Job Discussion Forums

[westernkinsmanofthesky]

Does anyone have any current info on teaching in Ecuador? When does the school year start, how available are positions?


Also, and I realize this question is posted often, what online TEFL programs are acceptable?

Any input would be welcomed.

[moonraven]

Ecuador is finally having a bit of well-deserved excitement right now.

check http://ravensdriftingcloud.blogspot.com

If you're still interested after reading that:

Some schools are on bimesters, which means new groups begin every 2 months. Most schools which are looking for EFL teachers are on that schedule. The next bimester starts around the first week of June.

[whatupjody]

So what do you think is Ecuador a stable place to move to right now?

[moonraven]

I am not sure why stability should affect your decision.

However, I can tell you that it is NOT stable. The new president has already knuckled under to the US ono the military base at Manta--of course after declaring publically that he was going to cancel the agreement. The folks that will boot his butt out are a different group than the ones who ousted Guti�rrez. With several congressmen "culled" on Tuesday, the coalition that includes the indigenous party now has a block which can stop any legislation Palacio proposes.

I give him 6 months, tops.

[Justin Trullinger]

I never figured him (the new pres) for more than two or three months, but now that he's giving in on all his "principled" stands, I could see him going longer. (But who cares? He doesn't make any difference.)

But about the kind of stability that may be affecting your desire to move here- the demonstrations were a little crazy last week, but it really hasn't been dangerous. (Ecuadorians are a beautiful combination of peaceful and disorganised; rendering them politically relatively impotent, but nice to live with. )

The "danger reports" from the embassy, consular services, etc, that we occasionally see seem to me to be greatly exagerated. Remember that in last weeks demonstrations, there were literally thousands of people on the streets, clashes with the police, and tear gas everywhere. And yet, the best figures I've seen put the death toll no higher than 3-6. I'm not calling that negligible, by any means, but it does seem remarkably low compared with comparable occurences in other South American countries.

So, no, I wouldn't call it stable either. But I've been here a while, and feel about as safe as I ever have in a city this size.

Regards,
Justin

[moonraven]

Just to add a bit of cynicism: I would say that its instability is one of the attractive aspects of Ecuador. And of Latin America, in general.

[westernkinsmanofthesky]

Moonraven,

Is your website fairly synoptical of the recent events? Just a lot of people talking geo politics with birds and eating curry? I liked your quote from Garcia Marquez. Have you read Confessions of an Economic Hitman?

Political stability is not the highest priority in my life right now. I lived in a pretty "ethnic" neighborhood in Norther London, which was a very interesting place to be when the war was kicking off. Are you currently teaching in Ecuador right now? I have a ton of questions, would it be ok if I sent you a personal email? Keep it up with the pen, America desperately needs to hear and read things from an international perspective.

[westernkinsmanofthesky]

Justin,

Good to hear Quito is still in one piece. Those really are remarkably low casuality rates, sounds like the scene in the parking lot after a college football game. How long have you been in Quito friend? How much should one expect to pay for a month in Quito(flat, food, utilities, etc.)? Are you currently teaching there? How does Quito compare to other Latin American cities?


Thank you

[moonraven]

You may send me a PM.

Yes, the description is fairly complete in terms of the regime change here. Only one person and one food-fixated bird.

[Justin Trullinger]

I've been in Quito about two years- working at the same institute all that time, which may limit my perspective, although I do have friends/co-workers who have worked or are working in most of the other major ones.

General cost info-
A TEFL teacher tends to earn between $500 and $800 dollars, although the first months, as you're trying get started, could conceivably be a bit lower. Private high schools and universities can pay a bit more, sometimes as much as $1200-$1500, or even more if you're highly qualified. (But there seems to be a waiting list for these jobs, for some reason.)

My flat (large 3 bedroom in a nice neighborhood, but an older building) is $250 a month, which would be a stretch on my own, but with two of us is a comfortable price. Depending on neighborhood, size, facilities, the market seems to run anywhere from $100 to $400 a month, or even more, but it shouldn't be hard to find something in a teachers range, in most any neighborhood.
Dinner out can be anywhere from $5-7 dollars per person, and up. (If I go out with my girlfriend, dinner is usually 20-30 in total, but we like wine...) Lunch specials are common, costing anywhere from one to three dollars, and if you like to cook, you can find most anything in the markets. (And the fruit is cheap and amazing)
You can buy a cell phone for 30-50, and run it for 10-20 dollars a month, no problem. Electricity and water are cheap in your flat (usually less than 10 dollars each, per month) and a land line, if your flat has one, can be kept for less than that, unless you overuse the internet or call too many cell phones. (For international calls, go to a call shop- much cheaper and easier to keep track of.)
Bring condoms, as they are rather overpriced here.

Regards,

Justin

[moonraven]

I read the parts of Confessions of an Economic Hitman that were available in Internet when it first came out, several thoughtful reviews and a few interviews with the author, John Perkins.

It would be very useful for folks who live in the US and who have barged into this forum to tell folks who have spent big chunks of their lives studying the actions of the US in regard to Latin America--and teaching and writing about that topic--that they are full of sh*t, to get off their...computer chairs and buy and READ Perkins' book. It's been on the best-seller list for a few months now.

They would then hear--from the horse's mouth--just how the US has built its empire by exploiting the Third World's (primarily Latin America's) resources.

Here's a pertinent quote about Ecuador from an interview with Perkins:

"...my real job was deal-making. It was giving loans to other countries, huge loans, much bigger than they could possibly repay. One of the conditions of the loan--let's say a $1 billion to a country like Indonesia or Ecuador--was that the country would then have to give ninety percent of that loan back to US companies, to build the infrastructure--companies like Halliburton or a Bechtel. Those companies would then go in and build an electrical system or ports or highways, and these would basically serve just a few of the very wealthiest families in those countries.

