Health Care Ain't So Easy

One thing to always worry about when living and working in a Third World Country is Health Care. It is not just quality, but so often the crazy rules other countries have are even worse then what we hear about the US system. Consider this situation I just dealt with here in Guayaquil, Ecuador:

My wife is bedridden due to pain from a herniated disk in her back. The Doctor prescribes a pain medication - 20 doses of 5mg each. I go to the one pharmacy in the area that carries that medicine. Can't help me. They have the medicine, but they only sell it in quantities of 30. Can't buy 30 because the prescription is for 20. They can'
t just call or fax the doctor to clarify or correct it, like a US pharmacist normally would do. Can't buy 20 because the minimum is 30. It takes a second roundtrip to the doctor and again to the pharmacy to get the medication.

Slammed, Study and being a Geographical Bachelor

Wow, things have gone from crazy to totally nuts!

Partly it is teaching at my school, Colegio Americano. We are set dead in the middle of our second quarter. You's think that things would have settled down into a rhythm, but no. Lots of teachers and clubs and everybody else are having school trips right now. In fact today (Tuesday) I will have only two classes all day, since everybody else are off gallivanting around. That really guts your teaching plans, as you see classroom hours melt away. Also, this is a middle of the South American flu season, so there are a lot of kids out sick right now. I suspect more are staying home than would normally due to Swine Flu concerns.

And then of course the history class I was teaching at nights is over (thank God)! It was a great experience but it was tough to get through with everything else on my plate.

Partly is Lisa left to go to the States for a few weeks, so I am at home holding down the fort with five dogs, three cats, two kittens and a bird. Plus, I had to go through another round of bureacratic nonsense to get a replacement Ecuadorian ID card which I had lost earlier at the same time I lost my passport on my previous trip to the States.

Add to that I am in the middle of taking a Critical Thinking class which is required for the teaching certification program I am working in online. It is not a bad class content wise, but it is quite a bit more "thinking" required than most - strange, hmm?

Plus I am trying to get together for my next trip to the States. I am going to Phoenix and Las Vegas for a week. Partly it is to at least see my wife for a few days during her vacation. Partly it is because I need to pass the APEA - which is the test you have to pass to get your Arizona teaching certificate.

Finally, I am pulling all the paperwork together so I can officially apply for conducting my final practicums. I think this part is so much fun. Not only is it paperwork intensive, but I find the fact that I am a working teacher with over 12 years of experience need to take 9 weeks of student teaching and Practicums in order to get my certificate to be ironic. Understandable on some levels, but dripping with irony nonetheless.

I did take a few hours off during the 4th of July. I went over to Colegio Americano where the American Community was having the typical 4th of July picnic stuff - games - food - music, etc. Good times - and all free too. I don't know who paid for it, it was some sort of a joint venture between the local American Consulate, InterAmerican Academy and Colegio Americano, but free beer, hot dogs and burgers is always a good thing

Swine Flu News Story - Closed School

Here is a translation of a news article in the Guayaquil newspaper "Expreso" announcing the closing of our school, Colegio Americano, due to the Swine Flu Outbreak.

"Cellular text messages calls were used by students of Colegio American to alert their parents of the presence of an outbreak of the virus AH1N1 in the institution. Near 10:00, and while an assembly was ongoing to choose the student leaders, the presence of the authorities of Education and Health of the Coast it interrupted the activities. The representatives of the Government informed the school administrators of the infection, tens of family parents arrived at the facilities to retieve their children. At 11:00 it was unusual to see as much activity at the entrances of the school. The constant traffic of vehicles drew attention of the passers-by, who prior to this had been ignorant of the situation. After the official news was announce, the students were held at the stadium of the institution. There, a brigade of the Ministry of Health explained the situation and gave instructions on what to do in case of presenting/displaying symptoms. The authorities of the school gave an official notice in closing of the establishment for 8 days. Also one of the representatives asked students, “like an act of citizen responsibility”, to stay in house and to avoid contact with third parties or to be in public places for 8 days, time that is for delay in the virus in presenting/displaying symptoms. In case of suspecting the contagion, it was requested for students to contact the Ministry from Health or authorities of the Colegio Americano."

