Hired! My New Position Teaching at the Fulbright Commission

As promised, here is an update on my job search!

I am extremely excited that I have been hired to work as a full-time English teacher at Fulbright Ecuador! Here is their main page and here is more about the program.

Before I tell you more about the job, let's go back in time to see how I got here.

As many of you know about 10 months ago I was sending a different type of application to the Fulbright Commission (click on the link to learn more about the US based programs). I originally applied to go to teach English in Turkey for a year. Fulbright is an incredibly competitive program, so I was disappointed, though unsurprised to be rejected in January. After some reevaluation (and a few more rejections from different programs), I decided it would be smart for me to get my TESOL certificate. I researched programs and found the TESOL course I participated in here in Quito through EIL Ecuador.

As I will talk about in the following post, the job search was a bit of a struggle...I owe a special thank you to my teacher trainers for connecting me with the head of the Fulbright English Teaching Program (EIL Ecuador did not help with this one bit!) I filled out an application, had an interview, and have been sitting in on a few of the classes as the current cycle finishes up.

Because Fulbright is a language institute, they work in cycles rather than following the typical school calendar. Each cycle is 10 weeks long with a 2 week break between (longer breaks in September and December).  I will be working with university students and young professionals 18 years and older. This is also means that class times are varied to work around their schedules. I will be teaching 7-9 am and then 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm Monday-Thursday and occasional Fridays/Saturdays.

I start with the next cycle, which will begin September 23. There are 8 levels in the Fulbright ETP, and I will be teaching 3 classes of Level 2. I don't know how many students I will have in my classes yet, but class sizes are typically between 8 and 16.

I am very very excited about this job, and can't wait until I can share my experience with you all!

And since I don't like posts with no pictures...enjoy some recent culinary creations from home!

Who says Ramen can't be classy/nutritious?

Burrito night

Homemade micheladas (beer, chili, and lime in a salt rimmed glass, it's actually Mexican, but very popular here in Ecuador as well) and veggie/bean stir-fry