporarily short of beer tokens.
As for the women in Latin America being "used to that type of thing," how would you feel if your sister was being ogled by testosterone-driven tourists?
Change your own attitoods, dood.

route67 · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:20 pm Post subject:

Teaching - it's just a job, people! Leave the poor chap alone. Or chapess - it isn't made clear to which genital group the poster belongs. And anyone who says BLAH must be a guy because of their own perception of his/her "attitude" is guilty of the same sexism for which she/he stands accused. So, there's more to teaching

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

I'm with Guy on this one. The OP may not be the most literate writer in the world, but hey, at least he's upfront and honest about what he's looking for. I don't see anything particularly offensive with his post; his biggest offense is being 'politically incorrect'. Rolling Eyes

tomteacher · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 34 Location: Changwon Korea

Yeah, by 'they are used to that sort of thing' I was replying to someone else who was saying that a 'have a good time with women' attitude would get you nowhere with the Latinas. It was a sloppy phrase to use on my part. I meant that Latin women are more tolerant of that attitude because a lot of the men really think like that.

I suppose that the most western men are considered 'gentlemanly' in their behaviour by Latin women because most Latin men certainly are not gentlemanly (although some are). Male chauvanism and machista are part of the culture there. It's just a perception they have maybe that western men are more faithful, considerate etc.

What do others think of this?

In my last post I said that English teaching is governed by the free market. So a bad unprofessional teacher won't get too much work. So I am advocating a professional, serious approach to teaching English. Although it's very possible to have a great time over there while still doing your job in a professional manner.

Sgt Killjoy · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 438

This is a teaching forum, not the Lonely Planet Forum. IMHO, the OP would be better off posting about what is the best place to teach rather than posting about looking for best and cheapest place to run through a wad of money on women, surfing and snowboarding. We have to scan through 70% of his post just to figure out if he is talking about teaching or just going on a visit.

No problem traveling for those reasons or even partaking in those activities while teaching. Heck we all need hobbies. Some of us find a problem with the post because of the lack of respect this person shows to the TEFL profession. How can we attempt to be treated like professionals when there are individuals who attempt to co-opt the profession as an easy way to get laid, get beer money, and party.

Just a reminder, some of us have been in this profession for years. In this time, we have gotten married and have kids. Just something to think about.

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

While it has been a lively commentary, he never answered my question.
Undoubtedly, some moron will consider asking what it was, so I shall remind you all of the 'scroll up' function in this forum.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Well said, Lozwich.

I remember posting a question specifically about snowboarding in Chile a while back. Does that mean that I am not a professional, or not serious about teaching, or posting in the wrong forum? I certainly don't think so. It just means that I have a life outside of teaching. Not every single question that gets posted here needs to be exclusively about teaching or finding jobs. We also all need to deal with cultural adjustments, social adjustments, etc. Getting a fellow teacher's perspective here, rather than a traveler's perspective on the Lonely Planet site, is more appropriate if we are planning on living in, and not just traveling through, a country.

d

tomteacher · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 34 Location: Changwon Korea

Well I've never been to Chile or Argentina so I don't know about those countries. But I can say that Peru is an excellent place to go to. I wrote half an answer to your post in one of my earlier posts. Some parts of Lima are mancy and trashy yes, but other parts like Miradlores and San Isidro are very nice, modern and clean. I hear it's easy enough to find work if you have a c.v and clean clothes. You can just visit a few schools and apply in person.