Job Discussion Forums

KatyaZ · Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada

Hello there,

Is there anyone in Playa teaching, or doing whatever? I am in Tecomitl at the moment, a small town about 2 hours away from Mexico City, but I am planning to come to Playa at the end of July to live for a while and hopefully find a position teaching as well as to meet some interesting and fun people... Please get back to me! You are also welcome to e-mail me at [email protected] Thank a lot,

Katya.

aisha · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 3:33 am Post subject:

you will definitely meet interesting people there. there are so many people there from all over the world. it's so laid-back there

Fatcat · Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 92 Location: Athens, Georgia

Aisha, are the interesting people all tourists? I wouldn't mind a few tourists, but is the whole town saturated with them, being close to Cancun and all? I think the place I would want to be would have a good mix of international visitors and natives in the town. I just wouldn't want it to be too Americanized.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

The place is INFESTED with tourists. Obnoxious ones, too.

aisha · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:44 am Post subject:

the place isn't infested with tourists. the main avenue is with all of the tourist shops might be, but that's only one street. i admit there are some very obnoxious tourists, though. i have personally seen it but they have all been tourists from the united states. the visitors from other countries, and not those from the U.S acted mannerably though. if you stay off the main street then you won't run into as many tourists. there are many native people there and i was always able to practice my spanish, in fact nobody began a conversation speaking to me in english. however, in cancun everyone speaks to you in english. playa del carmen isn't as touristy as cancun. all of my friends there are natives. you don't have to associate with the gringos if you don't want to. it has a very beach town feeling and constructors can't build buildings over three stories, hence no skyrises and so forth, as in cancun.
moonraven- i don't want to start an argument with you because most of the time i agree with what you say, but in this instance, i differ in opinion as to how infested the town is.

Asi son las cosas · Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 7

Aisha, I completely agree with you about Playa del Carmen Cool

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

aisha · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 5:15 pm Post subject:

i'm from the united states and so i have no problem with the people here. it's just that, from what i have observed, it seems like all of the people complaining and causing problems were from the u.s.
one incident that i remember so vividly are these two ladies shopping in this store i was in. they were looking at these ceramic fruit on a rope kind of thing and there were signs all over the place not to touch them and if do and happen to break one then you'll have to pay. well guess what they did? they broke it and when the storekeeper very kindly told them they had to pay for it the two ladies started screaming at him and he eventually had to call the police. this is just one of many incidents i have seen.
there might be people from other countries who act rudely too there but i personally haven't noticed it. i've just seen people from the united states repeatedly do it and not realize that they're in another country, and things are going to be a bit different. i don't mean to offend anyone, i apologize if i have.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

aisha--I think we had better agree to disagree here. Maybe we simply have different standards.

I am used to living in an area with NO gringos or other tourists to speak of. And that's what I prefer (otherwise I would have stayed in the US, or would have moved to San Miguel or Aji�c or some other gringolandia spot in Mexico). When I was flown out to Cancun by a British organization in February to see if I was interested in starting a TEFL training program in Tulum, I got off the bus in Playa and saw NOTHING but a herd of obese gringos muddling in the streets and speaking English. And being rude and LOUD.

Talk about culture shock! I had not spoken a word of English for 4 or 5 months at that point, and it was horrible for me. And things did not improve as I "explored" the town. Everywhere in Playa there was a construction zone, and the stuff offered to the tourists was shoddy and expensive--including the food. I had one acceptable meal in Playa--a lovely lasagna that a woman was selling in the living room of her house.

Tulum was not much better. I taught a class of secondary school students there, and gave them There is and There are then had them work in groups to make a map of the town with all the different types of businesses in English--and THEN talk about how they felt about the changes. There was a LOT of tension/polarization in that community because they did NOT want it to become like Playa--where all the businesses are owned by foreigners (south of Cancun it's mostly British and Italian ownership)--and yet they did not feel they had even a toehold to get a tiny piece of the pie.

