|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
|
 Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:27 am Post subject: |
 |
|
Seek out the poster named naturegirl for advice on Lima and Peru...she's an old hand around here with lots of info.
| Quote: |
| It seems that in the Latin American forums it is hard to get agreement on pay and how far it will go. For instance in the Korean forums everyone is quick to tell you that you should be making X amount and you can save X amount. But for Latin America it seems it is hit or miss. One could find work for very little or just as easily with some luck find a job that allows them to save $500 a month. But there does seem to be a good number of teachers staying in Mexico for a long time. |
Pretty much, yes. A lot depends on lucky timing and making the right connections here. Another reason why it's important to be in country before landing that good job - with the exception of international job fairs, of course. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:49 am Post subject: Re: Thanks..and a few thoughts.. |
|
|
| torentosan wrote: |
But there does seem to be a good number of teachers staying in Mexico for a long time.
|
It's the tamales oaxaque�os that keep me here, along with the delicious aguas de frutas. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:59 pm Post subject: Re: Thanks..and a few thoughts.. |
|
|
| torentosan wrote: |
Thanks for the replies. I think I have gotten some useful information...
Just some thoughts.
You get charged the "Gringo Tax" in practically every country.
In my experience, people in most countries will lie to you more easily than back home..but that does not mean that people were always lying to me.
Talking about the negatives of a country is also helpful. The challenge is to figure out if the accuser is sometimes at fault. Everyone knows not to over generalize. I think.
It seems that in the Latin American forums it is hard to get agreement on pay and how far it will go. For instance in the Korean forums everyone is quick to tell you that you should be making X amount and you can save X amount. But for Latin America it seems it is hit or miss. One could find work for very little or just as easily with some luck find a job that allows them to save $500 a month. But there does seem to be a good number of teachers staying in Mexico for a long time.
I feel close to a decision now. It's Mexico or Peru. If I choose Peru it will be Lima. If I choose Mexico, it will be Mexico City or Guadalajara. I am leaning heavily towards Mexico now. |
Having been to both and living in Mexico for the past 7 years, I say choose Lima, Peru. A lot of reasons, but I prefer the climate, location, size, and feel of Lima over Mexico DF or GDL anyday.
Lima has the beach right there. A smaller city with all the stuff you want, but much easier to navigate than Mexico DF.
Peruvian food is great. The people are wonderful. Much friendlier and more receptive of foreigners than Mexicans. And if you are an American, GO TO PERU! No anti-Americanism down there.
And the great thing is that there is so much to see and do in Peru. And if you want to go to another country, you can easily hop on an overnight bus and be in Ecuador or Chile the next day. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
geaaronson
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 948
Location: Mexico City
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| It's the tamales oaxaque�os that keep me here, along with the delicious aguas de frutas. |
Very valid point. Yes, there are some Mexican dishes that keep me here. But it`s the Yucateca food that stands out. Sopa de lima, relleno negro, poc-chuc y but negra are best for me as well as tamales oaxacue�os. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:59 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| geaaronson wrote: |
| Quote: |
| It's the tamales oaxaque�os that keep me here, along with the delicious aguas de frutas. |
Very valid point. Yes, there are some Mexican dishes that keep me here. But it`s the Yucateca food that stands out. Sopa de lima, relleno negro, poc-chuc y but negra are best for me as well as tamales oaxacue�os. |
Food from the Yucatan is famous throughout the country, and I really enjoyed indulging in it the time I spent a week in Merida. It kind of made up for the super-hot weather, and I was there in January when you'd expect more temperate temperatures! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
geaaronson
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 948
Location: Mexico City
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Super hot in January?!!!! You`ve been a snow bunny for too much of your life. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 6:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| geaaronson wrote: |
| Super hot in January?!!!! You`ve been a snow bunny for too much of your life. |
I've never been a snow bunny, whatever that is, and I've always hated hot, humid weather, which is why I live in Mexico City. In January Merida was fine in the morning and the evening was pleasant, but from noon to sunset, it was really hot. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kona
Joined: 17 Sep 2011
Posts: 188
Location: USA
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:45 am Post subject: Re: Thanks..and a few thoughts.. |
|
|
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| torentosan wrote: |
Thanks for the replies. I think I have gotten some useful information...
Just some thoughts.
You get charged the "Gringo Tax" in practically every country.
In my experience, people in most countries will lie to you more easily than back home..but that does not mean that people were always lying to me.
Talking about the negatives of a country is also helpful. The challenge is to figure out if the accuser is sometimes at fault. Everyone knows not to over generalize. I think.
It seems that in the Latin American forums it is hard to get agreement on pay and how far it will go. For instance in the Korean forums everyone is quick to tell you that you should be making X amount and you can save X amount. But for Latin America it seems it is hit or miss. One could find work for very little or just as easily with some luck find a job that allows them to save $500 a month. But there does seem to be a good number of teachers staying in Mexico for a long time.
