Job Discussion Forums

[Sabine11]

Hi there;

I've been living in Buenos Aires for over nine months teaching business English a few hours a week, and I now feel the nudge to come to Mexico in October-November.. My mind is set on Oaxaca but I don't a whole alot about it..

Can anyone tell me a bit about living there? Is it safe for a woman alone (compared to Bs.As.)? And what's the best/cheapest way to get there - fly direct to Oaxaca, or arrive in Mexico City and travel by land?

Is it relatively easy to find a job teaching ESL there? Could I just land there and pound the pavement? I know it's alot of questions, thanks!!

P.S: I speak Spanish fluently (Castellano) and don't look or act like a tourist..

Sabine.

[ls650]

Do you mean Oaxaca the city or Oaxaca the state?
In the city it's quite difficult to find decent-paying full-time work.
In the state, there are a fair number of teaching positions available in the state university system, mostly in small rural towns.

As for safety, things had quieted down in Oaxaca City from last year's protests, but I've just read that there were some more demonstrations at the end of last week, though I haven't found any reference more recent than Friday.

[Sabine11]

Thanks! I was contemplating Oaxaca City...

Another thing is that right now I'm only carrying photocopies of my documents (degrees, TEFL, birth certificate).. Would that be an issue to get the FM3, or will I have to get mom to ship me those documents from Canada?

My docs aren't legalized, I haven't thought of that before leaving for Argentina..

What towns are better for jobs in the state of Oaxaca?

Thanks alot for the help,
Sabine.

[ls650]

I only needed to have my degree and TEFL certificate legalized for my FM3. See my response to your other thread.

The universities involved with the SUNEO system tend to be some of the few Mexican schools that advertise positions on the internet. My school regularly posts positions on www.englishjobmaze.com, for example.

[Gregor]

Oaxaca is perfectly safe.
There's still a lot of paranoia around. Things got pretty bad last year. In fact, there's quite a good, if brutal, documentary available here on DVD called "Compromiso Cumplido - Impunidad en Oaxaca" (True to My Pledge - Impunity in Oaxaca) which can be downloaded and printed from this site:
http://www.maldeojotv.net
I recommend it to anyone who wants to know what happened. It was a mess, and the film is brutal. It couldn't really be otherwise.

That said, things seem pretty chill now. But this city is famous for being difficult to find ESL work in, and it's a bit more so now because this whole mess effected tourism, and here, that effects EVERYONE financially.
There are more schools to apply to than there used to be, though. And, as is true anywhere in Mexico, it's almost always better to come here and pound the pavement. Mexicans would much rather hire people they can meet face to face than over the Internet if it's possible.

And in this state, you'll DEFINITELY need to get the teaching cert. or your degree or whatever you have apostilled (legalized by the government under whose authority it was issued). This means more than a notary public. Go to a notary and then have the notarized document apostilled by the government. Look at this site for a starting place for how to do that:
http://www.shirleylaw.com/en/resources/apostille2.htm
This will give you some idea of what you're facing.
I hope this has ben helpful. This is a very beautiful place to live. best of luck.

[MikeySaid]

[MELEE]

Mikey,
Make that especially Tapatios and Chilangos can look like tourists down there. But not because there are not Oaxacans of every color, rather they come to Oaxaca with a disgusting attitude of superiority. Many think of Oaxaca as quaint special history capsul, like one of those living history museums where people dress up in traditional costumes and demostrate old farming methods and such. A place to visit out of curiosity, but not something they feel apart of. I think most waiters and waitresses in Oaxaca would much rather have an American at their table than a Chilango. Of course there are exceptions, there are probalby as many chilangos who came on vacations once, fell in love with the place and moved there as there are foriegners who did the same thing.

Sabine
I agree with Gregor, it is definately safe in Oaxaca. The political situation is starting to heat up again--because none of the problems have been solved and are not going to go away on their own.

There are some good fares on direct flights from Houston. But there are not very many direct flights to Oaxaca from anywhere. In most cases you will stop in Mexico City and change planes, sometime you might have a very long layover--so it might be cheaper, just as fast and easy to get a bus from Mexico City. (6 hours)

It's never been very easy to find a good job there, to much apeal creates a saturated market. And Gregor is right, everyone is strapped for cash this year. I was looking at a hand woven shirt for my husband in a shop in the Centro Historico last month and while I was in the shop the price dropped by a little more than a THOUSAND pesos!!!! (it was a top of the line shirt, really beautiful, and when they told me the first price, I was like I could never buy that and started looking around, but the shop owner noticed that my eyes kept darting back to it, and he kept dropping the price until I was like, well now I have to buy it even though it was still expensive) But since you mentioned that you've only been teaching "a few hours a week" in Buenos Aires, maybe you are fine with part-time work?
There is loads of information about Oaxaca on the interent, especially since you read Spanish, you should be able to learn "a whole alot about it.." in just a couple of days.

Good Luck,

[Sabine11]

Hmmmm..

This got me thinking.. First of all what are Tapatios and Chilangos (pardon my ignorance)?

I would be fine with part-time work, but if it's too scarce I may move around a bit.. I figure flying to DF from Ottawa would be cheaper, I'd take a flight to Oaxaca afterwards.. I'm pretty flexible about the work so I guess I'll just feel my through.

Thanks for all the replies!! It's cold here in Bs.As. (winter),

Sabine

[MikeySaid]

[danielita]

[Sabine11]

Thanks for explaining Tapatios and Chilangos..

As for taking the bus, I thought about that, but my concern is the large amount of luggage I have (two big - heavy - suitcases and a small carry-on).. Flying just seems like less of a hassle and less risk of losing some pieces..

I watched that film on Mal de Ojo, what a mess that was - in Oaxaca.. Let's just pray that doesn't happen again..

Suerte, maybe I'll get to meet some of you next January (a bit far..). take care,

Sabine.

[MELEE]

[Sabine11]

Thank you MELEE!

Now I'm reassured... If it's that much easier, faster and more economical to take the bus, then I'll do just that.. Carrying my luggage is a big issue for me, it's heavy and I'm not a very big woman.. I'm getting anxious to see Mexico but I have to finish the school year here, go back to Canada for a while, ect..

Do some buses leave the Aiport in Mexico City, or do I have to get to a bus termnial?

Suerte, Sabine.

[MikeySaid]

[notamiss]