South America – Getting to Uruguay

Map of the Río de la Plata, showing cities in Argentina and Uruguay. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If my last post wasn’t clear enough, I wasn’t too happy in Buenos Aires. So I decided to quit and move on.  I wont be doing the Delta course this year and instead I’m just going to travel. It might be a terrible idea, but there is no point wasting my life in a city I don’t enjoy.

The plan is to go through Uruguay, back into the north of Argentina and then further north to Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru.

Anyway I set off this morning and I am now in Montevideo. It was a bit touch and go for a while. Today I took a taxi down to the port and the driver took me to the wrong ferry port – Buquebus. Luckily I had left enough time to get to the ferry. Of course when we arrived at the terminal for the right ferry, ” Colonia Express” , the ship had been cancelled due to bad weather (Sorry no refunds). So then I had to take another taxi back to the Buquebus ferry terminal and pay full ticket prices (it’s cheaper if you book in advance).  Meaning that I paid full price for the ferry I took as well as the price for the ferry I didn’t.

Another couple that were in the same boat (or not in the case) said we could contact the bank and tell them to refund the transaction. It might be worth a try.

So a ferry and a bus later I’m in a very wet Montevideo. I’m couchsurfing (www.couchsurfing.org) and staying with girl who seems very friendly and the place seems really nice. So while to BA side was bad, I have a positive feeling about the trip.

The only thing getting in the way are thoughts about jobs. It seems September was the start time for most of the jobs I would have liked and it will be Jan/Feb before  schools are looking for people again. There are jobs RIGHT NOW, but that would mean not seeing South America, which would be a shame after coming all this way. I think I’ll just put things of the back burner for now and see what happens with what I’ve applied for. Otherwise I can maybe stop somewhere along the way and do a little work to keep me going until the hiring season.

For now I will explore Montevideo and start planning the next leg of the trip.

 

A series of random (and sometimes unfortunate) events

OpenStreetMap Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s been a while since I last posted an update. Mainly because things have been a bit hectic and I haven’t really had time to sit down a sort out my own thoughts, but the story goes a little like this:

 

I returned to the UK after Indonesia with the intention of doing a PGDE (teaching qualification) at the university in Aberdeen. It had been quite a challenge to get into the school and get funding, mainly because of the distance and because I had been living outside the UK for so long. In the end, however, I was accepted.

 

I went back home and lived with my Gran for a bit and found a little job teaching English in Glasgow. It was a fairly nice time as I got to meet up with people, like my friend Paul who I hadn’t see for some time. I also got to see my family again – I had been unsure about living with my Gran but we ended up getting on really well. I also got a chance to meet up with my Dad for the first time in many years, which all seemed to work out well.

 

Despite all this, after a short time back in Glasgow I was ready to leave again. In part this was itchy feet, in part I was bored and in part it was the grim place that is Glasgow. I was excited about the idea of going to Aberdeen, but worried as well that it would be the same story as Glasgow – that is unimaginative people and generally grim situation all round -with a few exceptions of course.

 

I needn’t have worried. Shortly before going onto the course I got a phone call from Aberdeen telling me that the course I was planning to study had been cancelled due to their not being enough students enrolled. I have to admit I was disappointed, but it opened up a lot of opportunities and I found myself considering a whole world – quite literally – of options.

 

In the end my choices were narrowed down to returning to Indonesia; going to the middle east to make some cash or going to south America and chancing my luck. The Indonesia option was appealing on many levels. I like the place and the school, but I think my wander lust was pulling me in other directions. Saudi was tempting on some levels, not least as I could save up a little for my masters. However, the whole male/female separation did not sound fun. The south America idea was also tempting, not least because I could wait unit January and save up to do the DELTA course there.

 

Then a fourth option came up. A chance to go to Canada and see and old friend. So in the spur of the moment I decided to give that a go and ended up in Canada for three weeks. The trip had some nice moments and I even got a chance to visit the USA and I went to a casino for the first time – what tourist could resist going to an Indian casino? My friend even managed to win a couple of hundred dollars after playing the slots for a few minutes.

