Answers to Mexico Questions
If you know me from Dave’s Cafe forums, from This Guy is Teaching Abroad, or from Teachers Latin America, you’d know that I like to help people. This is a new blog for me and one that I will dedicate to issues of teaching English in Mexico specifically and teaching English worldwide broadly.
If you have a question, please don’t hesitate to ask me, using the comments section. I have a whole category devoted to answering questions, and filling it up will help others who have similar queries. If I don’t have the answer I’ll direct you to someone who does.
Tags: Answers to Your Questions, General Mexico Info, latin america, teaching english, tefl
guy
Hi Guy,
I think you are doing a great job giving advice to newbies like me. I’m trying to decide if I should take the TEFL or CELTA in September or November. If I take the class in Sept what are my chances of getting a job in the middle of the school year? If I wait till November, then go home to the states for the holiday and return the first part of January, would I have better luck with better schools? I’ve read your forums and you seem to think January is best but I just wanted to double check to see if anything has changed. I appreciate your feedback, I’m nervous about this move but very excited!
Thanks!
Chelsea
Hi Dave,
I need your help and advise. I’m on FM3 in Mexico. My co. opened an office in Mexico around 1 yr back and transferred few of us here. They did a very poor mkt. research about the city, salary etc… gave us exaggerated information about how good and cheap everything was here and we faced lot of problems with housing, language, cost of living, safety, food, culture, isolation, homesickness etc… On appraoching the mgmt. for any kind of help they rudely responded saying that they’re here for business and gave us the impression they not interested in listening. All those who fought with the mgmt. and went back were released from their positions, given poor appraisals and eventually had to leave the company.
The experience left a bad taste with everyone and I never managed to adjust well here and now I want to go back. In the meantime the co. is in complete denial and not willing to understand the problems we’re facing in every non-work related aspect here. This attitude has affected our work and I’ve taken this up repeatedly with the mgmt. here but they refuse to send me back. The basic prob. is very few ppl from my co. are willing to relocate to Mexico because the word is spread about our problems and the management’s attitude, so the company is not
cooperating with the ppl here wo want to go back. They indirectly are saying I have to resign if I want to go back, do my own return tickets and not to expect my experience and relieving letters from the co. on return to my country.
Indirectly they are forcing me to stay here and not ready to provide a return date. I would like to know what exactly are my rights as a foreign national on FM3? I’m not confident of resorting to legal help because I have no clue how to go about this all alone in a foreign land specially because I’ve seen law in Mexico is a bit ‘fluid’. I think it has too many variations. But can I approach my country’s counslate or the immigration department? If I do, what is likely to happen? I don’t want to flare up the situation because in no way I want to spoil the relationship with the company because i know they will cause trouble in my relieving process back in my country if something like this happens here.
Has the company been negligent in this case towards employees and is there any way to prove this because the problems we’re facing are
related to lack of mkt. research, living, isolation, cost of living, mental frustration etc…, not necessarily the company’s responsibility, so they can deny anything. I’m not sure how exactly to respond to their indirect forcing of keeping me here. It’s onyl because this is a foreign land so I’m not sure how to go about this but there are very few of us here and all are mentally frustrated with the employer’s attitude. A nearby cosmopolitan city has few other companies from my country, in my field of work, and they’re paying employees far better and catering to their needs much better. Can I leave my current job in Mexico on FM3 if I get an offer from another company and how to ensure all experience letters and settlement (from Mexico and my own country) are sent to me.
Please do advise me if possible. Thanks in advance.
Josh