I also explored some other areas along the coast--Pez Maya, Punta Allen, Mahahuala (sp?). Everything had the same feeling of exploitation, rip off, disenfranchisement of the local Maya. When I heard the latest caper--that they were going to put a 5 star complex right next to the Tulum ruins (in Quintana Roo money fixes EVERYTHING--want to build on an ecological reserve--slip a couple of million and it's done) that ripped it for me. I beat a swift retreat back home.

Sorry, but I didn't come to Mexico to live in a hell hole where tourists run in packs and herds, and the locals are confined to informal barrios without running water or electricity and a maximum wage of 50 pesos per day in the tourist hotels.

aisha · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 5:52 pm Post subject:

i do agree with the hotel thing. i have some friends who work in the hotels and they don't make crap. i hate it that the hotels are making so much money and they don't have the decency to pay their workers a living wage.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Their misery is a direct result of the development you are defending. You are trying to have it both ways.

PlayadelSoul · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 346 Location: Playa del Carmen

I am new to this BB, but not new to Mexico. I have been teaching here for over six years. I have been in Playa del Carmen for two years, and would like to respectfully disagree with some of the comments above.

Playa is certainly not "Gringoland". If anything, the influences here are European. Most hotels in the city (town) are owned by Mexicans, Argentinians, Spaniards and Italians. They are also "mom and pop" establishments, with the larger hotels being outside located of town. 75% of tourism in Playa comes from areas other than the US.

You would be hard pressed to find anyone making 50 pesos a day in any of these hotels. In fact, the wages in Playa are high enough to bring workers from all over Mexico.

I suppose growth and higher wages run contrary to the "utopia" envisioned by some, but the people who live in Playa are upbeat and positive about their lives. There is a general feeling of pride that runs through town, which is kind of neat for a place with only 25 years of history. It would be hard to determine that, however, after stepping off of a bus and hanging out for 15 minutes.

aisha · Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:31 pm Post subject:

hi playadelsoul. you're a member of the playa.info forum aren't u? i see u on there all the time. nice to see you made it onto this board! maybe we can meet sometime at one of the playa peep meets! i agree with playa not being gringoland and that there is a european influence there. Most of the people there are from europe and not the U.S. I was under the impression from some of my friends who work at the hotel that they don't make that much even though they said they came to playa to make money and that there were more opportunities. There is a sense of peace in playa and a sense of happiness among the people so there jobs can't be that bad, right? that's why i want to live there, i love it. do you think i would have any luck finding a teaching job there, playa del soul? Smile

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

PlayadelSol:

I don't know if you are living in a parallel universe, but it sure sounds like it! You certainly aren't living in the Plya del Carmen that I visted, and clearly you do no't interact with the kinds of folks I met there--and they were a broad mix (Brits, Italians, locals primarily) since I had been flown to Quintana Roo by a British company to see if I wanted to start a TEFL training program for them.

My figure of 50 pesos a day for locals who do not speak English came from a number of locals in both Playa and Tulum--several of which happened to be hotel managers!

I do not think it's appropriate to be a shill for other interests on this forum. This is a forum for teachers.

PlayadelSoul · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 346 Location: Playa del Carmen

I live and teach in Playa, moonraven. What exactly is it that I am shilling? My experience? Or, maybe, when someone's opinion differs to that of yours, you go on the offensive and accuse them of having other motives. The original question on this thread had to do with working in Playa. If anyone is shilling, it would be you. Shilling your "self-loathing American comes to Mexico in order to save it from itself" line.

Riddle me this. How is it any different when a gringo comes to Mexico and spreads capitalism and when one comes to save the Mexican people from the evils of capitalism? As a guest in this country, I stay out of politics. Do you?

Why is it that people move from all over Mexico to work here? For 50 pesos a day in the sunshine? I don't think so. Why do our students (yours and mine) study English? Is it so that they can read your books? I suspect it is because they know that speaking English is going to improve their lives, primarily in a financial sense. It is possible that some employees are paid 50 pesos a day, but those would be employees whose income is based on tips. Clearly, when tips are included, the hourly rate skyrockets.

As far as I know, stores (even little tiendas) only accept money and vales. They won't accept poems and position papers in lieu of cash. Teaching in Playa, as in the rest of the world, will not make you rich. However, it can be very fulfilling. Helping people better themselves is cool, no matter where you do it.