Job Discussion Forums

[MELEE]

�Felicidades!

[danielita]

Congrats LS! Call centre work in Canada can be thankless and soul-sucking. I am happy to hear you're moving on to better things! Good Luck with the new job!!

[ls650]

Update:

Well, it's been two months since my last post, and I've been back in Canada for roughly 18 weeks. Overall, what do I think?

I have a reasonably well-paying job ($21/hour full-time) and I've even started to start saving some money up. The job is just a job: I'm working for the government, pushing paper and coping with bureaucracy. It's certainly not as interesting or fulfilling as TEFL was, but it does pay my bills. In Mexico, I was well-paid for a TEFL instructor, but even so I was lucky if I could save 3000 pesos in a month - and every trip to Canada wiped out all my previous six months worth of savings. However, here in Canada I can easily save 800 or 900 dollars per month.

I'm renting a 1-bedroom apartment with minimal furnishings. I have the income to buy more �stuff�, but I'm holding off because I don't know what my long term plans are. My job contract runs until March 31. My suspicion is that the employer will offer me another contract at that time - either another 6 months or 12 months.

One of my co-workers has only a couple more years until retirement on his pension. He and I have had a couple of long conversations about my life in Mexico, and he thinks I was nuts to give it up. I can't say that I disagree with him... He finds the idea of living in Mexico exciting after hearing me talk about it, and now he's doing some research into what's involved with retiring in Mexico.

It's great to be closer to my family and friends, but there are plenty of things about my life in Mexico that I really miss. For starters, I miss the students and the feeling that my work actually made a difference in others' lives - I certainly don't feel that way about my current job. I also miss being in a country that has hundreds (if not thousands) of years of culture and history. Some might argue Canada does also, but I think that you can�t compare the two nations.

With temps of -10c and 10 cm of snow on the ground, I definitely miss the warmer climate, but even more so, I miss the longer days. I'm very much a 'day person', and I find it depressing to leave for work and return in the dark, with no chance to enjoy the sun (when it's not hidden behind clouds, that is).

I don't regret leaving my old school - it was time to move on for something new - but I'm not sure that Canada is where I want to be permanently. At this point I think I will stay where I am until April, and then see what happens with a new contract offer. If I don't receive a new offer, I plan to return to a different school in Mexico and see more of this wonderful country. On the other hand, if I am offered a new contract, I likely will stick it out for a while to put aside some savings, but I think eventually I will head back to south of the border.

I guess that�s all for now�

Hasta luego�.

[Dragonlady]

deleted

not directly related to TESOL

[hlamb]

It was very interesting to read your comments. I think all of us wonder what might happen if we go "home" and it's good to hear an honest assessment of what it can be like.

[wailing_imam]

In the modern world, home can be anywhere. Our parents made big jumps moving to new cities within the country that they lived, and found new homes, as we leap around the world, finding new homes.

I do not know you, but was interested in your post, and the tone in which it was written. The job sounds a bit souless, and let's face it 900 Canadian Dollars a month isn't a vast amount (I can save over twice that living in China). You sound like you want to get on the road again. All TEFLers have moments where we think we should go home and face the music. I disagree. Life is where you want it to be.

Good luck and get packing. Asia looms large.