Job Discussion Forums

[Marimar]

Hi everyone! I just joined this forum. I am looking for a job teaching English in the beautiful town of San Miguel de Allende. I have also considered Quer�taro. I will have my Bachelor's Degree in a few months, and then I plan to move down there. I speak Spanish fluently and I am half Mexican. I don't have a TEFL Certificate or anything, although I have taught English (several years ago) privately in Mexico.

Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you! �Muchas grac�as!

Marimar

[Marimar]

Hi again everybody! Marimar here!!

Looks like maybe there aren't any job opportunities in San Miguel de Allende because nobody has posted a reply to my message...

Well...hmm...maybe the universe is trying to tell me something...

I want to go to San Miguel because of the tremendous artist influence/presence there (me being an artist) and because I am half American/half Mexican...It seems like it might be the perfect blend of foreigners with Mexicans for a "halfie" like me...

However now I am wondering whether maybe I should try teaching English (instead of getting my Master's in Fine Arts in San Miguel) in another bigger city?

Any ideas/suggestions as to where I could find work teaching English would be greatly appreciated!

I will have my BA (in Spanish, minor in Art) in a few months. I did teach English at a private school in Puebla, but that was about 20 years ago, and I don't even remember the name of the school!

Thank you!!! �Muchas grac�as!
Marimar

[moonraven]

San Miguel is "gringolandia". Try someplace else.

[Guy Courchesne]

There are teaching jobs in SMdeA...gotta really look though. It might not pay enough to cover your expenses however...

[Marimar]

Hi folks out there in ESLCafeland!

Thanks Moonraven and Guy for your comments and ideas about San Miguel. I had heard there are a lot of Gringos there already, that's why I want to get down there before they take it over! hee,hee...I think it could be the perfect place for me though, because I could be like a bridge between both cultures since I am a mix of both...and I speak both languages....and I love art!!!

However I would consider other areas of Mexico. Any ideas?

I guess right now my main decision is whether I should take out more student loans (because then I can get a deferment on the ones I already have) and go get my Maestria en Bellas Artes in San Miguel OR try and get my TEFL Certificate so I can teach English somewhere in Mexico, earn some money, but possibly not enough to survive, especially in places like San Miguel...and then I'll have to start paying the loans back if I'm not in school doing the Master's....It's a Catch 22....

Any other cities you think might be cheaper to live in? How realistic is it to get a job teaching English with just a Bachelor's Degree and no TEFL Certificate?

Well I'm outie for now. Thanks for your ideas people!!! �Muchas gracias! or as they say in the Basque Country,eskerrik asko!!!

Marimar

[candace pohl]

Hola!
I spent last summer in San Miguel and it is a wonderful place, but there are few paying teaching positions there. It is beautiful, safe, and I loved it! You may want to check in the towns around San Miguel, you may have better luck.

[Marimar]

Hola amigos y amigas de ESL Cafe!

Thanks for the tidbit about San Miguel Candace! So you really liked it? I have a poster of San M. up on my wall hoping that will move the fates to get me down there... I wish I could go now!!!

But I guess maybe it's not in the cards, at least not now, because the school I want to do my Master's at, just emailed me that I can't start there until September, in San Miguel that is...and I don't finish here until December...so...I'll have to wait until Sept. 2006....I won't last here in Boring Ville that long...hee,hee...so I gotta find somewhere else....hmmm....gotta think about this now....

Did you get a TEFL Certificate? Do you know if it's possible to get a job teaching English in Mexico without one?

Have you visited Monterrey? How about Queretaro???

thanks for all the info! ciao!
Marimar

[scott wilhelm]

Only a 45 minute drive from San Miguel is the spectacular city of Guanajuato. Among the most beautiful towns I've seen anywhere. There aren't a lot of English speaking people living there, but there are a fair number of American and Canadian tourists. It wouldn't surprise me if there were e need for English teachers there. Good luck.

[chula]

Oh my gosh--there are TONS of foreigners in Gto! The market for teachers there is very competetive and hardly anyone makes enough to survive. What about Dolores Hidalgo? I've never really heard of people looking there and it's in the same general area.

[Marimar]

Thanks Scott and Chula for the suggestions! Believe me it is all helpful!!!

I will check out both Guanajuato (I have been there but it's been about 20 years) and Dolores Hidalgo! San Miguel just doesn't seem to be in the cards, at least not yet...

Gracias y "buen finde"! (that's how they say "have a nice weekend" in Spain).

Marimar

[chula]

Good luck! You never know, San Miguel might surprise you. This country is full of surprises, so if you're heart's set on that town, you might poke around a bit before giving up!

[moonraven]

Perhaps you'd have better luck in San Miguel giving Spanish classes....

[Marimar]

Hey I never thought of teaching espa�ol over there!
That would be a switcherooni...thanks for the suggestion Moonraven!

And Chula thanks for your encouragement...All I know is I don't feel like I fit into American culture...I feel like a tiny nothing here...and in Mexico my life feels like it has meaning!

You're right I shouldn't give up!!! I'm not going to! And I'll look into the Dolores Hidalgo area too, because it looks like it isn't too far away...from SM I mean.

Okay everybody in ESLCafe land "talk" with ya all soon!

Marimar

[jenrich]

Hey,

I taught in San Miguel. You might try Jose Vasconcelos, the local school. You teach different subjects in English. It's tough and didn't work out for me, but it's worth a try.

There's also a branch of the Univ. of Guanajuato in SMA that offers English classes. My contact was a woman named Mercedes, but I can't remember what street the school is on. They paid decent and offered a good amount of hours.

Do NOT teach at Centro Bilingue on Correo. They'll have jobs, but they pay really low and try to take advantage of people all the time. They may be nicer to you since you're Mexican.

There's another school you might try on Jesus. I can't remember the name, but I heard it's decent. However, it's owned by the sister of the woman who owns Centro Bilingue.

Good luck!

[Marimar]

Thanks for the suggestions Jenrich!!!! I will look into those schools. And thanks for telling me not to try Centro Bilingue...It's always good to get somebody's first hand experiences/recommendations...before wasting your life unnecessarily...so thank you/gracias!!! I'm actually only half Mexican and I look very Gringaish and they usually treat me like an Americana...and I have never felt like I belong in either place...Mexico or the US...I can relate to things in both cultures...I need my own country!hee,hee...

You know I actually had an incredibly spiritual experience this past weekend at a retreat, and now I don't know where I want to go! It has changed my whole outlook on life. I feel like I want to be near somebody I know and not have to start out again in a new place where I am totally alone...I've done that my whole life and now I am ready to move somewhere where I actually know somebody!!! I feel like I need family near me...so now I am thinking of Sonora where my sister lives but...SMA is much much prettier and much more cultured than where my sister lives, so who knows...life is always trade offs....

But I will definitely check those schools out...why didn't the Jose Vasconcelos work out? If you want you can pm me...

Thanks again so much and good luck and God bless you Jenrich!
Marimar