Job Discussion Forums

[Comida por favor]

My name is Kathie. I am 46 years of age and I am single. I am presently teaching English in South Korea. I have two grown children. They live and work in my home country, which is Canada. I will be heading down to the Xela area in mid January, 2004. I will be volunteering as an English teacher.I would like to communicate with people that reside in the area or have spent time down there.

Blessings,

Guatemala gringa

Feel free to email me at:

[email protected] or [email protected]

P.S. Is there any one out there that would be so kind as to host my avatar?

[dduck]

Hi Kathie, I was in Xela for a couple of months earlier this year, though I was learning Spanish as opposed to teaching. The school that I attended ran a teaching programme for the local children - completely voluntary. I didn't participate myself, but I did learn to play ping pong much better. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Xela - although the dogs did get a bit irritating, and I normally love dogs. I think you'll love it too!

Here's a link: http://www.casaxelaju.com/

Iain

[Comida por favor]

Thanks Iain. I have heard about that school.

Actually, I will be in Chajabal, a small mountain village about 8km from Xela. I learned about the job from my former pastor. He is from that area.
We had talked about me going down there to teach seven years ago but life got in the way when I was busy making other plans.

And...what about the dogs? Are they really wild? Did you get a rabies shot? Ouch!

All the best,

Guatemala gringa

[dduck]

I've got to get something to eat, but before I go...

There are some wild dogs outside of Xela - these dogs are fighters. One attacked a member of staff before I ever met him - his scar was small but impressive nonetheless. I was given some good advice: when walking about the countryside make sure you have some small rocks with you to throw at the dogs. A group of us encountered a pack outside of Xela once, I persuaded one crazy-eyed character that it just wasn't worth the trouble.

There are stray dogs inside the city - these guys are scavengers, so they're not viscious, and generally avoid people. You should not pet these dogs, they are not pets and aren't loved by the locals. What I most disliked was the fact that they sleep all day, and then prowl about at night, often barking for hours. Or hoooooooouuuuurrrrrssss!

Iain

[Ben Round de Bloc]

I swear that there are as many dogs (if not more) as there are people in the city where I live. Some dogs are confined to their owner's property, but most of them run freely. I think the majority of them belong to someone, although there are probably some strays or abandoned dogs among their numbers, too.

My next door neighbors have had between 4 and 6 dogs at any given time since they moved in about 4 years ago, and their dogs are given complete liberty all the time. Especially at night the neighbors' dogs along with their "friends" from the barrio often congregate in the street to bark at the heels of people walking by as well as chase bicyclists and motorcyclists. They also chase cars but do so selectively. I've yet to figure out what prompts them to chase some cars and ignore others.

The old stone trick usually works. Even when there are no stones immediately available, if a person bends down like he's going to pick up a stone, that's usually good enough to send the dogs on their way.

Wise advice from dduck in that it's best to ignore those dogs and give them their space. Don't try to pet them. Many have claimed certain areas as their territory and may well view it as aggression rather than an act of kindness.

[Will.]

Hi Ben,
Why do they bark at some cars and not others? Do dogs piss on all car tyres? Could be an answer...