New Job!

I have just been through one of, if not the most aggravating, to put it mildly, things yet since I arrived in Ecuador.  Two days before I was to leave for Machu Pichu, an email was sent by WorldTeach (WT), the program in the U.S. that I applied to & was accepted by to teach English here, that said that the 9 of us who were teaching at our specific school (spread throughout the country as there are many sites for this school) would not be able to continue teaching at our school.  Although I knew that there had been problems because we were never paid by our school (WT ended up by paying us for our 1st 6 months here) and had been told to prepare to strike in April if we weren't paid, I never in my wildest dreams thought that we would be told that our teaching was over.  It felt as if the floor had been taken out from underneath me.  My personal commitment was to teach English in Ecuador for a year.  What this meant was that (1.) my teaching was terminated effective immediately (I was between teaching cycles at that point in time, so had just finished a course and would not be leaving any students high and dry) and (2.) for all intents and purposes, my and my 8 colleagues' involvement with WT was over effective April 15.  We were told that we could return to the U.S. with an 'honorable discharge,' if we wanted.  The problem, I was told, was related to "misadministration" (whatever that means) by the school where I had been teaching since October 1.  I understand that numerous attempts on the part of WT were made to meet with the higher-ups at the headquarters of our school in Quito, but many of the scheduled meetings were thwarted by cancellations on the part of the school administration.  Finally a meeting was held on March 22, at which time the school administration apparently said something to the effect that they were not going to continue to have teachers from WT teach English from that point on.  I will not elaborate here how I felt or what I thought then or throughout the next several days.  Suffice it to say that I had very strong feelings!

The day after I learned this (one day before leaving for Peru) I went into action to see if I could fine another teaching job here.  I didn't know how I could remain here without teaching.  It's not that the money is so great, (it's a pittance!), but I am here to teach.  Yes, I have more and more friends and therefore people to do things with, but I wasn't sure what I would do here day in and day out.  I also didn't see how I could be here and play without an income.  Returning home, was still out of the question, but as time went by I did think that that might be what I would have to do.

I have learned SO much since this aggravation began.  One of the first things I learned was that I have many more friends here than I realized.  The day after learning that I had lost my job, I went back to my school to pick up my belongings from my office there.  I decided to speak to my boss as well.  He DIDN'T know that neither my colleague nor I would not be returning to teach.  Our names and class hours were posted on the wall, along with the names, etc. of all the other teachers.  He was very surprised.  When I asked him if he had any ideas of how I might find another teaching position, he made a phone call and then suggested that I get in his car with him.   He drove me to a private school, called The American School, introduced me to the director and asked if there might be employment for me there.  She expressed interest, but said that she would have to contact the owners and since they were about to go on a school break, she would be back in touch with me in a week.  Esperanza, with whom I am living, was of course very supportive.  She suggested that I telephone Rodrigo, the father of Camila, who I am tutoring, voluntarily.  Rodrigo said that he would contact other parents at Camila's school to see if any of them wanted tutoring for their children.  Also, Fransicso, one of my former students had emailed me, thanking me for helping him to improve his English and when I told him that I would not be back at the school, he said that he would try to see if I might teach at the university where he teaches environmental science.  Karina, my friend at the Internet cafe where I used to go when I lived with my first host family here, who keeps in touch via email and Facebook, was very supportive and upset for me.  She has been a great support every time there has been some sort of problem.  And Hugo, who had called to get together later that day, came over and had all kinds of creative ideas of how I might find various students to tutor.  I didn't think that his suggestions were realistic, but I SO appreciated his support.  In a nutshell, there were many people who wanted to help me.  The support carried me far.  Before leaving for Peru, I emailed a woman whom I had met 2 weeks earlier who was teaching English at CEDEI (Centro De Estudios Interamericanos).  I don't know why I asked her, when I met her, to give me the name of where she taught, but maybe instinctually I knew that I might need that information.  She  responded to my email while I was in Peru, saying that CEDEI would be starting a new cycle the week of April 9 and if I got my application in before then, I might find employment there.  I didn't have the time or energy to pursue that before I left for Peru, but didn't forget her suggestion.

A couple of hours before leaving for Peru, I emailed a man that I had met via email when I was collecting names of people who wanted to participate in seder for Passover.  He is a Jewish man, who is a former Peace Corps volunteer here in Cuenca 40 years ago and still has a pulse on resources here.  I asked him for suggestions and he responded that I contact the Abraham Lincoln Center, which I had previously heard of.  In fact, one of my students had studied English there.  I decided that I would pursue that upon my return from Peru.  I went off to Peru on March 24, trying to not think about the fact that I would be returning to Ecuador, without a job and had less than 2 weeks to resolve everything.  Why 2 weeks?  Because my health insurance through WT was going to end on April 15 and if I wanted to change my flight back to the U.S. without a penalty, that would have to be done by April 15 too.  Actually, the amount of time remaining was less than 2 weeks because everything is closed on April 6, Good Friday and April 13, Cuenca Foundation Day, leaving 8 work days to find a job.

