Searching for a Job

First off, I need to say thank you to everyone that read my 1st post.  I honestly thought my parents would be the only ones to read it. 

Now on to week 2:

Since my family had already left, it was time for me to find a job and do it quickly.  I was lucky enough to have a family to stay with that an old co-worker of mine knew.  This family is amazing and has accepted me as one of their own.  The dad and kids know English, so that has been very helpful.  I arrived in Quito at a somewhat unfortunate time because schools were starting a 2 week break and the national holiday Carnival was coming up- meaning nothing would be done quickly and its already a much slower pace here.

On Monday, I hit the streets and started going by the schools that I knew of already plus a few that the family recommended. I had a couple interviews, and the same question kept coming up: what is your visa situation.  Obviously, I had to enter the country on a tourist visa which allows me to stay in the country for 90 days.  I was told that a job could sponsor you once hired so you can get a different visa and can stay longer.  However when I told the schools this, they said "oh no we can't hire anyone with out a work visa, and we can't sponsor anyone for a work visa"  In my head, I'm thinking "ok you can't get a work visa without a job, and I can't get a job without a work visa. Am I the only one that sees an issue with this logic??"  Luckily, that night I spoke with some people from International TEFL Academy and they explained how to get around that issue and the choices that I had.

So, with this new knowledge, I went to even more schools on Tuesday and had more interviews.  I was given 2 job offers then, but since registration isn't over they weren't sure what hours I would be able to get.  The jobs would start at the end of February/ beginning of March.  I understood this was the situation but was glad that I at least had 2 schools that wanted me.  I also had several interviews I was waiting to hear back from, so things were getting better!  However, by the end of the day, I had already gone by every school I knew, so what now?

I was able to find an expats facebook group and asked if anyone knew of any other schools that I could apply at.  People are so nice and generous and gave me about 6 more places, so I sent emails immediately.  At this time during the week, I'm sure there wasn't much work being done due to the upcoming holidays, so I just had to wait.

With interviews done, it was time for me to get a local phone.  The family I was staying with helped me with this process and I got the most basic phone possible.  I was actually surprised that this phone has a color screen and a camera!  (Sorry mom, but this basic phone even makes yours look bad)  So now, I have a local number for schools to contact me and I started riding the bus with the family!  I'm starting to feel like a local now-minus the fact that I don't know Spanish. 

Through the facebook group, I was able to meet a girl that also needs a place to live, so we have been researching places and hopefully that will work out soon.  I am so grateful that I have a family to live with, but I am ready to be on my own! 

Hopefully, I will have a solid job and place to live in the next post!