 

The trip, of course, came to an end and I found myself flying south to Buenos Aires in Argentina, where I still am now. I’ve been able to find a place to stay – although it’s a massively over priced box in a shared house. I’ve also found work with a couple of companies doing freelancing. I have to say, it’s not what I’m used to. The pay is terrible and it’s impossible to work out how much I’ll have each month as classes are often moved or cancelled (I don’t get paid if they give more than 24hrs notice). I’ll need to sit down an work it out, but I’m not sure I can afford to stay here with the amount coming out and going in. Argentina has massive inflation problems at the moment. It seems I couldn’t have picked a more “interesting” time, financially speaking

 

That said I enjoy the classes. It’s nice to be teaching adults again and the students I teach seem to be quite interesting people. Most of the work I’m doing is with mid-high up people in big companies like HSBC and Johnstone and Johnstone, which is something new for me. The people at the schools seem nice as well, but I miss the security of a proper job.

 

I’m also a little disappointed by BA itself. It seems like a regular slightly run down European city. I guess I was hoping for something more foreign. Or at least something with more of a South American flavour.

 

My plans for the DELTA also hit a familiar rut. I had been planning to do it as a distance course for the first of three modules and do the rest as an intensive in January/February. Of course, after I arrived I got a familiar sounds email which said something to the effect of delta one course being cancelled because there are not enough people – where had I heard that before?

 

So what am I doing here? Well it’s a good question and one I’ve asked myself quite a lot in the past couple of weeks. On one side, I don’t want to be too hasty. The work has been picking up and I have lots of classes now and city wise I get the feeling that there might be a lot of interesting people and places here if I could break the surface – maybe once my Spanish improves? There is also the option of doing all three DELTA modules in January and February – that is if I have enough money left and the course is not cancelled. So I guess I just need to wait and see what happens at the end of the first month or so.

 

Saying that, I’m also keeping an eye on the job boards to see if anything interesting comes up. If someone offers me an interesting well paid job, I’ll probably get on a plane.

Where next?

English: Not to be confused with Clapham London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Well I’m going to be 30 next month, so I guess it’s time to figure out what I want to do for the next decade or so. I’ve got a few ideas, but really not sure which to go with so some advice would be appreciated.

 

The biggest problem is cash. I’ve been thinking about investing in some further education, but it’s expensive and I’m not sure if it’s going to be worth it or not. That’s doubly so since I don’t want to do it part time. If I’m spending thousands of dollars I want to be able to focus on the course, not do it at night after a day of working.

 

Anyway here are some idea I have. I’m leaning towards option one or two but others are still possible.

 

Option 1 : Keep on writing.

I think no matter what I do I’ll probably still write, but if I save up enough it might be worth working then taking time off to write until I’m out of cash and then finding a job again. I could also use this time for meditation and other things like that.

 

The problem with this one is that I’m just not sure I am good enough to do it as a career and the chances of being picked up seem slim. It would be a long shot, but it might pay off.

 

Option 2: The Delta

The delta is a diploma for teaching English as second language. I have the basic certificate, but this is a step up and it would open a few door to such things as being doing IELTS exams and things like that. The course itself is not too expensive, at least I could probably afford it after my current contract, but paying for hotels and food while getting no income for two months, would pretty much burn most of my savings.

 

My problem is that I don’t know how much of a difference having the certificate is going to make. Would it pay for itself in the long term or would I still be doing the same job on the same pay but with another piece of expensive paper? If I knew it would pay off I would be tempted to go for this option as it would allow me to do option one more effectively.

 

I think the other thing that’s holding me back a bit is that I would like to move into something else. I have no idea what, but there might be something down the road.

 

Finally, I hear the course is tough and I’m worried that I wouldn’t pass, wasting my savings in the process.

 

 

Option 3: Masters

The masters is out of my price range at the moment for doing the in person course. There is the option of the distance course for a masters in TESOL, but it would cost around double the cost of the DELTA and I would have to work at the same time as doing the course. It would take two years to do and I’d think I would have to stay in one place while I do it. Again I’m not sure what, if any, doors it would open for me. I know there are some university jobs where a masters is needed, but from what I seen in Japan most of those places are over subscribed already. I’m not sure about other countries though.

 

I think I’d rather do a PGCE, or another teaching qualification, but it would mean doing two years full time back in the UK, which I couldn’t afford yet either. I’m wondering though if I could get certified in another country?

 

Option 4: Chinese

I’ve not looked into the prices, but my Chinese is not bad, although my writing needs some work. I’m tempted to see if I can get a place at a Chinese university for a year to study Chinese full time and see where that leads me. I think it would mean going back home to find a job though and I’m not sure if I’m ready for another year in China. I doubt my lungs could handle it.

