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wanderingxelmundo
Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86
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 Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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| currentaffairs wrote: |
| I think with your quals and your Spanish ability you would be able to get a decent job in Colombia. |
The OP was looking for something Jan-June 2015, the most recent poster doesn't have the OP's qualifications.
It would probably be cheaper to rent your own place and pay for food, but there are other pluses to a home stay: Spanish practice, etc. Still 300 euros per month plus 175-200 per week sounds like a lot.
Here is a list of free or low-cost volunteering projects in So America. Sometimes some basic food and housing is even provided to the volunteer, sometimes the volunteer needs to pay, but generally much less than 175-200 euros per week.
http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net
Another option, Lotteloes, since you agreed in the other thread you should take the CELTA is the Galapagos Celta + volunteering. For $1980 you get the CELTA course plus 4 weeks of volunteering and housing (but not food) for the entire 8 weeks. Involves the extra flight to the Galapagos, but still seems like a great deal and opportunity
http://www.celtagalapagos.com[/url] |
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currentaffairs
Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828
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| Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 12:10 am Post subject: |
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Thanks - I was responding to the OP, yes.
Still, I would always lean towards finding work rather than volunteering unless for a big organisation like Peace Corp or VSO. I wouldn't pay for the opportunity, either!
The CELTA course looks a good option to me.. |
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wanderingxelmundo
Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86
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| Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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| currentaffairs wrote: |
Thanks - I was responding to the OP, yes.
Still, I would always lean towards finding work rather than volunteering unless for a big organisation like Peace Corp or VSO. I wouldn't pay for the opportunity, either!
The CELTA course looks a good option to me.. |
Well, the person I was responding to isn't a native English speaker, no CELTA and no experience, so a volunteer position that provides room and board or doesn't charge much for room and board seems like a good option for her.
Since there are almost no threads talking about options in general without binational centers / the Peace Corps coming up as great alternatives, I would like to point out that the US Gov't's track record in Latin America is pretty abysmal (if torture and murder can be summed up with that word) and the US government is responsible for millions of deaths around the globe each year, so comparing a US Gov't-sponsored position to one with a local NGO, I personally would choose the NGO every time. (but the person I was responding to is Dutch, so the Peace Corps isn't an option anyway) |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| wanderingxelmundo wrote: |
| Since there are almost no threads talking about options in general without binational centers / the Peace Corps coming up as great alternatives, I would like to point out that the US Gov't's track record in Latin America is pretty abysmal (if torture and murder can be summed up with that word) and the US government is responsible for millions of deaths around the globe each year, so comparing a US Gov't-sponsored position to one with a local NGO, I personally would choose the NGO every time. (but the person I was responding to is Dutch, so the Peace Corps isn't an option anyway) |
These are valid points and, for many of us, should be seriously considered. My experience in Latin America, which is limited to both NGOs and locally established schools, is that American imperialism manifests itself in a variety of ways. I'm no longer dogmatically opposed to working with the U.S. government as I once was but, if human rights concerns are at all part of your value system, would definitely recommend doing some soul searching before committing to working for any organization in Latin America, U.S.-government sponsored or otherwise. As a rule of thumb, I'd tend to give a bit more priority to NGOs though. Unfortunately, that's not always a feasible options. |
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wanderingxelmundo
Joined: 25 Mar 2015
Posts: 86
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| Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Just the idea that everyone should/needs to learn English can be seen as imperialistic. I do actually do soul searching about that. And transnational NGO's aren't much better than transnational corporations (I'm trying to avoid both of those). However, I will still say that there is absolutely no comparison between any of that and the US government and its path of destruction and deception, especially in Latin America and I just wanted to give that as an alternative viewpoint to remember when suggesting the Peace Corps and Binational Centers. At the very least even for those that don't agree (not that I think disagreement is backed up by the evidence/history), it's worth remembering when working in Latin America, as even more conservative upper middle class students may have a negative opinion about the US's involvement in the region. I have found that even in Colombia, where the upper middle class is very conservative, their view of the US's history may not be sympathetic, even if incongruously (IMO) they support the US's meddling in Colombia in the present. |
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esl_prof
Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 2006
Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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| Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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| wanderingxelmundo wrote: |
| Just the idea that everyone should/needs to learn English can be seen as imperialistic. |
Another very compelling point, Xelmundo! The TESOL profession basically emerged in the wake of post-World War II efforts by the U.S. and the U.K. to insure linguistic hegemony over the non-Anglophone world and, in fact, the profession was created through the financial backing of the Ford Foundation. So, yes, those of us in the profession who, at the same time, are concerned with the impact of U.S. imperialism and neo-colonialism on the rest of the world will always be soul-searching as we walk a fine line between being shills for the Empire and using our classes to further the goals of conscientização.
Having worked for nearly three decades for both secular and faith-based non-profits, in the U.S. and internationally (mostly in Latin America), and in public and private colleges and universities, I've come to the conclusion that pretty much all of them, in some fashion or another, are complicit with the Domination System (e.g., imperialism, patriarchy, systemic racism, etc.), some moreso than others, but nonetheless complicit. Ultimately, the Domination System must be dismantled from within, whether that be bucking the system as a Peace Corps volunteer, a professor in a public university, or a volunteer tutor in a community ESL program.
Dialogue about these issues, however, is an essential prerequisite to taking action to bring about long-term change. I greatly appreciate your boldness and persistence in raising these issues on this and other threads. |
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