Job Discussion Forums

[scoutfinch]

Hi everyone. My name is Liz, and I was hired to teach at Colegio Americano in Quito, Ecuador next year. I will be moving there August 21st. Though I am not an ESL teacher (I have taught high school English here in the U.S. for ten years and will be teaching American Lit and US History to 9th graders there), my understanding is that my classes will have several characteristics of an ESL classroom, as my students are at different English proficiency levels.

I have 40 bajillion questions about making this move...but I will just start with a few. I appreciate any advice you all can give me. I've been reading this board for a while now and really enjoy it.

1. I have just started taking Spanish lessons here, and I know I will have opportunities to take more over there. But, how long would you say it took you to become "fluent" in Spanish - where you could understand it, read it, and speak it with minimal difficulty? (not perfectly, of course!) I am excited about learning another language, but I'm nervous, too, about embarassing myself by butchering the language or just being plain clueless in everyday situations.

2. What is the deal with shipping? Can someone safely ship something to me in Quito? To whom do I pay a duty when I pick it up? The post office employee? Or...will it just never get there? Will someone go through it before it gets to me?

3. I would love to know your take on safety issues. I know not to walk around by myself at night, but what about during the day? What if I just need to go around the corner to the store or something? I already have an apt. with two other girls (we are moving into an apt. that is occupied by 3 other teachers who are moving out this month), and I know it is near Estadio Olympico (sp?).

4. Cabs - only take metered ones? Or set a price on a non-metered cab before we drive away? Can I expect to be overcharged? (once again...this is what I have been told)

5. Money and Banks - is it safe to keep just a plain old checking account there? They give us part of our paycheck in a local check to be deposited there (yet I have been told their banking system has problems..) and another portion of it in an international check that we can send home and deposit.

Alrighty...I won't bug you with any more questions for now. Thank you in advance for your advice and opinions!

- Liz

[moonraven]

1. Six months to be able to read a book a day (by GOOD writers), but I was also doing research and translating two of my own books into Spanish, and was not reading and speaking English.

2. NEVER ship anything. Something VERY light can be sent by DHL--in both directions (just under 50 bucks for an overnight letter from Quito to the US). If you need to receive money from home, use Western Union.

3. That stadium is across from the mall Quicentro. I was staying in a different part of town. I was robbed in broad daylight (11 a.m.) in an Internet cafe called puntonet (one I hadn't used before, where the clerk was in cahoots with the robbers). Apart from that one time, I always went to the same one that was run by extremely nice and honest Nepalis. The night before I left there (3 weeks ago) the clerk at the hotel where I had spent 2 months indicated that things used to be different--people walking in the streets at 10 p.m., for example--but that now no one did, and that crime was prevalent in ALL zones of the city. I would be careful (and this is coming from someone who walks alone at midnight in Mexico City....) That said, there are lots of very nice folks around. They will tell you their horror stories about being ripped off when you tell them yours....DO NOT TAKE A NICE LAPTOP WITH YOU.

4. Metered cabs are more expensive. A ride from Quicentro to downtown should cost maybe 2.50. There is also a trolley-type line (Ecovia) from there--which will cost you 25 cents. A short cab ride is a dollar. I never had problems with cabbies trying to overcharge me--I told them what I was going to pay. The problem with many of them is that they do NOT know their way around the city.

5. In two stays in Ecuador I believe I met two people who had bank accounts there--my administrative assistant in Guayaquil, and my landlord in Guayaquil. I didn't meet anyone in Quito who had one. I believe it has been 4 years or so since the last bank failure--but people still remember it with singular lack of appreciation.

[amy1982]

being immersed in the language will build up your fluency REALLY fast. taking classes beforehand like you are is wise - you'll have a foundation. when you get there, watch tv and interact with native speakers. if you're just hanging around the apt or getting ready in the morning or whatever, tv can help with listening skills, picking up vocab, learning how people really talk, etc. if there are subtitles, that can help as far as the written language and help you figure out what they're saying if you have no clue.

i haven't been to ecuador, but i have been to several other countries in south america... everywhere i've gone, the people have been very gracious about me butchering their language. they seem to really appreciate the fact that someone is willing to try, rather than demanding they speak english. a lot of times, they will speak slower and correct some errors but not every single thing... it seems like most people have a good teacher inside them somewhere!

[scoutfinch]

Thank you so much for your advice, Amy and Moonraven. Funny you should mention the laptop. My studen teacher for this school year (she was only with me first semester) just returned from doing a student teaching internship program in Ecuador, and she was mugged while she was there. Along with her papers, journal, teaching things, etc., they took her laptop. I was debating taking one with me...until she told me this!

Thanks for making me feel more at ease about the langauge, too. I guess it is so unnerving to me because, as an English teacher, I am so used to having a good command of my own language. Using a new, second language just makes me feel somehow...not "in control." But, obviously I will have to get over that!!

- Liz

[moonraven]

Laptops are the number one target in Ecuador.

[matttheboy]

No, clueless foreigners are the number one target in Ecuador. After a few too many drinks i became one once in Quito. Oops. Note to anyone living in Quito: don't get drunk and walk home at 4am. Other than that you shouldn't have any problems as long as you apply basic common sense and keep your wits about you.