 

Option 5: Stay still

I could just keep doing what I’m doing now and see if something comes up that interests me. I’ve thought about moving out the south America for a bit and teaching there. That, or maybe it would be good if I learned to stay still for a bit and stayed in the job I have now.

 

Option 7: Something else

I’m hoping that something will present itself that’s a bit different. Maybe I’ll be lucky and some opportunity will fall into my lap. Who knows.

 

Any advice? If anyone has any information on courses or had any experience with any of the above I would love to hear from you. Suggestions for alternative plans are also very welcome. 

Related articles

• The Turning of the TESOL Tide: The Rise of TESOL Qualified Non-Native English Speakers (tutoringtoexcellence.blogspot.com)

Chinese Copyright – An Oxymoron?

Let me start by saying that I’m not into China bashing. I think that in many cases China has become a scapegoat for western governments for problems that we have created ourselves through greed, jingoism and whole bunch of other things that are not really the point in this post.

However, one thing that has annoyed me a bit about China is the lack of copyright enforcement. For me it’s one of the biggest examples of China’s supposed “cheating” when it comes to international trade.

Now I’m not talking about home software or downloading films here. I personally don’t mind if a person who doesn’t have the money downloads an illegal copy of my book. Besides, most Chinese would not be able to afford a real copy of windows and would not buy a full price DVD (or my book) if it was available to them; the relative costs are just too much. And on that side of the argument publishers and producers only have themselves to blame.

For me the unfair part comes once we starting getting into companies, schools and other institutions. I’ve worked in four or five different schools, both public and private and not once have I seen a legal copy of software. In fact, once, when I was at the computer science department, I found an illegal copy of “XMLspy”. This is a product I was involved in developing when I lived in Austria. From what I’ve read and seen such piracy is common place throughout China. The book we had in the computer science department quoted the illegal software figure at over 90% of all software used.

Now I think China could have been forgiven for this ten years ago. But in the current state of things where China is rich and there are massive trade imbalances, it seems pretty unfair.

If you think about Altova, the middle/small company that I worked for in Austria. They’re spending a lot of money to develop that product, but getting nothing back from it. Yet some people in China are using it to make money from Austrian companies – possibly even Altova – through the products they manufacture. It’s a one way flow of cash for a two way flow of goods and services.

Moreover China has started moving in on creative industries as well, not just manufacturing. So who can create a cheaper application? The Austrian company that has to pay thousands for software licenses or the company that’s getting them for free? In this case the Austrian company is effectively subsidising the Chinese company by paying towards the development costs of the software. Without the one company paying, there would be no software for either.

 And it’s the same for all industries. The light bulb factory in Scotland has to pay its share of fees for software licensing, while the Chinese light bulb factory can use the products for free. It’s small part of the reason China can make cheaper bulbs. It’s especially hard for start up businesses where technology costs are can be a large part of the start up fees. It’s not a fair contest.

So what can we do about it? Well for a start governments have to start raising this issue with China more. In my admittedly limited experience with Chinese people is that if you stand up to them in a firm but polite way then you will get results. Not taking action seems to be seen as a green light to do something even when saying not to.  Although I do wonder how much control over ground level issues like this the government of China really has.

What’s really needed is a change in the mindset of the Chinese people – no easy task. And the only way of doing this is education, which is something that the Chinese government has to be on board for. But why wouldn’t they be?

The thing is, it’s not just in the West’s interests to improve the copyright law. It’s in China’s interests as well. If the reports I’ve read are true, China is trying to move away from its manufacturing focus and trying to develop its creative and service industries instead (or possibly as well as). But is anyone going to open a software company in place where they know that they will make no money for their products? Is anyone going to spend millions of investment in new technology only to have it stolen and sold for a fraction of the price?

Moreover, I think of my students in the computer science department. What jobs are there going to be for them in the future? Sure there will be some large scale developments and governments or military jobs, but that’s a small number of positions  compared to the number of graduates. Most, with their high education, will probably end up doing menial jobs in factories far away from their homes to pay the rent.

Frankly I don’t think there is a simple solution to this problem. But inaction is certainly not the way to go. Raising the issue with China is a start, but it means little without reciprocal financial punishments. On the other side, software companies have to start charging reasonable prices, based on an international mean for their products, so as not to keep pricing companies in low wage countries out of buying. Maybe with these and some other changes we can come to an agreement on a fair way to deal with copyright.