Job Discussion Forums

[Thomcat]

I know this is a very general question. Right now I am attending aTEFL course in Guadalajara, which is a city I like very much so far. The job placement service has asked if I would be interested in jobs in Guanajuato, which is very interesting to me. The only drawback that I can think of is a large Expat population, which only bothers me because one of my goals is to drasticallly improve my Spanish.

Campeche, Campeche, on the other hand, I know almost nothing about except that it is a small city and is near the gulf coast. I guess I would be afraid of being stuck in a small city with not much to do.

The school in Campeche is a public primaria I believe.

Any insight, opinions, etc. would be most appreciated!

Thanks

[MO39]

Apart from location and how much money you'll make, you should consider what kind of students you want to teach. Are you up for playing with the kiddies in a primary school, or do you want to work with teenagers or adults?

[Thomcat]

Thanks for your reply! I'm actually very open to all ages, depending on the setting. I am doing my practice classes in a language institute with mostly older teenagers and adults and I like that a lot, but those are paying students. I did love working with first graders this year, for the first time, but it was not in a classroom setting, I mostly did pull outs and worked with only one or two students at a time. I don�t think I would want to teach teenagers in a public school setting though.

[MO39]

In Mexico, you wouldn't want to teach in the public schools, and I don't believe that you would be eligible to do so, but perhaps others on the board would know more about my second point than I do. Also, keep in mind that working with a couple of children outside a formal classroom setting is a completely different animal than teaching a group of them when you're the "real" teacher!

[dixie]

[Thomcat]

I also taught groups of ELL students from 5-8th grade in a public school in Minneapolis, which is still very different than having a class of 25 students. There were usually 8 students in each group. I know that is still very different. Thanks for the advice about public schools.

Back to my original question, or at least the intent of it. Can anybody tell me about life in Campeche and, or Guanajuato?

[Samantha]

Guanajuato is prettier than Campeche (though it is also a world heritage site), but it didn't feel like a large city with lots to do. In fact, the opposite. You would probably find more to do in Campeche. And you may earn better money in Campeche. Guanajuato doesn't feel like a huge expat settlement either. It's more of a university town. It is hilly, so retired expats are a bit put off by that fact. Lots of climbing up hills to get to homes, from the centro area. Anyway, with Google, you can investigate further.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeche%2C_Campeche
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanajuato,_Guanajuato

[MO39]

If you have a like (or dislike) of a certain kind of climate, keep in mind that Guanajuato is in the mountains, with temperate dry weather most of the year, and Campeche is on the coast, meaning the weather will be tropical (hot and humid) a good part of the year.

[Samantha]

Good point. I was in Guanajuato in November and nearly froze after living in a tropical climate. I'm sure it gets much colder in January!

[MO39]

[Phil_K]

Guanajuato has the advantage of being close to many nice places...San Miguel Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, Quer�taro, etc...and the Cervantino Festival once a year!