The poor people in those countries would be stuck ultimately with this amazing debt that they couldn't possibly repay. A country today like Ecuador owes over fifty percent of its national budget just to pay down its debt. And it really can't do it.

So we have them over a barrel. When we want more oil, we go to Ecuador and say, "Look, you're not able to repay your debts, so give our oil companies your Amazon rain forest, which are filled with oil." And today we're going in and destroying Amazonian rain forests, forcing Ecuador to give them to us because they've accumulated all this debt.

So we make this big loan, most of it comes back to the United States, the country is left with the debt plus lots of interest, and they basically become our servants, our slaves. It's an empire. There's no two ways about it." (http://dominionpaper.ca/labour/2004/12/19/confession.html)

For those of you who believe that the US government is Little Mary Sunshine, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee--or some other Third World product that the multinational companies who make government policy pay fractions of pennies for, and then sell back to the Third World in "refined" form for dollars. Ecuador is chock full of machines that produce capuccinos from instant Nescafe. In Quito one can find real coffee--this IS a coffee-producing country, after all--but in other spots in the country it's almost impossible to find anything but Nescafe.

[amy1982]

that is an interesting point moonraven. this is a bit off topic, but it did make me think about how that is a pretty common way of dealing with things in the US. i mean, yes, we exploit other countries and the poorer people in those countries, but we exploit a lot of people in the US - born and raised american citizens, middleclass, lower class, any race... its standard procedure... credit card debt, student loans, mortgages, etc. it doesn't surprise me that a country that profits off doing that to its own people would use that strategy in the rest of the world...

[moonraven]

Yep, it's all about keeping the power and the money in just a few hands.

[globalnomad]

Moonraven

I prettey much agre with everything you say, but not entirely with the way you present your information. That the USA thinks of and has for decades used S.A. as their own private natural resource supplier I agree. US meddling in political affairs and taking advantage of Loan/Interest situations, resource development, trade negotiations, cultural relationships, I agree.

AND I am in NO WAY Excusing nor Defending the US.....BUT.....

To imply that Latin Americans governments, don't Deserve their share of the blame..is simply being naive...

Unfortunely, Latin America inherited a shitty colonial system and was at the mercy of colonial attitudes and political philosophies that were all basically based on greed...."take as much as you can as fast as you can" for 200 years there was no sense of social conciousness, the cities and the infra struture wasn't even set up to resemble a "society" or to work together...all this is what the Spanish did...and what the New Independent States inherited and adopted and continued to practice....

Now I'm sure many will say..Yea but the politics are controled by the rich and Big Business..and they sell out their country to the US for their own profit......Okay..this is true to a certain extent....but....these rich and big business and politicians..are also memebers of their society.....Now granted...the upper class is what, maybe 15% of the total population..hardly representative of the whole...but you can't divorce them from the whole either......AND what of the 80%...the poor...the true majority that has virtually no control over their country, and one could say are them that most suffer......I would agree...

BUT.....if you go to the countryside where there is no wealth, to the local markets, where the 80% live, and do their business and are much closer, and often involved with how things are done....I'm talking about very small villages, very remote places, away from the centralized government, international business, World Bank, Local governors, mayors, etc....the lower class, living in a lower class world, controling their lower class environment....and I'm sorry to say you won't find any enlightenment....you will find the same attitude, the same greed and coruption and egoism, that is reflected by the upperclass in the upper echelon of government..these people that sell sell out their government....

AND it should be no surprise to anyone...because as i mentioned before...they are both the 80% poor...and the priveliged 15% upper, both products of the same country and society...Albeit with many comforts and advatages for the upper...and hardship and abuse for the lower.....but their music...their food..their prejudice....their love..their soul is born of the same soil...granted from very different perspectives....

That the USA...the vulture that it is.....(but remember Capitalism, rewards and demands this kind of vulturism, again, not Excusing the US, but is it surprising? it shouldn't be) takes full advantage of this.

No the US could take the moral high ground and not take advantage of these Latin American societies that invite this plunder......BUT shouldn't we also mention the fact that these Latin American societies should STOP inviting such plunder, should better invest these undeserved and over inflated loans that have been mention here in this thread.....

I do not excuse nor sympathize with the US bully that terrorizes the Latin American Block.......BUT I will not condone nor sympathize with the Latin American Block that doesn't want to do anything to resist the Bully, and who more often that not collaborates with the bully...

I'm tired and disillusioned with the Latin American Left that preaches anti American intervention, land reform, education, and when they finally get into power, are more concerned with staying in power than implementing any changes...their social rhetoric is just that...words.....in Latin American the only words that carry any weight is "YO" "MI" ( I , ME ) it's time they learned the words, "Nosotros" "Nos" (We , Us )

And by the way....I am in Latin America, working in tha barrio, in education, fluent in Spanish...no gringo on vaction, nor academic university left winger......just trying to put things in perspective.....

excuse and bad grammar or misspellings...have to run and no time to proof read

[jacqui]

Although I agree with some of what you say, i think it is important to note that IMF loans are not as simple as normal bank loans. Most countries do not have the freedom to simply spend it as they please. IMF loans come with a set of conditions placed on the that country's economy. They must (in most cases) privatize formally nationally owned resources (in many cases taking away the country's main source of revenue, such as in Colombia with their oil industry), cut all subsidies, and force the borrowing country to cut social spending in order to pay back current and previous loans (well the interest at least). There are many corrupt governments which are seeking to fill their own pockets, but some are stuck between a rock and a hard place.