Back in Medellín after Vacation

In the past week I took a bus to Bogotá, ostensibly to meet with a potential employer there. The employer communicated poorly, gave me the wrong address to their office, and didn't tell anyone at the reception desk that I would be arriving. Eventually I found the office, but no one I talked to had any idea what was going on. I'll be adding the name of the employer to The TEFL Blacklist.

Some people I met in the hostel in Bogotá articulated pretty well what my instincts were tending towards, which is that I ought to see more of Colombia before trying to settle down somewhere in particular. So I left Bogotá for the most easily accessible small city I could find, which was Ibagué.

Ibagué doesn't have a lot going on, but they do give you a plastic glove with your fried chicken so you can protect your hand from the grease.

After spending only one night in Ibagué, I took a bus to Armenia and from there to Salento. Salento receives the second highest quantity of tourists every year of any city in Colombia. The highest of all is Cartagena. Upon arriving in Salento, it's easy to see why it's so popular with tourists.

They have trucha (trout.)

They have Tejo, which is a game where you throw metal pucks (tejos) into a bank of clay that's been booby-trapped with mechas, which are folded paper triangles filled with gun powder.

This is what happens if your tejo hits a mecha:

They have the Mirador, which is a big hill with stairs, and you can see it from your porch if you stay in this hostel.

And then you can see your hostel from the Mirador if you climb the stairs.

After the first night I moved to a different hostel (that can't be seen from the Mirador) but it has a cat and hot water.

Near Salento is the Cocora Valley, which is famous for Palmas de Cera (Wax Palms)

And hiking... while being pursued by riders on horseback.

And humming birds

And a cloud forest.

And they take you there from Salento in old jeeps.

During my week of travels in Bogotá, Ibagué, and Salento, I received a number of voice mails and emails from an employer in Medellín with whom I had interviewed a week earlier and who had told me they wouldn't sponsor a work visa for me (i.e. would not hire me.) The messages said they wanted me to show up for job training in a few hours. In response to each message I told them I would be happy to come back to Medellín and work for them, but that I was out of town and I would need more than a few hours notice to make the journey. After three nights in Salento they informed me that job training will take place on Wednesday, which left me a reasonable amount of time to get back to Medellín. I arrived yesterday. I'm still not sure whether this employer will sponsor a work visa for me or have me work illegitimately, but wheels seem to be in motion...

The Argentines and the Sleazy Discotheque

I accidentally worried my friend when I sent an email saying that I met a group of Argentines at my hostel and went out to a sleazy discotheque and got into trouble. I didn't specify what exactly had happened, so I sent the following email:

...The trouble I got into was actually much more tame than you might expect in a place like Medellín, Colombia: I tried to wear shorts. Bouncers hate shorts. I knew better, but I didn't anticipate that we'd be going to a "fancy" (i.e. sleazy) discotheque. I didn't bring much money with me either, so one of the Argentines had already paid my entrance fee (~$20 USD) and they had put a wristband on me before the bouncer pointed out my wardrobe violation. After a heated argument between the bouncers and the Argentines that drew the attention of numerous onlookers (meanwhile I didn't understand a word of the conversation; all I could do was stand there looking ashamed of myself while they screamed at each other and pointed at my shorts) Finally, one of the Argentines gave me money for cab fare to and from the hostel so I could change into pants and meet them inside the club.

Employers Begin to Nibble

Today was almost exactly like yesterday. I sent emails, wandered around the city, checked my email... but today employers emailed me back! First, I had a skype interview with a school in Bogotá– actually it was with two people in the Cayman Islands who allegedly scout teachers for schools in Bogotá. They said that if I come to Bogotá and begin the process of getting a work visa (which they say requires that I go to Ecuador?) then they'll hire me. They also offered to rent me an apartment for the equivalent of $650 USD. Meanwhile, the salary they offered was $800 USD. Needless to say I am skeptical about their offer.

I received another mysterious email from an English Language institute here in Medellín who is hosting some kind of mass interview tomorrow from 12:30-2pm. I'm looking forward to seeing the throng of people hustling resumes and wearing English Teacher costumes!

Very Busy Looking for Work

I arrived in Medellín, Colombia yesterday. I didn't realize that Medellín's main airport is not the one that's in the middle of the city; it's actually the one that is 25 away, separated from the city by tall mountains. From the airport I took a bus along winding roads that look like they'll collapse and slide down the cliffs into the valley the next time it rains.

I learned that most of what's involved with finding a teaching job is sending a lot of emails and waiting for responses. Having sent a lot of emails last night, I spent today doing most of the touristy things that one can do in Medellín.

I saw the Jardín Botanico:

I rode the Gondola:

I discovered that when you get on a particular Gondola that costs twice as much as the others, it's because it takes you some 10 miles up into the cloud forest to a place called Parque Arví.

While in Parque Arví, I found a tour group and jumped in. No one seemed to mind.

I went to the city center and ate some stuff they call Mondongo Especiál:

On my way back to the hostel I was stopped by a group of locals who explained to me (in English) that they needed to interview a gringo in order to fulfill an assignment for their English class. I agreed to let them interview me, but I found this a bit disconcerting for two reasons: 1) I am apparently very easy to identify as a gringo. 2) There's an English class being taught in Medellín and I'm not getting in on it! So I gave the students a copy of my resume and told them to try and help me find a job.

Estoy Balbuceando Más...

As promised, I am babbling relentlessly.

This forum is the most informative thing I've seen about finding a teaching job in Medellín. One person says, "I tried looking for a job in Medellin last February [2011] and it was tough. I went to at least 20 different institutes and couldn't find anything." Well, that's not very encouraging. I hope teaching jobs are more plentiful this February!

Indeed I Forgot Something!

I meant to include this photo in my earlier post. This is what potential employers saw on their computer screens while we conducted our Skype interviews. I've heard a proper English Teacher costume goes a long way toward getting jobs and commanding obedience from students. So far the former seems to hold true. Teaching expertise is a mere afterthought.

Did I Forget Anything?

This is my first post of my first blog! This blog is supposed to be about teaching English as a foreign language in Latin America. It seems like the blogosphere could use more of these– especially to serve as resources for potential English teachers. I have not left the country yet, but the ordeal has already begun!

Between August and November I took an online TEFL certification course. From December through February I did my "practicum:" teaching ESL classes at a community center in Chicago. About a month ago I began looking for jobs on internet forums. I found only two that seemed suitable, but I applied to both of them. Remarkably, I got responses from both employers, conducted Skype interviews with each, and both of the positions were offered to me!

Many of the blogs I have found so far about teaching English in Latin America have been way too pessimistic to mention something like a 2 for 2 record on job searching. I think the people who write these pessimistic blogs have unrealistic expectations about the effort needed to make teaching English work out. It's certainly not impossible, but there is some work involved.

The jobs I was offered are in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and Santiago, Chile. I cancelled on the Mexico gig, told the Santiaguiños that I accept, and then booked a flight to Medellín, Colombia. The Santiago job starts in March, and it would be totally rad. Santiago sounds like an awesome city situated in an awesome region, but there is something about Medellín that appeals to me even more. So I'll spend two weeks looking for a job and enjoying myself. If I'm able to find something, I will stay for at least a year. But if nothing turns up, I will continue on to Chile.