Job Discussion Forums

[christinebaden]

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I am a newbie, and just lost the whole letter....argh! Try again.

I have really enjoyed reading the letters from you guys out there, and some have really made me laugh. Great site, fantastic idea. Hope someone writes back to me.

I am an Aussie, leaving for Mexico in 7 weeks and I am getting very nervous. I was there last year for only 1 week in Guanajuato and loved it.
Since then I have tried to find a way to get back.
Now I have an ESL Certificate and am looking for a position but chances are I will have to wait till I get there. Will get to Mexico City about 29 th March and then if no job, will go to Guanajuato and take some Spanish lessons.

Thinking about a Hep A shot. Don't know whether to or not. Overall view? Left it too late for a Hep B. Well, I will post this and see what happens,
nice talking to you,
Christine
Oh, what is BBcode? And a Poll question...how does that work?

[lozwich]

[quote="christinebaden]Thinking about a Hep A shot. Don't know whether to or not. Overall view? Left it too late for a Hep B.[/quote]

Christine,

I'm an Australian too... Bring vegemite, if you've ever remotely been interested in eating it. I never thought of myself as an 'addict' before, but I dream about the stuff these days...

Get Hep A, Typhoid, Tetanus booster, and anything else you can think of... There's the Travel Doctor (in Adelaide St in Brisbane) that bulk bills the consultation, but you have to pay for the injections, and they give great advice. I'm pretty sure there's one in Cairns. For 10 year efficacy Hep A requires a booster after 6 months, but maybe you can get one here??

As for getting work, I'm not sure about March as a good time, as I came in September which was very convenient for the start of the academic year. I'll let some of the other posters answer that one... guys??

PM me if you want to talk about things like Australia/Mexico culture shock..

Have a great day!
Lozwich.

[chula]

hi, i�m not an aussie, but i do live in guanajuato, so i thought i�d reply. spanish classes here will be in mid-terms in april and summer sessions start in june i think, unless you�re planning on going to a private school.
i work at the university and although march/april isn�t a good time to find work, it is a good time to start your resume circulating for the september start of classes.
let me know when you get here, i can help you find things, like a home. i remember when i got here and had to figure everything out, so i�m more than willing to help you out a bit if you�d like.

[christinebaden]

Thank you Lozwich & Chula for your replies,
It is such a nice feeling to know that there are people that you can talk to about all these things over there.
Lozwich,I will get my Hep A shot. Did you get a Heb B yourself?
I guess that I didn't time it well, maybe I should rethink my timing. I haven't paid for my ticket yet, but have to by Thursday.
I was so excited about going that I just rushed into it.
I have sent a few applications out there and maybe there is something in the pipeline, but will have to wait & see on that score, as I am sure that competition is fierce, and as I have no experience, it may be difficult for me to secure those jobs.
Chula, thank you for your response about Guanajuato, it would be very nice to have a contact there. I will be going to Institute Falcone to start, as I was there for one week last year, not doing Spanish lessons, but a friend of mine knew the director and I was able to stay in the student lodgings. I am really looking forward to learning Spanish.
There is so much to do before I go, such as read up on lesson planning, think about what to bring, not forgetting the vegemite of course...love that stuff. Actually, I am not that fond of the Mexican food, but I will adapt, I will have to won't I. They do have some health food shops there though and that's always good. My favourite breakfast place in Guanajuato was Truco 7. Have you been there?
Well, thanks all for your replies, I am sure I will have more questions and if anyone wants to write to me, I would love to hear from you,
Christine

[ls650]

[quote="christinebadenLozwich,I will get my Hep A shot. Did you get a Heb B yourself?[/quote]

My doctor recommended the Twinvix (sp?) series. It protects you agaisnt both Hep A and B, and is relatively inexpensive. I took the shots and had no side-effects.

One poster suggested you talk with a doctor for medical advice - that's probably the best advice.

[lozwich]

Christine,

The more I think about it, the more I'm sure there's an office of the Travel Doctor in Cairns. Try this page for more info... http://www.tmvc.com.au/

I started the whole Hep A thing before a trip to Bali a few years ago, so I was already covered, but for this jaunt I got Hep B, Rabies, Yellow Fever, Typhoid. I think I also had tetanus and polio boosters at some point too. I keep forgetting to look at my little injection book for you. The reason I got so many injections is because I had no real idea of where I was going. You shouldn't need rabies or yellow fever for Mexico, but I got rabies in case I got attacked by a monkey in some jungle somewhere (don't laugh, its happened to me before.. ) and yellow fever because I wouldn't be able to get back to Oz should I go to a country that has it.

If you go to a good travel doctor (as opposed to a GP) they might know of an alternative to the Hep B that takes a few months to finish. They got me a good deal on my rabies shots and saved me about $300.

As for food, I spent a whole 24 hours in Guanajuato once, and I recall they have international food as well as Mexican. I also found (completely by accident) a lovely vegetarian restaurant that made a delicious comida corrida (kind of like a set lunch, about 3 courses).

Oh, one last thing... I have become somewhat obsessed with the search for (ahem) feminine items as good as the ones in Oz. There is only one farmacia in my little town that sells stuff remotely close to stuff I'm used to, so you might want to think about importing some of your own...

Anyhoo, good luck!

Lozwich.