Details on Swine Flu - School Closing

Now that the chaos has settled down, and I’ve had a good night’s sleep, here is a more detailed recollection of the Swine Flu outbreak at my school:

The day started knowing it would be chaos anyway. It was student council elections, which is pretty much an all day affair here at Colegio Americano. The schedule was supposed to be:

Period 1 – Normal Class
Period 2-3 – Assembly at the stadium to “present the candidates”
1st Recess – Normal
Period 4-5 – Normal Class
Lunch Recess – Prepare for chaos
Period 6-7 – Student elections.

Of course, here, student elections are more like a big run up to a massive soccer game here, with even more pageantry, but I digress.

The first thing that happened was there was no power to the secondary school, then there was, then there wasn’t. Since my room has few windows and is poorly ventilated without the electrically powered A/C-Fan unit, we switched from inside to me giving a lecture outside for my marketing class. First period finally over, it was off to the stadium.

Elections in Ecuador are quite different than what we do in the states. In the states, we vote for individual candidate who just happens to be a member of a political party. In Ecuador, you vote for a political party. You vote, and the members of the political party you vote for get office. So for our elections there were two competing slates – “Lista A” with their blue and white colors matching those of the Guayas state flag, and Lista B matching the yellow, red and blue of the Ecuador State flag (kind of like one being in the colors of the American flag while the other is in the colors of the flag of Texas, as an example).

First we start with some boring speeches by school officials about what we were going to do, and listening to stern advisements to all to behave in a “dignified and disciplined manner.” Then the student speeches started and the party began. With the student introductions there were horns blowing and confetti flying, with students singing and dancing to pounding drums in celebration after every speech and announcements of one of “their” candidates.

Great times, and I fully expect to regain my hearing in 2-3 weeks.

Finally, the candidates were sat down in chairs while school administrators asked each candidate a series of questions – two in Spanish and Two in English – with more singing, chanting and pounding drums made at every answer.

Then two final speeches from administrators about how the elections would proceed – and then there was a delay.
In fact, there was a delay that stretched on for quite a while.

With the whole stadium becoming restless, the principal finally came out to announce that members of the state’s health department were on the campus. One student who had just returned from a trip to Miami had just been diagnosed with Swine Flu, which officially was known as virus N1H1, and because of this classes would be suspended for eight days. And all hell broke loose.

The kids were cheering as if Ecuador had just scored the winning goal to win the World Cup Championship. This attitude changed fairly quickly, though, as Health Department officials removed the infected student’s course from the stadium to undergo examinations at the infirmary. Even more so as the minutes dragged on, and information was meted out piecemeal. This was not a vacation. Students would need to stay at home and not go to crowded public areas: no sporting events or extracurricular activities, no malls, restaurants, parties or movie theaters. Realizing what they had been hearing about the Swine Flu outbreak in the news, many students dived into their backpacks to pull out the breathing masks they used in chemistry. Others wrapped cloths over their faces. Some cried in fear. Many times I was asked, “Mr. Evans, are you worried?” and I would patiently explained why I wasn’t that worried, but that the restrictions were extremely necessary to follow to prevent a wider contamination.

Finally we were told that buses were arriving to take the children home, but that no one would be able to leave unless they first had been given an official notification that was being jointly made by the Health Department, Department of Education and the school. All of the students were dismissed to their 5th hour classes to await the notifications.

By this time a number of the students had checked their Blackberries to see that the school closing had already made the news on the local paper El Universo.

Finally the official notifications came. The students were sent off. There was a final meeting of teachers and staff, mostly saying that the same restrictions applying for the students applied to us as well. Classes would restart on May 25.

And home I went.

Swine Flu is Here!

Well, for those not knowing the breaking news, Swine Flu (excuse me, Infuenza virus H1N1) has hit Guayaquil, Ecuador - AT MY SCHOOL!

Yes, a young 13-year-old child who just returned from a trip to Miami on Sunday, and attended school on Monday for only 2-3 hours before going home sick, has been announced as Ecuador's first confirmed case. Our school was one of the first to know, due to the phalanx of department of health workers who descended on our school with no warning about 9:30 this morning. After a great deal of confusion, the student's classmates in Segundo Curso (equivalent of 8th Grade in the US system) were trotted off to the infirmary for a checkup - and a second student was quarantined for "suspicious symptoms" - school is canceled for eight days - until May 25th at least.

