Job Discussion Forums

[me_gustan_enchiladas]

Hi,

I am a Canadian who is presently interested in going to Latin American to teach English. This is an idea that came up on a whim, because I have the summer free.

I am considering Mexico to be a likely destination. My situation is as follows:

(1) I am only available from now until the end of August
(2) I have a BA (English Literature) and a BCS (Computer Science)
(3) I have not taught English before
(4) I will see about getting the TEFL certification ASAP
(5) Yo hablo un poquito en espa�ol, pero no mucho. Tom� dos clases (Termin� B�sico 2 de la UNAM en Gatineau, Canada).
(6) I don't have much money -- I essentially hope to break even in terms of living expenses, although I doubt I would recuperate the expense of the TEFL course and my plane ticket(s).
(7) Although money is an issue, I am mainly interested in the experience, improving my Spanish, some travel, meeting new people, and hopefully to help several people to learn English!

I have been in contact with what seems like a good TEFL school and they have been very open about answering my questions. I believe they are trustworthy, but naturally I want to get the widest range of opinions as I can before making the plunge and buying my plane ticket, and getting dropped off in Mexico City to fend for myself. (I've been there twice before, but I was carted around by locals while I hung on for dear life)

Ok, so now for my questions...

(A) I have a concern about working in Mexico on a tourist VISA. I have been told that because my stay will be short, it would be pointless to try to obtain an appropriate working VISA, and that it is unlikely that I would have any problems working with the tourist VISA. That said, it certainly represents a risk. I have read through the forums, but it seems like there are a mix of opinions. Keeping in mind that my stay would be short, any opinions on this?

(B) Acapulco has been presented as an available option for me. I have scoured the internet and, for whatever reason, I can't find any testimonials of people living in and teaching English in Acapulco. Does anybody here have comments about teaching and/or living there? (cost of living, working conditions, safety, general comments about the city, etc.)

(C) How about giving private lessons to supplement my income? Is this realistic?

By the way, I'm also considering Costa Rica as a viable option, so if anybody happens to have comments about teaching English there, that would be great, too.

Thanks very much!

[Mexicobound]

Check out these threads:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=70031&highlight=acapulco

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=68198&highlight=acapulco

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=65443&highlight=acapulco

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=69445&highlight=acapulco

I think the cost of living in a coastal town might be high.

[notamiss]

And on your point (A) re working legally vs. illegally, this thread: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=64253. It's long, but worth reading the whole thing. I mean, giving up a couple hours of your time to read this entire thread will in the end cost less than getting fined and deported would.