I feel close to a decision now. It's Mexico or Peru. If I choose Peru it will be Lima. If I choose Mexico, it will be Mexico City or Guadalajara. I am leaning heavily towards Mexico now. |
Having been to both and living in Mexico for the past 7 years, I say choose Lima, Peru. A lot of reasons, but I prefer the climate, location, size, and feel of Lima over Mexico DF or GDL anyday.
Lima has the beach right there. A smaller city with all the stuff you want, but much easier to navigate than Mexico DF.
Peruvian food is great. The people are wonderful. Much friendlier and more receptive of foreigners than Mexicans. And if you are an American, GO TO PERU! No anti-Americanism down there.
And the great thing is that there is so much to see and do in Peru. And if you want to go to another country, you can easily hop on an overnight bus and be in Ecuador or Chile the next day. |
I lived in Guadalajara, MX, for only 6 months, which isn't much, but let me throw my 2 cents into the ring, and take anything I say with a huge grain of salt accordingly.
Anyways, when I was in GDL I didn't experience the gringo tax. The prices I paid at the tortilleria or any of the puestos was the same for me as everyone else. Also, I found mexicans were damn hospitable, and I almost never had any problems with people using me for something (what could they use me for? I only talked to them in Spanish and I was usually more broke than them!) However, this is in regards to friends I made there, and not to business dealings. In business, I got taken for a ride by a couple of bosses at some local language institutes: my TEFL trainer sent me to an institute that trained me and then when it was time to work, they said that had zero hours for me (!), and another place that was pretty crooked would try and deduct a days pay for tardiness, and three days pay for lateness (no excuses!). The latter told me that in advance, and b/c I was desperate for money, I took it, so i can't bitch about that too much. With two jobs, I managed to finally start making a whopping 5000 pesos a month!
In any case, I digress. I've heard there is more opportunity in Mexico City, but it is also possible to make money in GDL, but you really got to work for it.
Also, one more thing to add. I didn't find any real anti-americanism in GDL. A couple of people who had been to the US (always Texas in my experience) and were treated poorly hassled me a little bit, but warmed up pretty quick when they saw that: a. I didn't take it personally, and b. I was interested in talking to them and hanging out (and talking in spanish). Also, you gotta remember that mexicans love to talk s***, but they do it in a playful way. For instance (and this definitely applies to norte�os), you know someone is your friend when they say "que pedo cabron!" instead of "como estas".
And if your saying they are politically anti-american, well then I disagree with you again. People in GDL, in my experience, were all about free trade and making money. You got to remember that Mexico elected a conservative president (calderon) and also has a free-trade agreement with the US. I only met one chavista the entire time I was there (and I hit plenty of people up for talks on politics). Peru, on the other hand, just elected a left leaning president (humala), not a guy who I think is going to be a straight up socialist or chavista, but who is definitely more anti-neoliberal than calderon.
Finally, food. I'd take Mexican food over peruvian food any day of the week. However, I have only had peruvian food in seattle as I have never been to Peru, but my peruvian friend who took me there said it was straight authentic, but I guess it could still be the case that maybe what they have in country is way better. As far as I'm concerned, though, the street food of mexico (and GDL in particular) was one of the best things about my time in Mexico. I'd go back just for a good torta ahogada con aguacate any day!
So in summary, I'd say that the people in mexico are friendly and usually good natured (although I never considered that they were all liars; damn, fooled again!), and the food is incredible. But then again, I may just have these damn rose colored glasses stuck to my head where I can't see the true awfulness of mexico! If your deciding on either going to peru or mexico, well, can't really comment on peru but in either case, try and stay away from the tourist areas so you can get a legit feel for the country and culture (and not pay the gringo tax, which I hear is charged in cusco!). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MotherF
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 3:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I've been hesistant to say anything since I haven't been to Peru since the early 90s, but at that time, there was certainly a "gringo tax" and a lot of Anti-american feelings. There were also all these scams you had to watch out for that only foreigners were targets of. For example, you'd be in a crowd and someone would walk by carrying a plate of food covered in sauce, "trip" and spill it all over your back. While they were busy helping you clean yourself up, their accomplice was busy helping themselves to the contents of your day pack. That is just one example of the type of staged distractions that tourists of all sorts were targets of in Peru in the 80s and 90s--maybe things have changed.
And apart from the seafood and pisco sours, Peruvian food is nothing to write home about. There is a reason that there is a Mexican restuarant in pretty much every town in the US, but only the largest cities have Peruvian restuarants.
While Mexicans have a complicated relationship with the United States, I've found the Mexicans understand that I am not responsible for my governments policies, where as South Americans often said things to me like "Why do you send your soldiers here?"