As for me, I am sternly cautioned to remain at home, avoid public areas and especially around crowded areas, maintain a high personal hygiene and take lots of Vitamin C. If a start to show any symptoms, I must immediately contact the department of health.

As my good buddy Justin is probably saying - Oh, Joy.

I think I'm feeling a bit feverish.

Wow! Is it really May?

Life is so crazy I didn't even realize it has been two weeks since my last blog. Lots of news to behold. I'll absolutely find it impossible to share it all but here it goes.

The first thing is that most things at school are going well. Classes are well established and the kids, for the most part, are into the swing of things. However, like most places there is a small percentage of students who are more interested in the quality of their nail polish or what other other students are doing with their lives than actually going to school for what a teenager is supposed to do (study, that was not a trick question). Anyway, It is three partial weeks and one full week in, almost halfway through the first quarter and I have my small cadre of students who are currently running a 19% or 32% grade so far. Tuesday notices go to parents so I probably will have a flurry of parent-teacher conferences right after.

The place where school is NOT going well is the schedule. We went three wees and everything was fine. Then the Powers That Be (PTB) announced a schedule change for the entire secondary school. Many teachers learned they were teaching completely different classes. Not I, since my classes are so specialized but it did scramble who I saw when. We got a full half day warning before the schedule flipped.

But when there is a flip there will be a flop, so when we walked into school the following Wednesday one of the admin assistants was waiting at the bus stop to hand out NEW SCHEDULES THAT WERE TO START THAT DAY! There were so many bad parts to this it could take me hours to vent. First, I had expected two prep periods that day, so I had been planning to use my lunch period to give some makeup tests to some students. I also had planned to spend some time during one prep period finishing some handouts to use during a couple of my afternoon classes.

With the new schedule, I had no prep periods, none. So with me having to pull duty during first recess, and the make-up tests during lunch, I did not have a single break for any reason all day. This meant I had no break to prepare my materials for my afternoon class. Worse, I now had classes for which were not previously scheduled for that day, so students showed up with no books, since many had left the books at home, thinking there would be no class.

In the few times I had a moment to speak to one of administration, I was not diplomatic in saying how horrid I thought this had been handled. Even worse in my book, we never received an explanation as to why the major schedule change was needed, nor received any reason why they couldn't wait even 24 hours to let teachers have a chance to adjust.

Grrr!

On a quasi-plus side, I've agreed with Blue Hill College here in Guayaquil to teach some history classes. I'll be teaching an American History, 1945-Present Class starting on May 5. Of course, I still am teaching a full spread of classes in the day, PLUS tutoring a group of pilots for their English Certification Test. PLUS I am still finishing off the first stage of a teaching certification program through a distance learning program.

No stress here.

Living in Guayaquil

Had a person I was exchanging some emails with ask me a bunch of questions about living in Guayaquil. I thought I'd share his questions and my answers here.

How do the Ecuadorians on the street treat you?

Very, very good. Very friendly, and if you have any Spanish they love to ask you about the US (the taxi drivers will talk your ear off). However, it is a city of over 2mil people so it has its bad areas and crime issues. It has a fair amount of economic crime directed at foreigners (pickpockets and the like) but violent crime against foreigners is almost unknown. There are some poor beggars and street kids hustling money by selling sweets, but overall it is very good.

How is the food?

It is near the Pacific Ocean so heavy on seafood, ceviche is very popular. Typical [i]almuerzo[/i] (lunch) is a soup (they do them good here) served with rice, beans, a vegetable or salad, meat, fresh squeezed fruit juice and a postre (small dessert) for about $1.50. Comida Typica (typical food) is heavy on vegetables, fruits (they have about 20 different types of bananas and plantains). Chifas are their version of chinese food which serve fried rice and noodle dishes. There are also a wide range of western style restaurants - TGI Fridays, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King, etc are everywhere if you need a fast food fix.

Cost of living?

