Job Discussion Forums

james_tesol · Joined: 21 May 2005 Posts: 65

Teaching in Asia as a 195cm/ 6ft 6' pasty white Brit with brown hair and brown eyes its impossible to blend in with the locals due to obvious physical differences. However, when my current contract finishes I'm looking to move to South America although as to where i'm not sure.

Now i'm not saying one should ever try to change their identity due to external pressures, but in some circumstances it seems a good idea to blend in wherever possible. When in Rome ......

My question for you guys living in S.A. is this...Have you ever altered your clothes, accessories, skin tan, facial hair etc ... in order to blend in? If so how did you do it and did it have any benefits? Should i bother to try to look a little Latino-like or just say what the hell!?

THis may seem a weird topic and for that i am sorry!

Cheers!

Aramas · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 1:19 pm Post subject:

lol - I have no idea but I'm all ears. How many teachers got a makeover in an attempt to look like Zapata or Che? Or what about Banderas in that movie with the guitar case full of guns? Just how does one increase one's swarth?

Does one wax carcenogenic with suntans and cheroots? Is Eastwood in his spagetti days a viable role model? Is the poncho as versatile an accessory as Martha Stewart would have us believe? What about those fruity little leather sandals? Has anyone ever managed to pull off looking regal in a pair of those? Is facial hair a viable option, and what does one do when it's orange?

I'm thinking all black with little silver buckly things all over the place. A penetrating squint and a cynical tilt of the head, cigarillo rakishly stuck to one's lower lip, and an artsy twirl of the poncho at strategic moments.

Or do we just have to settle for being pasty, bumless crackers with all the natural grace and rhythym of an epileptic chicken?

At least you have brown hair and eyes. My hair is what my sister calls 'strawberry blonde', and my eyes are grey with red highlights. I also sport Scotland's finest in freckly Celtic skin, which responds to sunlight in much the same way as crustaceans respond to boiling water.

When one considers my complete ignorance of the Spanish language, January in Peru is looking to be a hoot. Where are you headed and what are you going to do when you get there?

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I guess a lot depends on your colouring and height. I guess I'm lucky about 158 tall so I don't really stand out.

Avoid flip flops and shorts or cut off T-shirts.

For women, tighter clothes are the norm.

Men don't wear sandles or tennis shoes too often.

Try to look like you know where you're going. Don't have maps open on the streets.

Take a look at what people are wearing and buy your clothes here.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:12 pm Post subject:

Hardly matters, as once you open your mouth, they know you're not from these parts! Could be fun to try, though... Very Happy

I'm a five foot nine inch redhead. Balding, currently with beard. I consider myself pretty integrated, but nobody takes me for Ecuadorian. And at my height, I'm several inches taller than most of my friends and colleagues.

At your height....

Justin

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

I don't know about the speaking. Some people can pick up accents. Or at least lose the gringo accent.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Not sure about the rest of Latin America, but in Mexico looks are the least of it. It's far more about 'forma de ser'.

Although, being 6'6 certainly stands out!

Aramas · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:

Has anyone ever told you three that you spend far too much time at Dave's? Smile

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 3:34 pm Post subject:

You're here too!

MELEE · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:49 pm Post subject:

When I was in Sanitago as a student in 1993, people mistook me for a local until I opened my mouth. People were always stopping me to ask for directions, I think looking non threatening played in there as much as looking local though. There is a lot of German and English blood running around in the Chilean gene pool, so you can pass, the hair style helped I just happened to have long straight, center parted 70sish hair that was all the range in Chile in the early 90s. Shoes also help. Buy local shoes if you want to really blend it. In Cuenca, Ecuador, I didn't have a chance. At a measly 5'4" I was on the tall side. I was told there were also people of European desent there, but they were the Ultra upper class and you rarely saw them on the street.

But really if you want to spend your life in overseas TEFL work, get used to, or better yet, learn to enjoy, being starred at.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 10:05 pm Post subject:

With regards to giving yourself away by opening your mouth-

Regardless how good you are at accents, it's going to show, at least if you talk to someone for very long.

I sometimes pass on the telephone, but even then, not for long.

But at 6'6", accent is the least of your worries.

Best,
Justin

ChitownBadger · Joined: 25 Nov 2006 Posts: 11 Location: Madison, WI

First of all,
I think it depends on where in L.A. you go. If you're in Chile or Argentina, I think you'll be surprised by the number of "white" people that you see who are actually locals. There's a ton of German and Italian blood down there, and the people can be tall, very light skinned, and even have blonde hair and blue eyes.
I think the same is true, although maybe not to such an extreme, throughout Latin America's wealthier classes. I have friends from D.F. who have Russian names, and one has red hair. They're locals down there thoguh.
As far as the "when you open your mouth" it probably depends on where you go. You might also still not look like a local, but if your Spanish is good, but you can ditch the American or British accent, you might at least pass for being "hispanohablante" of some variety. Back in the day, I used to be pretty fluent in Spanish. When I was in Spain for three weeks, people asked if I was from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and even other parts of Spain. They said I had an accent, but not an American one. In Chicago, when I would be in a Mexican or Central American restaurant, people would ask me if I was from Spain, Chile or Argentina.
I had a friend who moved to America from Australia, and had been here for less than a year when I met him. You never would have known that he wasn't American. Some people can pick up accents really well and quickly. Otherwise, at the very least, you can pass for something other than a gringo if your Spanish is good enough, since there's so many varieties of it spoken around the world.

MikeySaid · Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 509 Location: Torreon, Mexico

In Mexico you'd probably have to run with the fresas to really be accepted as part of the group. You'll stick out like a sore thumb with most of the nacos. The upper-middle tend to be whiter throughout the country. Even if your Spanish is excellent, codified language will eventually reveal that you're not one of the locals.

BUT...

As for clothing and shoes go... if you have big feet... good luck. I wear a US 13 and don't often find the shoes I like in Mexico to be available in a size that fits me.

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 11:27 pm Post subject:

Hell, I wear a 10 and a half, and in Ecuador, have to shop around or have them made...

Beautiful country. Wonderful people. Short, though.

Justin

JZer · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 3898 Location: Pittsburgh

I was in Cusco, Peru. I am 5'10" and I only saw one local that was taller than me. So at 6'6", you don't have a chance.

Aramas · Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 11:06 am Post subject:

You saw a local in Cusco? Did you get a photo?