Of course maybe it was an age thing. I was a young adult and a student in South America, and I spent time with a lot of people my age. In Mexico I'm much more likely to have that kind of conversation with someone over 30. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
torentosan
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 54
|
| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 1:28 am Post subject: These kind of things |
|
|
| MotherF wrote: |
I've been hesistant to say anything since I haven't been to Peru since the early 90s, but at that time, there was certainly a "gringo tax" and a lot of Anti-american feelings. There were also all these scams you had to watch out for that only foreigners were targets of. For example, you'd be in a crowd and someone would walk by carrying a plate of food covered in sauce, "trip" and spill it all over your back. While they were busy helping you clean yourself up, their accomplice was busy helping themselves to the contents of your day pack. That is just one example of the type of staged distractions that tourists of all sorts were targets of in Peru in the 80s and 90s--maybe things have changed.
And apart from the seafood and pisco sours, Peruvian food is nothing to write home about. There is a reason that there is a Mexican restuarant in pretty much every town in the US, but only the largest cities have Peruvian restuarants.
While Mexicans have a complicated relationship with the United States, I've found the Mexicans understand that I am not responsible for my governments policies, where as South Americans often said things to me like "Why do [b]you send your soldiers here?" [/b]
Of course maybe it was an age thing. I was a young adult and a student in South America, and I spent time with a lot of people my age. In Mexico I'm much more likely to have that kind of conversation with someone over 30. |
These are some of the main things I want to avoid, but unfortunately they are found everywhere. The scam you are talking about, I've never heard of that before, but I have heard of similar things....You just have to be careful.
This thing about people getting in your face about things your government does...I've lived in places where everyone I met automatically did that..That is one thing I don't want to deal with. But I never heard of Peruvians being this way.
Of course we can all live with an incident here and there..but when something happens every time you go out the door, life gets to be a drag. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
|
| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| MotherF wrote: |
| And apart from the seafood and pisco sours, Peruvian food is nothing to write home about. There is a reason that there is a Mexican restuarant in pretty much every town in the US, but only the largest cities have Peruvian restuarants. |
The US is only just starting to warm up to Peruvian food, while Tex-Mex has been around for ages.
And what most so-called Mexican joints seve in the USA is Tex-Mex, or a modified version of Mexican food. And what do they serve? Chips with salsa, ground beef tacos, nachos, burritos, etc. Typical "Taco Bell" style cuisine with sombreros and gaudy Mexican decoration on the walls.
Mexican food isn�t anything great either, not like it is made out to be. Most of the real Mexican food is not at all appetizing. Stomach lining soup anybody? Most Mex places in the US serve a handful of dishes cause those are the only ones that are any good, at least to the taste of most Gringos. Guess those brain, tongue and eyeball tacos haven�t caught on yet...
And go to a Peruvian place in the US and you find the authentic Peruvian dishes, not some modified version like most Americans assume is the case with Mexican food and thinking that fajitas, burritos and soft tacos are somehow the "real deal".
EDIT:
Yes, I myself have a list of Mexican dishes that I really like. But there a ton of things I don�t eat here. And I am NOT a picky eater. Taken as a whole, I do prefer Peruvian cuisine overall to Mexican, to each their own.
One thing that is hard to get over, even in Mexico City, the selection of international food is lacking. There are some good places, but with prices in the 500 peso per person range, many cuisines are off the table for somebody on an EFL salary. Even with an excellent income, I don�t go out on a weekly basis like I do in the US and enjoy the wide range of int. cuisines that I miss. Any city in the US has a huge range of options at affordable prices. Not so in Mexico, not even Mexico City can compete on that level.
Last edited by Prof.Gringo on Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:45 pm; edited 2 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Prof.Gringo
Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!
|
| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| MotherF wrote: |
| While Mexicans have a complicated relationship with the United States, I've found the Mexicans understand that I am not responsible for my governments policies, where as South Americans often said things to me like "Why do you send your soldiers here?" |
Mexicans just ask:
WHY did YOU take HALF of OUR land?
Invade OUR country?
And treat our migrants like $%&? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
|
| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Prof.Gringo wrote: |
| MotherF wrote: |
| While Mexicans have a complicated relationship with the United States, I've found the Mexicans understand that I am not responsible for my governments policies, where as South Americans often said things to me like "Why do you send your soldiers here?" |
Mexicans just ask:
WHY did YOU take HALF of OUR land?
Invade OUR country?
And treat our migrants like $%&? |
Sounds very uncharacteristic of Mexicans, at least adults. I assume you heard this with your kids?
Anyone know of a Peruvian place in Mexico City to put this little competition to a test? A little deep fried guinea pig?  I can't think of another dish from Peru. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007
Posts: 2041
Location: A World of my Own
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
|
| Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Good work Phil...a lot of ceviche I see. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
