Well, this is my first blog entry and I'm still in Canada, trying to figure out the easiest way to stay in Ecuador without being booted out after three months! There is so much info on this via the internet, but unfortunately, I cannot find a website for the Ecuadorian embassy in Canada and the Consulate in Toronto was far less helpful than I had expected!
Okay. Here's the situation. I was in Oaxaca, Mexico last year for nine months. I went there with my son, who will be six this August. I had thought we'd be there for a long time, but, due to certain circumstances, we ended up leaving and coming back to Canada for the summer.
I am going to be applying for teacher's college for next fall, which means I have an open year before that. I am still dazzled by living overseas, and love that my son learned to speak Spanish. I would really like him to be able to live in another Latin American country and for us both to keep up the Spanish we have learned! I also love Latin music and the genuine warmth I feel from and towards Latin people.
For a couple of weeks, I've been searching out schools throughout Latin America, looking at job posting sites and sending off resumes. The only bite I really got out of it all was this language school in Loja, Ecuador, called The Canadian House Centre. (actually, they spell it the American way- "Center") I wanted to be very clear from the start about my situation as a parent. When I went to Oaxaca, I originally taught at a language school with evening hours, and had to send my son to a daycare, which he hated. In the end I ended up quitting there, so he could do regular school hours and be able to be with me in the evenings. I didn't want to get into the same bind in Loja. Gloria, my contact there, has told me that I can teach at a high school in the morning, which would mean that I would work the same hours that my son would go to school. She also said that I could work a couple of late afternoon hours teaching in-house and that my son could join one of the classes. (of course, he already knows how to speak English, but I'm sure the classes are fun for kids, nonetheless!)
So, I've accepted the job- the real selling point for me, being that temperatures in Loja are pretty mild- for someone who is so interested in Latin America, it probably seems strange, but I can't really take the heat! LOL Also, I have never been to South America, and I like that I would have the potential to visit Peru, Colombia and other countries nearby. Oh, and not forgetting, I absolutely MUST have a look at the actual equator so I can take a photo of it! :-)
Now, I have the unwieldy task in front of me of figuring my visa issues. I saw a posting from a disgruntled former employee of Canadian House Centre, saying that they never helped her get her work visa and that she ended up being denied re-entry while she was on a visa-run in Peru. Scary stuff. From what I know, we can enter Ecuador getting stamps enabling us to stay for ninety days. We also have to show evidence that we are returning home on or before the expiry of that visa or moving onward. Of course, this gets tricky since I am planning to extend my stay, provided I get the visa I need, or at least renew the tourist visa.I have also read that we can renew the tourist visa for a fee (200 dollars, I think I read), so without a work permit, one could stay for six months, maximum.
I emailed Gloria at CHC about the work visa and she told me to come on the regular tourist visa and that they always send teachers to Piura, Peru with the proper documentns to get the work visa at the consulate there. She said I just had to make sure I have my TESL certificate translated and legalized. She gave me the site of the Canadian government legalization of document services in Ottawa. The process on their end would take seven weeks (!!!)
Yesterday, I called the Consulate in Toronto about work visas and she told me that she would email me all the information. When I hadn't received the email in a couple of hours,I called back to see if I had given her the wrong email address. She apologized and said she hadn't had time yet, and she would definitely email me later on in the day. So, I asked her about my son. What kind of visa would he need, etc. She said he could be listed on my visa as a dependent and that I should show them his birth certificate as proof.
Well, she never did email me any information. And, of course, that would all be supposing I was applying for the work visa from home. It's a different story if I'm going to be doing the visa run in Peru, and I figured I'd probably also need to get my son's birth certificate notarized and legalized and appostillized, etc. etc.
So, today I went downtown to the Consulate to ask my questions in person.
I am aware that the consulate people would not be too keen on the fact that I would be initially working in Ecuador on a tourist visa, so I told them that I would be looking for a job in Ecuador and applying for my visa later when I had a contract. She said she would give me all the information about work visas (again) and then found that they did not have copies of that at the consulate. Instead she gave me information on the 12-X Transient Visa, which would cost 90 USD and said that I could renew this in Ecuador for another 90 USD I asked about how to legalize my documents, and she said that rather than sending them to the Canadian government, I should have them legalized there at the Ecuadorian consulate- which makes sense, that's what I had to do for Mexico, too. She said that each document would be 50 dollars to legalize and the translations of those documents would be 10 dollars to legalize.
The TESL course I took in 2004 was done in three separate 110-hour modules, so, in fact, I have three separate certificates. So, for these, plus my son's birth certificate, I will have to pay 200 USD for the English versions and another 40 USD for the translations. Plus the fee for the notary public to notarize them and plus the fee for the translator. So far, preparing for this job that pays 4 dollars an hour is becoming a very expensive exercise!!!!
