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Can anybody share EFL experiences in Central or South America? I'd be more specific about countries but I'm open to wherever. Though I would like to practice Spanish, so I'd be preferably somewhere with a international or at least comprehensible dialect. edit: v thanks! Very helpful impressions. Mortley fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Aug 22, 2010 |
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Aug 19, 2010 12:41
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 16:52 |
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Which TEFL school?
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Oct 7, 2010 00:45
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As my second-ever backpacking trip, I'm going to Costa Rica to practice Spanish. I'd like to book an open jaw flight from another location in central America. The question is, should I fly out of Panama or Belize? Also, how do I convince my family I'm not going to be kidnapped, murdered, or both?
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Dec 9, 2010 23:03
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Mortley posted:As my second-ever backpacking trip, I'm going to Costa Rica to practice Spanish. I'd like to book an open jaw flight from another location in central America. The question is, should I fly out of Panama or Belize? I decided go out through Belize so that I can travel through Guatemala, as I wanted to do when initially planning this trip. - Will I have visa trouble entering Costa Rica without a return flight from that country? - What's the drug culture like in Costa Rica for white people? I.e., am I going to get thrown in jail for smoking pot? (edit: I found the answer to this myself, it should be fine) - What are goons' thoughts on must-sees or other tips? edit: Should I let the situation with the Zetas in the north of Guatemala affect my travel plans? I was expecting violence but not outright war. Mortley fucked around with this message at 14:22 on Dec 30, 2010 |
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Dec 26, 2010 02:02
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Iīm studying Spanish in the central valley in Costa Rica. Does anybody have any thoughts on the weather? Iīm not used to thinking in terms of elevation. A bit higher up, I was told Ļsometimes we donīt have a dry season.Ļ Down here, Iīve been told that thereīs a weather system causing this constant rain. Information online is a bit sparse. Can I expect a season of this? Iīm guessing that nobody really knows.
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Jan 15, 2011 19:35
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If anybody needs a hospital in Costa Rica, I can strongly recommend Clinica Biblica. Christ, four nights in a hospital is rough, though. I slipped and hit my head trying to get up to the second waterfall near Montezuma. (I wasn't climbing the actual waterfall!) We just weren't on the trail. My buddy's got the pics, otherwise I'd post the wicked CT scan where the swollen flesh on my head is visible. Remember to watch the morning beers on hiking days, dudes.
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Feb 11, 2011 03:31
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Drogadon posted:Or if you want to be treated for free just call an ambulance and let them take you to a public hospital, universal health care owns. Hadlock posted:Went to the hospital with a 104F fever in BA. Walked out with a scrip for some meds in about 20 min. Doctor looked at me wide-eyed when I asked where to pay. Spoke pretty good english, too! Waiting and non-English fluent doctors werenīt an option with deference to my possibly severe head trauma. Also, http://www.costarica.com/retirement/cost-of-living/health-care/ posted:Costa Ricas public health insurance system, commonly known as the Caja, is available country-wide to all citizens and legal residents. Why would a government give away something (healthcare) for nothing (I havenīt paid a dime of taxes in Costa Rica)? Iīm sure itīs never a problem to provide a prescription in 20 minutes, but for four nights and thousands of dollars in tests... We even had to pay out of pocket for the ambulance. Mortley fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Feb 13, 2011 |
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Feb 13, 2011 20:25
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Drogadon posted:They will treat any foreigner anyway for free, it's actually a huge issue for some people that they treat illegal Nicaraguans for free with "our tax money". Wow, thatīs amazing. I want the States to have universal health care but it would never occur to me to make it routine practice to treat foreigners for free. I mean, we already do, since hospitals have huge write offs for emergency room visits by undocumented people (a little like NZ), but itīs still mind-blowing for me. I actually didnīt even know CRīs health care was universal, nor was I in any kind of shape to dictate where they took me at the time. Those subsequent two days, though, drat... Hereīs to hoping my insurance company comes through.
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Feb 17, 2011 23:55
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I had the time of my life volunteering and teaching English the Antigua, Guatemala area for two months. The trip ended yesterday. I know I'll be going back at some point in my life, but next time, I'd like to stay for a year or more. (I only came home because of a wedding.) I'd like to go back for the remainder of this year, but besides personal and financial considerations, I'm afraid of being there for the elections during September. My concern is that although the violence isn't likely to be as bad in Antigua as in, say, Guate, if it DID get bad, I'd have to go to the city in order to fly home. An expat I spoke with about this mentioned a nighttime border run with trusted locals, but that seems less like a solution and more, y'know, terrible. Does anyone have any insight into Guatemala's situation specifically or the idea generally of living in some place with a high level of political violence when it really goes crazy?
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Apr 23, 2011 22:36
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^^ What he said. I didn't study Spanish there, nor would I if I return. No one whom I knew had a significant improvement in their Spanish unless they used it outside of the really mediocre Spanish classes. I would definitely study Spanish in Xela, but only if I could focus on conversation, as the Guatemalan standard educational approach is flawed. The Spanish teachers didn't seem to have rudimentary language awareness like I'd want, and the way presentation of concepts is structured is quite illogical. The backpacker scene is a really fun one, though it's shallow. It was really nice to be able to walk home safely at 1am after a few $8 beers at Mono Loco. People complain a lot about the Disneylandizing of Guatemala into Antigua, but the thing is, 15 minutes out of town in any direction and you're back to Guatemala albeit with gringo influence. I spent all day out of the city, but it was nice to have somewhere safe to hang out and sleep soundly at night. I've not been able to find very many resources talking about the expected level of political violence in Guatemala but I did find the statistic that 50 politically connected people died in the last election. 50 people in a country where 6,000 are murdered every year. Maybe it's not a significant uptick.
