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Am I being ripped off in the Dominican Republic?

 
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ghost



Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 3:57 pm    Post subject: Am I being ripped off in the Dominican Republic? Reply with quote

Ok, I'm working in the Dominican Republic, in the inland city of Higuey.

I have managed to find a way to live, almost, like the locals here. I pay $30 U.S. a week for rent ($120 a month) and spend $1 for breakfast, $2 for lunch and $2 for supper, with an extra $2 a day for snacks (fruits and drinks). This means that my total daily spending for hotel and food is around $12 U.S. per day.

I work 4 hours a day in the language schools here. All of them pay around 40 pesos per hour, which is about $2 U.S. per hour. This means that I have to dig into my credit card to cover my extra costs, because I am spending more than I am earning. I work around 20 hours a week for about $40 a week. This seems to me like slave labor?

The owner of one language school is a real smart alec. The only thing that interests him is to make money off my back. In one of the classes there are 35 students, most of them adolescents. The noise level is terrible. And there is also a lot of noise from the street and adjoining classrooms. The adolescent students all talk when I am trying to teach. The adults are ok.

I would like to know if anyone else has ever worked for such a low salary?

I would also be interested to know what the salary and conditions are like in Thailand as compared with the Dominican Republic. Please refer to my basic hotel and food costs above and tell me what the prices are like in Thailand for similar items (meals and cheap hotels?).

I am a former teacher of French in Whitby, Ontario (Canada). Canadian certified teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers. I also possess a B.A. in French with a minor in Psychology, a B.Ed. from the University of Windsor, an M.A. in Communication Studies, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (McGill University).

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Feel free to e-mail at: through the p.m. function


Last edited by ghost on Thu May 22, 2014 5:53 am; edited 1 time in total
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 6:44 pm    Post subject: Escape from Whitby to find some places are worse !!! Reply with quote

Well you found that some places are worse than Whitby ! Wasn't there a looooooooooong chain of postings on this many moons back ?
In Thailand you should be able to break even. Put down the Dominican Republic as a learning experience ! But remember when you work you should at least break even !!!

And don't try to escape your predicament by going to Haiti !!!!!
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isotope75



Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 10:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bet your parents are proud of you. You spent all of that time earning your degrees and now make $40 a week.
Obviously, not one of the courses you took in all of your studies was named "Common Sense 101".

Why don't you curb your spending habits and learn how to cook instead of eating out every day? Rice and beans are not that difficult to prepare.
With all of the money you "save" you just might be able to splurge on some pizza at the end of the month.

Since slaves are forced to work (without compensation) where they do not want to, this does not qualify as "slave labor". It does, however, meet the requirements of "idiot labor".
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bnix



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 645

PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 4:26 am    Post subject: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC?WHY? Reply with quote

Whatever possessed you to go there in the first place?This is one of the places that most people(well,at least most who are going to teach English) just steer clear of....hope you get out of there soon.Good luck. Rolling Eyes
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TokyoLiz



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan

PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 7:13 am    Post subject: You want advice or pity? Reply with quote

Are you a masochist or something? Who works in a foreign land for less than living wage?

I'd get my butt back on a plane to Canada to work, or better yet, any international school in Japan or the Middle East. Especially if you have the qualifications you claim.

Sheesh.
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ghost



Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia

PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2003 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, yes, you guys are right, It's silly of me to work under these conditions. I should add that I have stayed here, because I have also been looking at the possibility of opening a language school here. With that in mind, no better way of finding out about how they operate than to actually work in one.

Based on what I have seen, I do not think that I will be staying on this Island much longer.

Still waiting for information about basic costs in Thailand as compared with the Dominican Republic.

Thanks for the support.
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Albulbul



Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Posts: 364

PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 6:51 pm    Post subject: Run a language school WHERE ?????? Reply with quote

So your solution to this economic disaster is to run a language school instaed of just work in one. Maybe I am being obtuse, but have I missed something here ?

Go somewhere they will pay you a living wage ! Maybe you could go back to Whitby and teach French ?
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Ben Round de Bloc



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946

PostPosted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 12:56 pm    Post subject: Interesting Reply with quote

There are only two ways I can think of where what you're doing might make sense. 1) You are retired, receiving a decent pension, love living where you are, and teach as a way to supplement your income, make you feel productive, give you something to do, etc. 2) You're on an extended vacation there and teaching almost as a volunteer.

I don't understand the part about opening a school. If the economic/teaching situation is the way you've described it, then it seems the only way you could make a go of it as a school owner would be to exploit teachers in the same way that you feel you're being exploited. Do you think you could find an adequate number of decent (but not too bright) EFL teachers for your school who would be willing to work in the type of situation you've described?

Question
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ghost



Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 1693
Location: Saudi Arabia

PostPosted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 4:27 pm    Post subject: More on the Dominican saga..... Reply with quote

Ben Round the Block is right in his analysis. My teaching stint here has been a kind of test, to see whether it would be worth living and teaching here. The answer is a resounding "no."

Ben is also right in stating that starting a language school here would not make sense, if it meant exploiting teachers, as I have been exploited.

Hopefully this negative teaching experience will be useful, when it comes to thinking about possible job offers in the future.

One thing that is clear, is that coming to a country on vacation, as I have done in the past to the Dominican, and actually living and working here, are two entirely different propositions. When you live and work in the Dominican, the daily frustrations really take a toll. Here are some of them.

1. Frequent water shortages in the hotel-pension. No chance to wash.

2. Frequent power outages at night.

3. Students who arrive late for class, then spend the rest of the time chatting and disrupting the lesson.

4. Unbelievable noise pollution. Dominicans find it impossible to do anything, whether at work or play, without the sounds of a gigantic "boom box" belching out 1000 decibel level sounds.

5. Very dirty toilets, with no flush power, water, or toilet paper.

6. Dominicans who assume that you are a tourist here, who can afford to "help" their families with financial aid.

And the list goes on. I speak Spanish, and most Dominicans assume that I don`t understand the language. What I hear said about foreigners in general depresses me. It's mostly negative stuff.
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