Teaching in Mexico

With this entry, I begin a new series that highlights individual Mexican states…all 31 of them, each with its own culture, history, and TEFL job scene. I will try to bring some of each state’s history and features into focus, as well as to note important contributions made to the world of TEFL by foreign teachers working in the state of the month.

We start with the lovely state of Oaxaca, located in the deep south of Mexico.

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Amusing tale from the BBC..

Heavyweight police officers in one Mexican city could soon be offered cash bonuses if they slim down.

A diet of fizzy drinks, tacos and sweets is weighing down crime fighters and leaving criminals on the run.

Authorities in Aguascalientes want to offer 100 pesos ($9) for every kilo shed by their portly policemen.

About a quarter of the city’s 1,600-strong force are reported to be overweight. Doctors would decide how much weight each needed to lose.

“We do have some fat officers. We have been encouraging them for a while to lose weight, to be more agile, to do sport,” a police spokesman told Reuters.

Mexico City once pulled the entire motorcycle cop force of some 700 officers off the roads for diet and exercise, after weeks of ridicule in the media.  These officers used to ride Harley Davidsons, and with the light brown on gold uniforms, they always reminded me of CHiPs (70’s and 80’s American TV show, if you’re unfamiliar).

However, few of these guys bore the trim figure of an Eric Estrada and were frequently featured in city newspapers at local taco stands, or having a hard time staying aloft on the police bike.

Nowadays, Mexico City police have returned to motorcycles, and increasingly, bicycles.  Now there’s a better way to keep in shape.

Mexican government policy has recently changed on the issuing of  tourist visas to those coming in from the US, Canada, the UK, and many other countries.  All tourists are given the full 180-day visa ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Associated Press is reporting that dengue fever is on the rise in Latin America, particularly in the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero.

By ... [Continue reading this entry]