This is a tough one. If you live mostly on the economy then it is very cheap. That means shopping mostly like the locals do and eating generally like an Ecuadorian - it is incredibly cheap. You could easily save 50-60% of your salary if you do that, and still travel and enjoy. However, meals at malls and chain restaurants like McDonalds etc are very expensive, while higher quality imported items are EXTREMELY expensive. So if you don't mind living on local resources (and Guayaquil is a fairly modern city) then COL is very low compared to your salary. Living like you are still in the States will become VERY costly.

Would it be easy to find a fully furnished/all bills paid apartment/condo/house that is near the campus/or near a bus line? How much for rent per month(US)?

We are in a very large townhome shared by 3 teachers for $580/mo, furnished (although we added a few things). plus utilities of about $75/month. It is very easy to get a fairly nice place on your own (with assistance from the school) in the $300 range in Urdesa or Kennedy Norte. Housing allowance is $400, so good deal.

How is the transportation system(city and country)?

Transportation is everywhere and extremely cheap but it is insane. Buses are everywhere, in fact any bus you want will almost certainly be along within 5 minutes, but there is no bus map so you simply have to ask until you find what linea works for you. Buses are cheap - $0.25 - but generally are crowded and dirty. Taxis are also everywhere, and you can go most places in town for $2-$5. Buses that go in between cites are also extremely frequent and cheap. You can pretty much go to any city in the country by bus for less than $15. Local air flights are convenient, but tend to be less reliable - $120 round trip between Quito and Guayaquil. Going to the Galapagos is VERY expensive.

How are the services: Internet, WiFi, electricity, telephone, water & sewage system, etc.

Mostly good but it is a Third World Country so there can be times of outages, especially during the rainy season of January-April. Water should not be drank, because of biologicals, but bottled water is widely available and relatively inexpensive. Local telephone service is very expensive. Most people have cell phones which is much cheaper, and do a lot of texting, which is even cheaper here. Many people, myself included, use VoIP providers like Skype because of the price. I can actually call the US for 10% the price of a call local $0.015/min US vs $0.12/min local Ecuador.

American School of Guayaquil

At the suggestion of a few of my friends, I am going to start posting some reviews of international schools around the globe. I’ll start with the school where I currently teach.

Colegio Americano de Guayaquil


This picture is some international teachers at Colegio Americano, circa 2008

General Description:

The American School of Guayaquil is a K-12, bilingual IB school with 1500 students. It is located in the city of Guayaquil (Pacific Ocean port), Ecuador. It follows the IBO World School program. The campus itself is a lush spread of acreage, widely shaded by trees, and populated by several dozen large, fierce looking iguanas (don’t worry, they are vegetarians)! It is run by its own school board, and actually has numerous activities. It has a separately operated Pre-K facility, Primary School, Secondary School, and it’s own Blue Hill College, essentially a small, private business college that holds night classes on campus and that works in concert with several international universities.

The facilities are a bit of a dichotomy. The primary school, Pre-K to 6th Course (the equivalent of 6th Grade in the US) is housed in modern buildings with excellent facilities (the picture above was taken in the Primary School area). The secondary school, Courses 1st-6th (equivalent of 7th-12th Grade US) are in much older buildings. Classrooms are fairly spare. While there are five large computer labs and a well-stocked library, there are no computers in classrooms. There is free WiFi that covers most of the campus and there are three computers in the teacher’s lounge for use, so technologically Colegio Americano lags many upper international schools in this regard.

Academics:

Academics are in Spanish and English, depending on the program the students are in and the nationality/ability of the teacher. The school follows a broad IBO International Baccalaureate degree program for all secondary students, with international degrees available for English Literature, Social Studies, History, Accounting, Economics, Business Studies, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Geography and others. Classes generally range in size from 25-35 students.

There are lots of extracurricular events, and teachers are expected to work several evening and Saturday functions without extra pay.

Students:

Students are generally from upper middle-class to upper class families. Most (about 97% are Ecuadorian with a few from other countries (Canada, South Korea and China, mostly).

Teachers:

Salaries for international hire teachers start at $16,000-$20,000/year depending on area of expertise and experience. The highest salaries tend to go to English Literature teachers. The salary is very high compared to what locals make, but it depends on how you live. Imported products are extremely high, but if you live mainly on local economy it is very cheap. Teachers can save about $700/month of their salary quite easily, $1000 or more if they are at the upper end of the pay scale or are a teaching couple.

