Job Discussion Forums

[matttheboy]

Just a quick question on behalf of a friend;

Do TEFL jobs exist in Cuba?

My mate is English, CELTA qualified and has around a year's experience in England and Thailand. Speaks a bit of Spanish.

Any info much appreciated,

cheers,

Matt

[MixtecaMike]

This is VERY out of date, but possibly better than no reply.

When I was briefly in Cuba in 1995 (as a tourist) I saw possibilities for working illegally giving classes to people who work in the tourism industry, and had dollars from tips with which to pay you. Obviously not much, but enough to get by on. Maybe you could enroll in one of the Spanish courses at the University of La Habana in order to get a medium term visa.

Most of the economy in Cuba at that time was black market in dollars, if there are any jobs paying Cuban pesos they wouldn't have been worth having.

The best (only) reasons to visit Cuba were the very friendly and open people, salsa music, and good moderately priced rum or terrible very cheap rum. And cigars, if you have that disgusting vice, LOL.

[Paulie2003]

Maybe Castro is now interested in the 'Fundamentals of Democracy'...?

[moonraven]

Since Mike was in Cuba the economy has been de-dollarized (2004). It's now the Cuban peso or nothing--which is a way of strengthening the Cuban currency. (I am sure there are still some dollars floating around on the black market, but I'm not sure you want to run the risk of working illegally AND breaking the monetary laws.)

There are many other reasons to visit Cuba besides the ones that Mike mentioned--especially for an educator, given that Cuba scores higher than most countries in the OCDE evaluations of educational programs/student results.

There are also some highly specialized medical clinics in Cuba that draw folks from all over the planet. Health care in Cuba is way ahead of that of all other countries in this hemisphere except for Canada.

For folks like me, visiting significant spots in the history of Cuba's struggle to become independent--first from Spain, and then from the US puppet regimes--have a lot of interest (tombs of Jos� Mart�, Che Guevara, et al.)

[amy1982]

i was in cuba for a month last year (on a university-sponsored program). it was really an excuse for my cuban professor to see his family, so our schedule was pretty "open"... so, this is what i gathered from the cubans that i talked to, but again, that was almost a year ago and i don't have any personal experience with teaching english there...

there was still a (black) market for the dollar and those lucky enough to be in the tourism industry essentially made up the cuban middleclass (along with those who received money from relatives living in the states) the people in the tourism industry frequently get tips in dollars and euros. and they know that the more they can engage the tourists, the better the tips will be.

i don't know from any personal experience whether you can make enough to live on doing esl. if you position yourself strategically, you'd be around plenty of cubans interacting with english-speakers. but considering the fact that the money and employment would be illegal, it would be a bit risky. on the question of the dollar and the need, they are both there. obviously, stick to word of mouth for advertising. it would probably help to be able to speak spanish so that you could get to know people and approach them about learning english.

[matttheboy]

Thanks for the responses, looks like my friend is staying in thailand for the forseeable.

Now on to a more important question: my holidays.

My girlfriend and i are probably going to cuba at the end of february and we'll have about a week. Where would you recommend going in that very short amount of time? Staying in Havana and the close surrounding area or venturing further afield? My girlfriend works in a bank 50 weeks a year so she doesn't want to spend the whole time sitting on buses and travelling, more like sitting on beaches and drinking and soaking up the atmosphere rather than going in search of it.

Any suggestions much appreciated,

Matt

[moonraven]

A week is very short for seeing much of the island, given that transportation by bus is highly problematic. You MIGHT make it as far as Santa Clara....if you're lucky. probably you would only see La Habana and Varadero.

[matttheboy]

But is it worth just going for such a short time? Our other option is Rio, a lot cheaper and easier but i think this is going to be my last holiday for a long time so wanted to see Cuba. If a week is not going to be enough i'd rather not waste it sat on a bus. Is a week only in havana a week wasted? I really don't know anything about Cuba at the moment, just started reading my guide book today.

[amy1982]

it is a short time... if you really want to "see" cuba, you should probably base yourself in havana. there are TONS of museums, historic spots, clubs, etc... cuban nightlife is fun, and the locals give great recommendations. habana vieja is a really neat part of the city to spend the day (and the night!)

as far as the beach, i have never been to a more beautiful one than the cuban keys. we went there for just 4 days, but it was absolutely breathtaking. tons of activities during the day (like snorkeling, sailing, banana boats, etc.) or you could sip a drink (or few) on the beach. and at night, there were a bunch of bars that each had different themes for dancing. only thing, it's not the best place to meet cubans - other than the staff it was all tourists. also, at least where we were, the resort was it. there wasn't any form of "downtown" - nothing at all besides the resort.

on a side note, i also went to rio for a week, and that was really neat too. plenty of beach to lie around on during the day (although not nearly as beautiful as cuba). and the nightlife was quite exciting. not too tough to get around the city but i recommend the bus/subway if you're adventurous enough. between cuba or rio for one week, i would go to rio again. i think i would've been disappointed at how little of cuba could be seen in such a short time. as long as you'll have a chance in the future to see cuba, go when you have more time to explore. the transportation situation is a bit inefficient and tricky once you leave havana. hope this helps! have fun

[Paulie2003]

How about: To Eliminate Foreign (especially the corrupt USA) Labor...TEFL!