[thelmadatter]

scoutfinch

You might want to consider buying a used, cheap laptop before going to Ecuador. Electronics in general are quite expensive there and used stuff doesnt go down in price like it does in the States. This way, even if it does get stolen, you dont lost a lot of money (just back up everything) I find also that if you keep the laptop in a backpack and not in anything that makes it obvious that you are carrying a computer... that helps too.

[Justin Trullinger]

You're getting good stuff here. Moonraven and Matttheboy have (obviously) been around this town. But a few things I might add-

I have a good laptop. I carry it in a very dingy looking, but secure, non laptop looking backpack. If I carry it at all. Which after dark, I do not. The Colegio should have secure places to leave stuff, and if your apartment is already lined up, you should be in good shape where security is concerned. PM for a drink when you come in, gotta go, students arriving.

Justin

[moonraven]

Toluca is NOT Quito. Or Guayaquil. In Guayaquil the profs who worked for me simply could NOT bring their laptops back and forth to campus (especially with classes ending at 10 p.m.), and even locking them up in my office wasn't helpful, as one disappeared--fortunately turning up later in an office on the other side of the campus--and another was "invaded" on several occasions (its fancy combination lock forced). In the Internet cafes in Guayaquil the robbers frequently carry 9mm semi-automatics (another prof who worked for me there fought an armed robber for her handbag--and, fortunately, lived to tell us about it the next day--but DON'T do what she did; money comes and goes, but if your life goes you'll have to wait for the next one.)

I know several folks who tried the backpack routine in Quito to conceal their laptops. Only two were mugged--which sounds good except I was only there for 2 months. (One a month from MY limited circle of laptop-carrying acquaintances is a significant percentage.)

Matt made a very good point about foreigners (but not only clueless ones) being targets in Quito. The Ecuadorian economy is not exactly booming, the city is always crawling with tourists, and quite�os know they have to have money if they are travelling. If I could be a target and victim there(you only have to be in that role ONCE to find it very inconvenient)--and I had roamed around Latin America for more than a dozen years with zero problems (some would say with impunity)--anyone could be a target.

All you can do is avoid upping your visibility as a target:

1) Don't carry a backpack in the street--or any other fairly large container for (possibly) First World Stuff. No laptops--EVER.

2) When in Internet cafes, put your handbag and other belongings on the floor BETWEEN YOUR FEET. (That didn't help me, as there were 3 robbers involved, but it does reduce your risk, and it is what quite�as do.)

3) Do NOT walk by yourself in the street after 10 p.m. Because it's on the equator, Quito gets dark early (it's pitch dark at 7 p.m.), but try to do things that require you to be roaming around in the street before it gets dark. If you have to be in the street after dark, walk quickly and purposefully to where you are going.

4) If you feel even REMOTELY suspicious of a cab driver, tell him to pull over to the curb--and get out of the cab. (This also applies in Mexico City and other large Latin American cities.)

5) Try to eat your meals, do your laundry and grocery shopping and take care of your internet needs at the SAME places. Folks get to know you, and you develop the kinds of acquaintanceships which are useful when/if you are in a spot.

[Justin Trullinger]

Sound advice-
But I would keep your bag on your lap. Not only in internet cafes, but everywhere.

Justin

PS Been here 2 years this month, and never been (successfully) robbed. Touch wood.

[amy1982]

have you been unsuccessfully robbed????

[scoutfinch]

Wow - thanks for taking the time to give me so much more detailed advice, everyone.

My contract at C.A is for 2 years, so I will see what the first year is like without a personal computer. I'm actually kind of looking forward to simplifying my life, as far as possessions and just daily rituals go. I'm cleaning out/selling/donating so many of my things right now - feels kind of nice, to be honest. I'm just now realizing how much excess we live with here in the US.

What about travel during the summer? Do most teachers stay there and travel throughout South America, or is this when many of them choose to visit home? When would you all say is the best time to have people come to visit you?

Also - what do you do with your passport? Carry it with you at all times? Or carry a copy and keep the original in a safe location? What would be a safe location? Same for money and credit cards? (but...I am paying all credit card debt off before I leave and have no intentions of creating any more debt for myself. I would like to live on my salary only, if I can. )

Justin - will let you know when I am there!

Liz

[moonraven]

Justin,

The bag on one's lap is easier to grab than when between one's feet. Mine was between my feet, but grabbed by the internet cafe employee accomplice supposedly crawling around on the floor to connect a "loose cable" on the CPU next to mine--which was being used by the two burly types who were physically crowding me and who received my bag from the accomplice and ran out to a car waiting in the street. Those guys have developed into pros.

The catch 22 is that a copy of your passport won't do at banks and other places which want ID. And if you use an ATM card to access foreign funds or make purchases to avoid carrying cash, it won't do you any good sitting in a safe deposit box at a hostal.

[amy1982]

you could have it on your lap and just slip your arm through the strap. unless it is a clutch, shouldn't get in the way. although, i doubt there's much you can do to stop a 9mm or two determined burly types and an employee accomplice. that sounds AWFUL moonraven and i am so sorry you had to go through that.

[moonraven]

Thanks. I wasn't overly pleased about it myself. Although it did give me a great excuse to pull the plug on a really boring job. Had to come right back to Mexico as soon as I received a new passport--to replace my ATM cards. No experience is 100% negative.

Straps around your arm are very uncomfortable when you are typing on a computer. Have you ever tried what you suggested?