Benefits include most of the standard items you expect for international schools including annual flights to home of record, 400$/Month housing allowance, assistance in finding housing, international health insurance (Clements), annual round-trip transportation, $450 excess baggage allowance, international courier service for letters, Spanish lessons (40 hours, basic Spanish), 3 staff polo shirts (optional).
Qualifications: Bachelor's, teaching certificate, appropriate experience and bi-cultural adaptability. Colegio Americano is not accredited under any international, US, UK or Canadian organizations, so they do sometimes consider uncertified teachers who have some teaching experience. You don’t need any Spanish, but a little helps. Being fairly competent in conversational Spanish is a huge help.

Guayaquil:

Guayaquil tends to be a love it/hate it type of place. It is Ecuador’s major port city, so it is heavily business oriented. At around 2 million people, it is also much larger than many think when they sign on. There are numerous Western-style Malls and a plethora of chain stores and restaurants like Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Burger King, Victoria’s Secret and many others. Right next to them might be a little hole-in-the-wall café that serves almuerzo (lunch) of soup, meat, vegetable, rice and a fruit juice for around $1.50 a person or less.

Gualaquil by itself has limited attractions. The shore-side Malecon 2000 is the main feature of the city, having 2.6 kilometers along the main estuary of shops, gardens, museums and Imax theaters. There are a wide range of concerts and special events that follow a typical latino taste. However one of the best parts of Guayaquil is its location. It is a short bus ride to the Pacific beaches of Las Playas, Salinas, and Ecuador’s famed Ruta del Sol. It is the main departure point to fly to the Galapagos Islands and it is conveniently placed to use as a springboard for trips to the Amazon Rain forest (Oriente) or the old Spanish Colonial cities of the Andes, Cuenca and Riobamba.

Like much of South America the police are largely corrupt and ineffective, and like most large cities there are a fairly large amount of property crimes against tourists and foreigners. However, if you are security conscious and aware you should have little problem. As an example, I have been in Ecuador three years and have never been the victim of a crime. Of course, I am a very big guy who keeps an eye on things. My wife, who is not nearly as aware as I am, has been pick pocketed three times during the same time.

Overall, Colegio Americano is a good place to cut your teeth in international teaching, or to use as a springboard to travel throughout South America.

International Day

My school, Colegio Americano, is truly not an international school in the strictest sense. It is, however, the type off the vast majority of "international schools" out in the world, the type that offer an English language medium curriculum to local students. Lisa's school on the other hand, InterAmerican Academy, is a true international school in that the students are primarily from the international community of Guayaquil. While Colegio Americano is about 98% Ecuadorian, InterAmerican is about 40% Americans, 40% other nationals and the remaining approximately 20% being students of local Ecuadorian families.

One great thing they do is have a great celebration every year on a Saturday, International Day, where they celebrate the diversity of their community. People show up in traditional dress, set up booths where they show off typical art and sell food from their countries. meanwhile there are lots of activities for children such as making Chinese paper crafts, Korean jump rope and many other things.

The food most in demand came from the Korean and Indian booths, with the booths of Ecuador and the USA following close behind. Lisa's 8th grade students had an activity where they had the smaller kids coloring in flags of their favorite countries. It was a sizzling hot day, but there was lots of fun times for all.

Salverston?

Who am I?

Well, my real name is Richard Evans, a 48-year-old teacher living and working in Guayaquil, Ecuador. My somewhat farcical pen name is Salverston J. Saddlebelly, Esq, something I concocted decades ago while in high school and have used it for all things odd and amusing. Me? In South America teaching Ecuadorians? That can be about as amusing as it can get.

While I backed into teaching, my wife has been one of those amazingly solid folks who have magically dedicated to helping the next generation (and the next, and the next) get a smart foot as they step out ahead to their future. She has been teaching English and Spanish for almost 30 years. Myself, I was originally a journalist, then an Army guy, then got into business. Then figured that my wife was setting a wonderful example so I've made my fourth career change.

While my degree is in Social Studies, right now I am teaching Business and Marketing at a private college prep school.

This blog is here to explore the wonders of international teaching, and travel throughout the world.