Job Discussion Forums

[Ben H Nevis Jnr.]

I'm a 26 year old native English speaking Caucasian European with the required qualifications to ply my trade elsewhere, if not globally, and having now been teaching English in China for two years, enough experience too. If you can ever have enough experience. I plan to stay here for another six months to really consolidate my Chinese skills, which are currently patchily fluent, some of the time, if you know what I mean, then I'm going to have to seek pastures new before I get too deeply stuck in this rut called adulthood. As learning Chinese has rekindled my appetite for learning languages, I figure Spanish speaking Latin America will be the likely choice, with Mexico seeming to be the place that offers the most.

In China, I've worked at both universities, government middle schools and fly-by-night private schools and taught seemingly every kind of Chinese student from 50 year old businessmen to medical postgraduates to screaming kindergarten kids. Though I've lived in a fairly large modern city, I've also travelled through plenty areas that are struggling to even make it into the third world. These days I'd consider myself fairly numb to culture shock. But I realise this is a very silly notion to have. Of course it's never going to be that simple...

So I'm going to ask people on this board who have taught, lived or even just travelled in China (or somewhere similar) which aspects of teaching and living in Mexico are:

a) pretty much the same as China.
b) take a lot of getting used to.
c) are a welcome relief in comparison.

I suspect the legendary beaureaucracy and urban overcrowding will fall under category c). But maybe not.

[gordogringo]

Have taught and worked in China,Taiwan,Indonesia,and even 6 months in Japan before getting going in Mexico.The culture is very different.No face issues to deal with.The pace is slower but you do not have to deal with as many uberachievers, students pressured to learn alot and achieve academic superstatus in one week.Had kids falling asleep in my Shanghai classroom my first week of teaching.Turns out they had been going from preschool all day to Chinese opera lessons then art classes.If you have developed your gift giving habits they will serve you well in Mexico to impress but are unnecessary.Less pollution here.Food is better IMHO.While the politics in general does not appear as bad be astute as to what you say and to whom.In Shanghai as well as Jakarta and Taipei about 8 to 10% of the school population was related.In my school about 60% of the school population is related in some way.You would make better money upgrading to Taiwan,of course.But for the culture and people Mexico is great.

[Drizzt]

I feel compelled to reply to this post as I just finished a year and a half stay in China and am now in Mexico. Like you, I taught in Shanghai for some time as well.

There are a few major differences.

1. Everything in Mexico, except beer, will be more expensive than China, and yes, even Shanghai. I am in a small town in Oaxaca now and I find that local food cost almost twice as much as local food in China (in dollars I was spending an average of about 2 to 2.50 per local meal; here a local meals averages me about 3 to 5 dollars). If you live in Mexico City, however, the metro is dirt cheap. Also you CAN get housing cheaply if you don�t mind living in a small room.

2. No cheap massages in Mexico. In fact none at all from what I can see.

3. As compensation, however, the food here in Mexico is much better than China. Chinese food was ok, and I even miss hotpot a lot, but let�s face it, Mexican food is hard to top.

4. Schools in Mexico generally do not provide housing like in China (in my experience at least). In China it seems to be standard.

5. Hour for hour, you probably won�t save as much money in Mexico as you can in China.

6. You DO NOT have to deal with people cutting in line here in Mexico, unlike China. In general I�ve found Mexicans to be better-mannered than the Chinese.

7. The transportation in Mexico, while not hectic, definitely isn�t as varied in China. As far as I can tell there are no extensive train systems here as in China, and taxis here are more expensive than in China. Man...I really miss those overnight sleeper trains in China! Go to sleep in Shanghai and wake up in Beijing!

Anyways, if you have any more questions feel free to pm me!

Drizzt

[gordogringo]

Jeez drizzt,got me thinking about hotpot.Hotpot on a Friday night with the co-workers and then off to the club.For those that have never been to a hotpot restaurant it is a unique experience.And loads of fun.Too bad there are no hotpot places in Mexico.

[lozwich]

[ls650]

Many people who come to Latin America from Asia are surprised when they discover that most schools don't provide extra benefits such as reimbursement for air fare or visa fees, contract-end bonuses, etc. A few places will give such perks, but generally they are not offered here.

[Guy Courchesne]

[MELEE]

[Drizzt]

Ok Melee I will take you up on that .

The cheapest meal I�ve found here is for 25 pesos which include soup, agua de (insert random fruit here), and a small entree. Most of the time if I go out for tacos I will spend at least 15 (5 tacos al pastor) up to 29 (fortechon, penguina, etc.) plus a drink which is usually another 6 to 8 pesos. After the tip I figure my average meal here costs me about 35 pesos. Maybe I just eat too much

Oh and to the poster asking about hotpot in the Chinatown of DF. I wouldn�t count on it. I went there and it�s quite unimpressive for supposedly being one of the larger Chinese communities in Latin America. It�s only a couple of blocks long and half of the employees aren�t ethnically Chinese. Of the few Chinese I met there, only a handful spoke Mandarin.

But I agree, hotpot is a unique experience! I really miss it -- almost like family Italian, but Chinese style.

[sickbag]

[QuePadre]

I know one Chinese restaurant in Del Valle, Mexico City. The customers are pretty much all Chinese. It is clean and a bit expensive, I think, by Mexican standards. Unfortunately, I don't remember the street name. So, when it gets colder or closer to the Chinese New Year, you might be able to find a hotpot there. Chinatown in DF is for Mexicans.