Anyway, I have to accept that going to South America is for the adventure and the lifestyle, definitely not about making or saving money! I have to admit, though, I am worried about whether the school will help me to get the work visa or not. That posting from the former employee really worried me alot. I wonder if anyone who works at that school has ever had a work visa or if anyone just moves on after a few months. If it was just me by myself, I wouldn't care. I would just go to Peru or Chile or somewhere else and work there for the next six months. I don't want to uproot my little boy in the middle of the school year, though.
Anyway, there is still a lot to think about and lots to plan. I'm glad I've joined this site, though. I will be reading about other travellers' experiences in South America and getting convinced that it will all be worth it!
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PS.. having just read Irish Lauras post I see why she was so angry... this kind of thing is possible and very bad! Some people have no problems and some people do, I think it depends on which border crossing you chooses and which guard you get, but a few days is a small window.. I had a friend who had to get her passport stamped into Ecuador with two days on it and after a scary but comical sketch she did manage it.
In Ecuador people will tell you all kinds of things, mainly what they think you want to hear, and often not the trruth, it seems to be a national malady and can be infuriating.
I feel foy you Laura, having this happen, I'm glad you got through it ok. Information is the hardest thing to get in that country!
Ok, you have to understand that Ecuador is NOT Asia, it is not the USA or the UK, it is a poor country and you will not receive everything on a plate. I've heard that the wages are now $5/hour for CHC which is a very decent wage in a country where the average is $150/month!
You will have to buy your own bedding, although when I arrived there was plenty in my flat left by previous teachers and I never bought any. THere was some politics and bickering among teachers and between the teachers and the school from time to time, some of which was caused by teachers arriving from rich countries with high expectations and being disappointed not to be treated like a queen!
Yes, thre are some drawbacks but by Ecuadorian standards I'd say it was a pretty good job. I stayed a year and when I left they held a party for me and gave me a plaque and told me I could go back whenever I wanted. Occaisionaly they will pay you a few days late, but that happens to me in Spain! I knew people working for the university in LOja who got payed weeks late! You have to change your ideas and standards if you want to go to South America...
Both I and Kittyvic has these reervations before going, but we both took the plunge and went. I know she felt the same because she sent me messages asking if it was ok for kids! And she came and had a great time. Of course there were some bad days along the way. I too rented my own place - if your landlord is also your boss there are too many avenues for friction in the ost important areas of your life.
However, when you first arrive they will take you straight to a perfectly acceptable place and you can pay the rent out of your first wages. Compared to places I've seen Ecuadorians living in, CHC takes care to find the best they can. I remember them being constantly searching for new teacher flats, and sometime sit was because young teachers had arrived and behaved so badly that the landlord had asked them to leave! People who don't get what they want will always complain.
If you want them to get you a visa you will have to make a time commitment, as it's expensive and time consuming and the laws change every five minutes. I was really stressed about the visa when I arrived and then I realaxed, and not once during my stay did it amke any difference to me at all.
I viewed many things as a problem to start with, in my Western way, but then I started to undersatnd the reality of life there. By the time I left I was friends with the directors and we had a good relationship. Some things are exasperating, but THAT'S ECUADOR!!!! Don't go there expecting England! Do go there expecting a warm, vibrant, exciting country, sometimes fraught with minor dangers but always full of potential and adventure. It is what you make of it.
I think most of the posts about bad experiences are from the same person. I think nowadays most of the CHC apartments are alright, but you will most likely have to bring your own sheets, (as you would with any apartment you moved into). I rented my own apartment, so if you find the accomodation not to your liking, it is always an option. Teachers in Ecuador need to understand that Ecuadorians make very little money, and that four dollars an hour, although to us sounds awful, is indeed an above-average wage there. That being said, you would have to learn to shop at the markets and cook your own food. then again, it costs about a dollar fifty for an "almuerzo" at any local restaurant, which is not bad at all, considering how delicious and plenty the food is. As for the visa, you will not get a work visa. I doubt any foreigner in Ecuador has one. If you commit to staying a year, you will get a volunteer visa which permits you to work. It is legal and you will have no problem with Immigration officials. I really enjoyed my experience in Loja and I hope to go again one day soon. but please remember that you are going to a moderately poor Latin American country and you should not expect North American/European standards of comfort. You will however encounter extremely friendly and good people.
I am considering a job at Canadian House Center in Loja. I am fearful because of many posts about bad experiences. Also, I am concerned about the VISA. Were you able to obtain the proper VISA prior to going or did you teach with a tourist VISA for 3 months?
Some posts described the apartments as horrid. Bare mattresses, etc. Also stated the school offered NO support and tried to charge the teachers for EVERY little thing. Teachers reported they had a hard time living on the poor pay.
Any advice?