I was in Peru for a week.  After having been to Machu Pichu, I returned to Cusco, Peru on March 29 and having some time that day, decided that I should go to an Internet cafe to read about CEDEI and its requirements for its teachers.  One of the requirements is that all teachers must have a TEFL certificate to teach English to speakers of other languages or something comparable.  I didn't know if they needed proof that I have a TEFL certificate, but thought that I should have a copy and of course I didn't have it with me.  Since I got my TEFL certificate in Cusco (5 years ago) and I was right there, I decided to go to Máximo Nivel, where I got the certificate, to see if they might be able to give me a copy.  It was weird going back to Máximo Nivel, but back there I went.  The woman I spoke to there remembered my name! They looked me up, found the information, and made a new certificate, original and official looking with a seal and original signatures.  It's beautiful!  Then I returned to the Internet cafe to fill out the application on-line.  I guess my patience has grown as I had to fill it out 3 times because the computer wasn't great and every time I left the application site to find out information that had to be included in the application (addresses, email, telephone numbers of the 2 people whom I used as references), I lost the application.  It took me about 2 hours to get this done.  Eventually I sent it out.  I also sent an email directly to the Academic Director of the English Language Programs at CEDEI, for clarification re where the references should be sent.  She responded not only with the answer to my question, but said that I would need to send her a copy of my resume!  That I couldn't do in Peru.

Went right to work when I got back to Cuenca.  Updated my resume and sent it off to CEDEI.  The next morning, Monday, I went back to my former school to see if they had heard anything from The American School, where I had visited with the director before leaving for Peru.  They hadn't but told me that they would get the cell phone number of the director so that I could contact her directly.  Then went, with resume in hand, to the Abraham Lincoln Center, the highly respected Bi-National Center, recommended by the former Peace Corps volunteer, to see if they had any openings.  I had the name of the director from the former PC volunteer and asked for him when I got there.  He spent about an hour with me, even though there were no openings.  He was very generous with his time and in giving me other resources (including CEDEI) and suggestions.  I decided that I had to follow every lead that I was given.  Went home and wrote a great cover letter to go with my resume.  My plan was to go back out with the resume to 3 other schools that I had learned about, but after talking to Esperanza, with whom I am living, decided that it would be best to go early the next morning, when the directors might be there.  Esperanza offered to go with me, ensuring that I would find these schools efficiently.

Tuesday morning Esperanza and I went to The Wall Street Institute, where I met with someone who took my resume, saying that they had no openings at the moment, but could anticipate that there would be some soon.  He also gave me the names of 2 other schools and encouraged me to make an appearance at CEDEI, not wait for them to contact me.  Esperanza & I couldn't locate 2 of the schools that I had hoped to go to because I think they no longer exist.  We did, however, go to the Pan American University, where I met with someone who took my resume and said that they would hire me if their license to operate is still valid in a week.  Apparently all universities are being evaluated by the government and if they don't meet certain criteria, they will fold.  I also went to Unita, where I met with someone who expressed interest in hiring me, but said that the director, who was away, would be in touch with me within a week.  My hopes were rising.  I walked into CEDEI and met with the director, who had my resume, application, and both references.  She said that she would email me lots of documents, policies, and information about the school and that if after reading all of that I was still interested, we could talk seriously about my teaching there.  We made an appointment for me to meet with her the next day at 10:00 AM.  She said that classes start on Tuesday, April 10; that there would be an all day new teachers' meeting on April 4 and a general teachers' meeting on April 9.

Went home, read the CEDEI information, went back there the following day when I was offered to teach there; accepted the job; attended the new teachers' meeting on April 4 and will be starting the new job on Tuesday, April 9.  I guess one could say that persistence pays off.  I am impressed with CEDEI.  It is a non-profit institution dedicated to the study of American languages and cultures.  They teach English, Spanish, and Quechua, with a set curriculum.  Students are children, adolescents, and adults.  Typically there are 40-50 teachers and over 600 students.  They are very professional, organized, have high standards for their teachers and students, and an extensive library. They have 3 sights in Cuenca, none all that close to where I live, but hey, I guess I can't have everything.

A new job means starting all over.  Will have to learn a whole new system, with different paperwork, a new text book, etc.  I may be teaching children or adults.  There is so much I don't know, but will find out my schedule, who will be my students, which site I will be teaching at, etc. tomorrow.  A bit daunting, but no doubt I will be able to do it.  I have tremendous satisfaction that I pulled this off.  I have committed to teaching the next 10 week cycle and the month of July, which is a month of intensive teaching.  I probably won't be teaching in August, but plan to play that month, which at this point will be my last month here.

And one more thing, going through this process also made me feel that I am increasingly at home here.  Just finding my way around, although with help at times, I felt less like an outsider.  My confidence has grown by leaps and bounds.  In retrospect, this was a good experience and at times while going through it I was aware that I would come out ahead one way or another.  The fact that I am no longer with WorldTeach (well actually not until April 15), but am a free agent, surprises me.  Who would have thought?  Not I!

P.S.!
Writing this was for me.  It helped me process the whole thing.  Doesn't matter to me if anyone reads this or not.  It was therapeutic for me to review this experience..........