Loja: Getting a job, apartment, and starting paperwork.

About 25 days ago, I arrived in Loja, Ecuador. While I was planning the trip and praying about Ecuador, Loja had already stuck out to me. When I got here, I knew it was the city for me. It's relatively small for a city in Ecuador, and an incredibly walk-able city. In general, it's tranquil without a lot of traffic (in comparison to other Ecuadorian cities). As far as safety, I have no problems walking by myself during the day to any place I need or want to go. And like any city in the world, there are areas to avoid going alone and/or at night. I also take extra measures not to carry many shopping bags with me when I walk from place to place: backpacks help with that. The small size of Loja makes it incredibly easy to meet up with friends within minutes of making a plan to get together.  That is probably my favorite thing about Loja.

My friends did almost everything!

After arriving here, I quickly began job hunting and apartment searching. I was looking for jobs at Language Academies and private high schools. Language Academies here in Ecuador are privately owned institutions where children, teens, and adults pay to receive additional language classes. They see the value in learning another language: especially English. Almost all of my English teacher friends here have 2 jobs, and one includes work at an Academy. I also needed to find a job at a private school because it would be tremendously difficult with paperwork to work at a public school. Ecuador has a complex public educational system, and it's not the easiest thing in the world to get into that system as a teacher. With the apartment search, all I wanted was something close to the center of town, furnished, and a reasonable price.

Let me tell you: things happen fast when you have connections! I don't know what I would have done without my friends. Everyone has been completely supportive of me. To be truthful, I did very little to get the job interviews. As soon as they heard I was looking for a job, my sweet friends Karen and Luzma, my buddy Hover, and other friends/family of friends started making calls. Within a few days, I had 3 interviews at private high schools and 2 interviews at Language Academies! Karen and her dad also basically set everything up for me with apartments too. He would find an apartment listing, and she would call to see about the price range. My only job was to show up after everything had been scheduled for me. It was amazing how much my friends did for me. I'm fully grateful for what they did! 

Job Interviews: The roles reversed 

I had no idea what to expect at each job interview. I didn't know if I'd be talking in English or Spanish. I didn't know if I'd be talking to the Principal, the head of the English department, a Human Resource person, or all three. I didn't even know where the schools were located. Needless to say, I was nervous. I brought my resume, and a few other documents to each one. I was also prepared to answer a lot of questions and ask a few of my own.

Aslan

Most of the interviews were done in Spanish, and I met with a variety of people at each place. (Believe me, I was nervous to speak all in Spanish. When your license says you teach a language, you better speak clearly when interviewing with native speakers for a teaching position.) Some interviews would take place the same day they called me. One morning, I received a call at 10a.m. and was asked if I could come in for an interview at 11. That's Loja for ya!

The craziest part of most of the high school interviews is that most of the time, I felt as though I was the one interviewing. I would get there, and after the first few minutes of looking over my qualifications, most would open the floor for me to ask questions or tell them what I wanted. Instead of an offer, they would ask me questions like: "What salary do you want? What grades do you like to teach? What about English levels: what levels do you prefer to work with?" They wanted to accommodate me: my needs and my wants because they believed I had already met theirs, I guess. Towards the end of each interview, I said that after some time I would get back to them. They would make vague comments about hoping to hear good news from me, but not directly say I had the job. I assumed their comments meant they wanted me to work with them. People from the States tend to be more direct.    

The same week with all the interviews, I was looking at apartments. After checking out a few, I found one that fits my needs and wants. It's in the center of town, within walking distance of all that I need, at a good price and furnished. I also love the view from each window. I moved in about 10 days ago.

The results

It was definitely a hectic week. After consulting with some friends and praying, I made my decision. I could have written about it sooner, but there were still things to work out. Now, I feel more confident so I can say that, as long as everything works out with my visa and some other paperwork, I will work at Ateneo and Fine Tune English Academy!

I'm very excited that things are coming together for me here in Loja! The work of getting fully set up is still underway. I still need to get legal documentation from the government of Ecuador, while setting up all the paperwork to open a bank account. I also have to get an extension on my tourist visa because the work visa will not be available before my tourist visa expires. Please pray for patience in all the areas that I cannot control and peace that everything will work out in due time. I feel like I don't say it enough: Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. Thank you for reading this.
Melody