Dear KittyVic,
By now I assume you have gone to CHC & I really hope it all worked out for you. It was my review you probably read on eslteachersboard.
I just wanted to make it clear though that I think perhaps you misunderstood my "beef" as you put it and just wanted to clarify. I went to Ecuador intending to only stay for 6 months, and as I said in my post, extending your visa from 3 to 6 months was very easy. My beef was that I was lied to by the school management. At the end of my contract I went to Peru as it's close by & wanted to travel a bit, I was EXPLICITLY told by the school management that I would be able to leave the country and the few days remaining on my visa would carry over, even though I'd travelled extensively before & had never heard of a country doing this. Upon my return from Peru to Ecuador is where I met problems as they wouldn't let me carry days over (as I suspected) but also as I'd been in Ecuador for 6 months, I wasn't entitled to another visa. Hence why I had to sneak onto the bus and hope there were no random stops to check visas. It was then that I returned to the school to be told that I wasn't their responsibility any more as I wasn't one of their teachers, even thought I wouldn't have gone to Peru if they'd told me the truth.. or even just picked up the phone to call someone to check as I asked them to do (impossible for me to do at the time as my Spanish was almost nonexistent)
But I would like to point out that I travelled with my boyfriend to Peru and he was allowed to re-enter safely as he still had 7 days on his 6 month visa. He had planned on moving to Machala and working for another 6 months with CHC. When he asked at the school what the next step was for him, HE was told he would have to make the trip to Peru & Guayaquil, take unpaid leave, pay for his travel costs and pay for the visa... even though we'd just returned from Peru & he took unpaid leave to travel with me. I couldn't (and still can't) understand why the management didn't tell him ''O, by the way, while you're travelling through Peru, you should get your work visa to save you travelling there a week later.'' He didn't have the money to do all that travel again AND pay for the visa, so was left with no choice but to leave CHC & Ecuador.
As I said in my original review, there were other problems with accom and the fact that I personally feel that CHC are in it for a quick buck. When I taught there, I raised my concerns, but they were brushed aside. i posted the review not to discourage people, but to make sure they ask the right questions before travelling - for a first time teacher going all the way from Ireland to Ecuador, not speaking any Spanish and landing in the situation I did, I wished I'd been more prepared and asked more questions prior to travelling.
CHC does have the potential to be a great school, and Loja is a great town, I really had a great time when I was there despite all the problems but that was due mostly to the other teachers. I know that CHC knows about my review (as they asked me to remove it a few months ago!) so I hope they took some things into consideration and have improved their work ethic and that you and your son had a safe trip there & enjoyed yourselves... or if you are still there, that you are still currently enjoying it :-)
Good luck with the teaching course you are due to embark on soon!!
Warmest regards
by the way, sorry about all the spelling mistakes, I`m crap at typing!
Hi
I`m planning to go to Peru soon with some other teachers for the work visa. It costs $230. I came on a tourist visa from the UK. You might be able to get something like a consulate visa or commer cial visa as Kallen called it, he went back to the states to get one, maybe you could ask him about that. I have never been asked to prove that I was leaving the country - I offered to show my return ticket at the aiport but the man wasn´t interested. I was worried that they would ask why I had brought teaching materials with me but the man whoi sacanned my bag wasn´t even watching the screen. A man knocked on our door when they were doing the census and asked how long we were staying because if you are staying on a longer visa you need an ID card, but when I offered to show him my return ticket (it was for mid July but I´ve changed it to next year now), he just laughed, and shook our hands with a happy smile and said good day. Don`t say anything about wirking until you have the right visa. Just come as a tourist. There are several ways to change your visa, some are legal and some are not, but you can still do it. It`s not lioke being in the UK or Canada. One teacher came on a consular visa from Ireland and I think it might be easier to change to a work visa if you have one so maybe you should look into that, but like I said, keep information to a minimum; the least contact you can have with officials the better. One American guy tells me that if you overstay your visa the fine is $200 and I guess you can`t return for a while after, anyway, that`s his plan as it`s cheaper that going to Peru and getting a work visa! I don`t want rouble coming back so I`m going for work visa - I think they really want you return to your home country but because of the contacts the school has it should be ok.
Look forward to meeting you and your son, what`s his name?
Hi Kitty,
Your best bet with this is to chat to Alix who actually works at Canadian House in Loja - while she's from the UK so her visa will be slightly different I think she's been through the whole trip to Peru thing: http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/alixm09
Best of luck - but remember visas always work themselves out in the end!
As an ammendment to this post...I re-read the complaints from the disgruntled former employee and realized that her beef was actually that the employers would not help with the cost of travelling to get the work visa, not with the documents to get it. It was comforting to realize that. Actually, I think a trip to Peru and then the trip to the other Ecuadorian city (can't remember how to spell it) will be great. It's all part of travelling after all!
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