How to Get Your Retirement Dream Job
By Susan Gerle
I often hear people my age talking about the things they hoped to accomplish in their life but felt they were getting too old. Get over that belief! I was already 58 when I was lucky enough to get a fulltime job teaching English in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a year.
 |
| Celebrating Kid's Day at the School in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico |
It took a couple of months to settle in but the whole Spanish culture was very welcoming.
I have been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) for a number of years even though I don’t have a degree in education. I also teach instructors how to teach ESL. Having a regular job, with a regular paycheck and days off was great. Every Friday afternoon I automatically went into holiday mode because we didn't offer Saturday classes where I worked like many of the schools did. Many Mexicans work 6 days a week and many English teachers are expected to do the same. The money is not great but it's adequate to live on, unless a teacher spends life drinking and partying at the gringo places.
There were assignments to prepare and marking to be done but that didn't stop me from playing tourist and traveling around the country as much as I could. The holidays the Mexicans celebrate give lots of opportunity for time off. I also had 2 weeklong paid breaks at Christmas and Easter. Sometimes my plans changed at the last minute because there was a school festival to attend in the evening or something we had to do for promotion that we hadn't been informed about earlier. In Mexico, one has to be very flexible and time and scheduling is different from what we are used to in Canada and the USA.
Because I was living in Puerto Vallarta and it is a coastal city catering to tourism, I observed many of the cultural events, which I might have missed living in a smaller community. The trade-off though is the harassment by locals trying to promote everything from souvenirs to time-shares. It took a month or two for me to blend in and become a local too.
Whether you are just starting out or you are a senior like me, teaching ESL somewhere tropical or exotic is possible. The most important thing to remember when teaching in Mexico, or anyplace else in the world, is you are working in a different culture. "When in Rome"..... Do your homework and find out something about the culture before you go and enjoy a fantastic experience!
My advice for anyone thinking of teaching outside of the country is to first take a TESL or TESOL course that includes a practicum component. If you don’t have a degree there aren’t as many options available but here is the contact information for one in Mexico. http://bucketlisttravels.ca/travel-learn-to-teach-esl-program/
I think it's also interesting to note, and not so well documented, that individuals moving to a different country for an experience such as yours in Mexico, are more likely to deal with culture shock upon their return home, rather than upon their arrival in their new country. That said, living in a new culture, particularly in Mexico, definitely makes people step back, appreciate differences within a particular culture, and always, go with the flow and just see what happens next. Rochelle
ReplyDelete