Coop in Mexico! Woop Woop!

MmmmmCheese

Found out I got coop today teaching English in Mexico! Anyone else on here who's going? Or has anyone else been on coop in Mexico who could tell me how they got on?

lorcanthrope

My friend Sarah is currently on co-op in Mexico... I'm sure she'd have no problems with chatting witcha about it!

here's her facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/sarah.moyles?ref=ts

a2dg

Hi, I went on co-op to Mexico from Jan to June this year. The area you will be going to is metepec which is like a suburb of the city of Toluca. The area itself is not what you would imagine when you think of Mexico. A lot of "well off" Mexicans commute from metepec to Mexico City for work. So the area is well policed, and has all modern living luxuries you would expect from a western country (mall 5 mins from residence, one of the two schools you may be teaching in has a swimming pool etc.) There are two schools you could be placed in, they differ greatly, one is located in metepec and is for extremely "well off" students, the other is located in”san tiago"(45 mins in the morning by bus to get to the school which is a bitch because you have to be there for 7!) and the students tend to be from a more working class background. Both schools have their pros and con's.
I wouldn't be put off by the location, and the fact that it’s not a typical Mexican village that one would envisage when thinking of Mexico. It is less than an hour from Mexico City by bus, and from there it is easy to get a cheap comfortable bus anywhere you want to go in Mexico. The pay you get is more than enough to survive on 8000 pesos a month (they will dock days you miss from wages), but you probable will require some of your own money if you plan on doing some travelling.
I will stress that the school ( in san tiago) will pressure you to work more hours, and in general try and see how much they extra they can get out of ye i.e. not including travelling time to and from work , trying to get ye to work Saturdays. My advice is to stand up for yourself from day one, be flexible, look for trade-offs if they want extra from ye negotiate something in return e.g. we will work extra hours, but we want every 2nd Friday off so we can travel and see the country ( thats what we done). If you have the same co-ordinator we had (Michael) , don’t expect him to resolve anything for you, useless is the BIGGEST understatement ever...
In all its going to be a great experience man ,the people are unbelievable friendly and its a beautiful country .I had a great time there and will def be returning.... if you have any questions fell free to ask...

MmmmmCheese

Thanks, its great to hear from somebody who's already been there! Ya, Michael is our coordinator too, he hasn't been very helpful in providing us with information now that you mention it. He pretty much said organise you're own flight over here so you'll get here sometime the weekend before you start!

Were you living with other co op students? As far as I know we are, even thought I don't know any of them! I've heard a lot of stories about crime and kidnappings and the like in Mexico, did ye run into any trouble while over there? Any one last question, what did you do in your spare time? Sorry about all the questions, I'd just like some idea of what to expect!

a2dg

As i said in the previous post michael is useless, he told us to be there for the 4th of january and I didnt start work until the very end of january! do not rely on him for anything, he will lie blatantly to your face, and when you catch him out in his lie he will just lie again to try and cover himself. If you have any issues id recommend by passing michael and going straight to the vice principal in the school in metepec (the school in metepec kind of sublets you to the school in san tiago, so they are really your employers). The vice principal is a good guy and knows michael for what he really is...a complete tosser!

There were six of us from ul and one english girl, we all lived in a gated community(24 hour security), We had two house's in the community, we were divided by which school we worked in, three in one house four in the other.Ye will all get to know each other very quickly living, working and socialising together.

Most of the crime that you hear about in mexico is in the boarder towns, where drug trafficing occurs. Metepec is safe, its a well off area, so the police there are better paid than in other areas (strange but true), and do a better job. When your traveling just research the area before you go(www.lonelyplanet.com) and you will be fine... There are loads of a amenities locally, so finding things to occupy your spare time is easy. There are a few gyms in the area, theres a cinema in the mall (with a vip section where a waiter goes around and takes your order! and its not that expensive at all), there is a ice skaying rink also in the mall. "la marquesa" is about 20 minutes in a taxi, its vast open countryside and is stunningly beautiful in places:) there are alot of outdoor activity centres in la marquesa, where you can go horse riding, karting, zip linning etc ,they differ in quaility and cost, so get a mexican to advise of a good one. The night life in metepec is good, the biggest night club "classico" doesnt kick off until 1ish and doesnt end until god knows when( they turn on the lights at official closing time around 4.30, stop the music and pretend to close for the authorities, and then about 20 minutes later start up again!).


Your one lucky man to be going, its a savage experince , food and drink are VERY cheap (massive t-bone steak for about 2.50 euro in the local supermarket, 70cl bottle of rum/tequila/brandy 5euro)and the women are unreal, and they love the white boys;).

Nearly forgot, there is such a thing as "mexican time", if a mexican says they will be somewhere/do something at certain time they will ALWAYS be late, its not a big deal but def something worth knowing....

CaoimH_in

Lorcan thats my sister. Gas.

Yeah, it seems grand, sunny, perverts, dangerous folk are you a woman? If so, that'll be a trouble. It's a whole different world I hear and everything is very spicy... parasites etc... Yeah...


.....She made explicit that the vodka was cheap though.