(hip hop music)
- Good morning from Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador.
My name is Sue, and I'll be your ITA host for the day.
I hope you enjoy a day in the life of a teacher
in the Galapagos.
It's winter in the Galapagos right now,
so it's a little rainy this morning.
But I thought I'd take you on a trip down
to the Charles Darwin Science-tific Research Center
to go check out some iguanas.
(birds clacking)
Welcome to the fisherman's market,
where as you can see,
everybody enjoys getting in on the action.
(people milling) (seal barks)
I'm originally from Seattle, Washington,
and lived most recently in California.
And I did my TEFL course in Costa Rica
which is where I plan to return
after I'm finished here in the Galapagos.
Meanwhile, Mr. Charles Darwin here is
originally from England.
My work schedule here in the Galapagos
consists of four classes.
I have
two classes of kids, one small kids and one teenagers
and two one-on-ones with adults.
My workday here starts at 3 p.m.
which gives me the whole morning everyday to explore.
So on my way to the Charles Darwin research station,
one of my favorite places to enjoy my coffee
in the morning and pass this beautiful cemetery.
This the (speaks foreign language),
the route of the tortoises.
They have a captive breeding program here
to help the giant tortoises survive.
So I'll take you to come see
some of the amazing tortoises they have here.
So my pay rate here is $450 a month,
but as you can see,
it's about more than just what you get paid.
When you get a chance to see these guys up-close,
it's incredible.
One of my favorite things
about the beach I'm on my way to
is passing this family of iguanas.
These are marine iguanas that are only found
here in the Galapagos.
They swim and shoot excess salt out of their noses.
Every weekend here has been a complete adventure.
I've traveled to Isabela Island
which is another island here in the Galapagos.
I've gone snorkeling all around the island here.
And I've made a lot of really great local friends.
I gotta great question asking how I found this job.
I actually found it on tefl.com.
So, keep an eye out there
if you have a specific place you'd like to visit.
Got another great question asking
whether I prefer teaching adults or children.
Actually really enjoy the mix.
I appreciate the lack of classroom management with adults,
and the spontaneity of the kids.
In addition to my salary,
I also have housing provided for me.
So in order to save money,
I do a lot of shopping at the local market.
In the evenings here,
they have empanadas for $1.
A couple more questions to answer.
My monthly costs,
it's hard to say, I haven't really been keeping track.
But I do a lot of cooking at home.
And have found really cheap eats out.
So, I've been able to manage.
Another question, do I have any side hustles
to make more money?
Unfortunately, do the the Internet here
there's no bandwidth to speak of,
so I can't do any online teaching.
And my contract prohibits me doing anything else.
Well, normally I have all morning
to hang out and do fun stuff,
but today I have to come into school
in order to work on some paperwork
for the end of the semester which is on Friday.
Just finished up spending a couple hours
doing some end of semester reports,
and my lesson plans for this week.
So I'm on my way to school now to drop those off.
I'll show you the school, and it's just a moment.
Alright, just arriving at the school.
Welcome to the Galapagos Academy.
Well, is very common here in Galapagos
everything is closed at lunch time, including the school,
so there was nobody there for me to introduce you to.
But when I go back to teach in a little bit,
I'll introduce you to some of the teachers.
We don't have a washing machine at home,
but luckily there's one at the school
that they let us use.
And then I come upstairs to my apartment, dry my clothes,
so time to get some stuff off the line.
My preferred method of getting around town
is walking although there's great bike lanes,
and we were issued a bike with our apartment.
I really enjoy the exercise I get from walking
as well as the ability to stop and take pictures
of animals that I may encounter along the way.
A little hammock time before school for some relaxation.
But it's time to get real and talk about culture shock.
It's not all just fun and games and cool animals here.
There's a little stress sometimes, too.
So some of the frustrations I've run into along the way
include being forced to work
when I had 101-degree temperature and the flu.
So make sure to ask about that before accepting a job.
Probably my biggest frustration was with the phone company,
I could stop by to try to get a portable WiFi
and waited for 45 minutes only to have the lady
who checked me in who I told what I was looking for
tell me they don't have it.
One other thing I've learned through my experience here
is to ask about what you should be wearing
while you're teaching.
I found out after arriving
that they issue a uniform here.
And I could have packed completely differently
and brought my own snorkel and fins.
Despite all of that,
I have found a lot of ways to relieve my stress
including finding friends on the island,
not just human ones.
This little guy is a pal.
(children talking) Alright, just about time
to start my first class of the day.
Here are my students ready to learn.
Say, hi!
(laughs) Very enthusiastic today.
At the end of a long day teaching,
one of my favorite places to come is down to the pier
where you get to see some of the really cool animals.
(people chatting) (sea waves flowing)
And what day in Galapagos would be complete
without an evening check on the sharks?
With another successful teaching day in the books,
the only question left is, what to eat?
(Latin street music)
La.
(hip hop music)