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Apr 29, 2011 02:26
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I'd be cautious about traveling with only clothes bought in Central America because of concerns about quality. I bought boxer briefs in Guatemala that were slightly transparent on the day I bought them because of the thinness and cheapness of the fabric, though they haven't fallen apart yet. Backpacks or permanent bags of any kind are a bad idea to purchase there, they will fall apart. Yeah, board shorts are appropriate 24/7 in beach towns, but outside of that, wear pants to be perceived as a mature adult. Also, it's consistently cool (especially if you're used to the temperatures of the American south) in the highlands of Guatemala, so bring a hoodie or sweater for night time.
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Jun 13, 2011 18:13
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Several pages ago, I asked about safety in Guatemala during the months leading up to the election cycle. It seems like my concerns were without warrant: http://centralamericanpolitics.blogspot.com/2011/07/crime-down-in-guatemala.html quote:... final numbers for June show that it was the least violent month in six years.
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Jul 25, 2011 00:37
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Does anyone know anything about this violence in Antigua, Guatemala? I have that "citizen journalism" piece and this utterly incoherent blog post and nothing else to go on. Nothing from the US Embassy yet, and nothing from Prensa Libre. The claim is that between seven and a dozen people, both gringos and Guatemalans, were targeted for assaults (rather than robberies) over the span of hours. Supposedly, the tourist police stood idly by. I've heard that a friend of a friend was attacked, otherwise I'd dismiss this out of hand.
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Aug 23, 2011 17:56
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 If he's going for two months, there's no reason to fly into and out of the same country.
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Dec 12, 2011 01:05
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Everybody's allowed to have his own taste, of course, but y'all know that Peru is internationally renowned for its cuisine, right? I liked Costa Rican food more than bam thwok, but there's no comparing it to Peru. Here's one of many links you could find, Stryguy. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/peru/machu-picchu/food-drink/
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Jan 24, 2014 12:05
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It sounds like it wasn't your fault at all, man.
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Feb 9, 2014 15:12
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Aliquid posted:... and yet I still get the feeling that El Salvador is the best country I've been in by far, with the safest living and easily the nicest people... Doesn't El Salvador still have one of the highest homicide rates in the world? Which part of the country are you living in? (Or did I misread you, and you've been traveling around for 5 months.) I'm curious to hear more about your impression of the security situation.
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Apr 3, 2014 08:59
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I have this idea that I wouldn't enjoy Argentina or Chile because I've already gotten to know European culture well and those countries aren't that different from Europe. I am interested in Peru largely because of the indigenous people and history. Am I totally wrong about those wealthier Latin American countries? Were any other tourists to Argentina/Chile pleasantly surprised after arriving with prejudices like mine?
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Sep 26, 2014 18:24
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I was in the mountain town of Orosí in 2011 for a few weeks and was told "it is possible to teach ESL here; it is impossible to making a living doing it." Not sure if it just applied to that city or the country at large. Also, I knew a bunch of young gringas (I don't think there were any dudes among them) who got shipped off to nowhere mountain towns to teach English. Mostly the girls learned Spanish. They felt super isolated and culture shocked. YMMV.
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Sep 27, 2014 06:00
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davey4283 posted:I think the main hassle will be purchasing real estate. I think the assumption among Ticos is that it's safe to steal from any gringo who's dumb enough to send money in advance on a real estate deal, as well.
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Sep 29, 2014 04:32
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Thesaurus posted:... It's amazing how expensive everything to do with Machu Picchu is. ... I can't remember if I posted this in this thread before, but seeing those ruins was by far the most expensive day I've ever spent as a tourist, and I've seen almost all of western Europe. Insanely, insanely expensive.
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Nov 11, 2014 01:44
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Yeah, I didn't mean to sound critical of the decisions that lead to that payment system - I just regret taking the roundtrip train (considering all that money immediately left Peru) and think that people should be aware that seeing MP is not "a lot of money for being a tourist in the developing world" but plain ol' "a lot of loving money".
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Nov 11, 2014 09:23
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Speaking as an ESL teacher and someone who's done immersion Spanish in Latin America, Thesaurus's advice is really solid.
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Nov 13, 2014 14:57
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Have any of y'all South America enthusiasts ever learned any Quechua? PM me if so, or I can provide an email if needed. Edit: vv Too cool, hope to chat about this language. Mortley fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Nov 26, 2014 |
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Nov 25, 2014 18:18
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This is a great place to stay in DF: http://www.casadelosamigos.org/en/ (if you're doing the hostel thing, that is). I wonder how long it would take to get bored of that city? I didn't realize that there were any cities that you'd need more than a week to see just the major sites. That is, I didn't realize that til day 5 of my week there, when I hadn't seen even half of them.
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Dec 25, 2014 18:42
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