home sweet home

I've had an interesting experience that might be of interest to a number of you.

In my city, the Catholic archdiocese has an organization that provides services to the Hispanic community--things like English classes, some cheap medical care, and information on immigration law. The people who come for its services are overwhelmingly recent immigrants.

I don't have any certification as a teacher of English as a second language, but they plugged me into their program as a teacher right away. I got one hour of orientation, and I was on my way. They have a rather structured system so I'm never really on my own. I speak Spanish but that's not really necessary. So far I've gone twice, and worked with four different students. The teaching has been rewarding (although believe me, I'm working hard).

Of more interest perhaps to many of you is that both times I've had an attractive Latina flirt with me with some enthusiasm {that's two ~different~ women, guys, both of them pretty }. One of the women was from Colombia.

Now there's a problem with the flirting, as much fun as it's been: the organization wants me to work, and if I'm some kind of shark they won't let me stay long. But I'm in no hurry, and I plan to behave myself and do what I told them I'd do, which is teach English. But if I make some friends and one of my friends becomes a little more than a friend, I don't think the nun who runs the place is going to mind.

Someone told me that the problem with chasing women who are living in Colombia is that some of them may be so desperate to get out of a place with lots of violence and a crumbling economy that they may make a bad choice. On the surface, it seems to me that an advantage of meeting Latinas who are already here in the US is that the pressure on them will often be less. If they chase me, maybe it's really me they're chasing, and not a ticket out of a terrible situation. Plus, I feel less pressure: we'll still be in the same city a week from now, or a month.

There are no guarantees in anything in life, and there are certainly disadvantages to what I'm doing. But even if I don't find mi media naranja working at this place, I'm getting the hell out of the house, I'm practicing my Spanish, I'm helping some people, and I'm making some friends. Could be worse.

I'm still throwing a broad net. I'm going to be listed in the Miami office of Latin Destinations (cheap), and I'm going back to Colombia in a few weeks to spend some time with some women I've been talking to via phone and email. But even if I end up with a woman I've met in Colombia, when she gets here I'm ready to plug her into a support system--and she's going to need that.

Just to be clear:

The idea isn't necessarily that you should run out and start teaching English. But in your town there might be some other organization that provides services to Latin immigrants, and that group may be very happy to get some volunteers. If you're a lawyer, you can provide some free immigration advice. If you're a doctor, you can provide a couple of hours of free clinical care. If you're an accountant, they'll need help with their taxes. If you have a car, you could offer to drive people to appointments. And so on. You'll see a little of the Latin culture, get an education yourself, make some new friends, and maybe, just maybe, meet someone you don't want to lose touch with, ever.

Scott, I've been planning on doing the same thing - teach english. What city do you live in?

If these Latina flirtables aren't packing green cards already chances are they are here by limited means. Maybe they have student visas, or something like that, who's to say? That being the case they maybe have their visa seeking sensors already locked on to you.

timinbend:
I'm in Baltimore, but these days any fair-sized city is likely to have a place like this. In some places the Catholic Church will run it, in other places someone else will be doing it. Call the mayor's office. Call the Catholic diocese. Look around.

Cool Dude:
I'd agree with your point about being careful, but then I'm sincere in my intention to help the organization do their work. What I'm doing is a good idea if and only if you think you would enjoy the work aside from chance encounters with women. I am sincerely planning to make friends, teach English, and behave myself. I enjoy the teaching and I don't want to lose the opportunity to do it, plus I have an obligation to the people running the organization not to mess up what they're trying to accomplish by selfishly making the place my own personal dating service.

As for your point about visas, I hadn't really thought about it. I'd assumed all the women at this place had visas. In retrospect, that is one dumb assumption, isn't it? Thanks for the reminder.

scott,

I live roughly an hour away from you. Do you have the name & number of a contact there in Baltimore?

How many hours per week are required? What is the schedule like?

thanks

Scott,
My interests are similar to yours. I have considered teaching english abroad. My thought is that before I spend the money and time on a certification course, I would volunteer to teach and see if I enjoy it and am good at it.
I'm about to move to SW Florida so I'm guessing I will be able to find some opportunities - though obviously not like the Miami area. Thanks for those suggestions.
Tim

biave:

Where are you? Contact me at richmond145@aol.com.

Tim:

I'm familiar with the full certification path, and I've thought about that one too. But I've got a career and I'm not planning to leave. The place where I'm working doesn't require that; they're desperate, and they have their own way of teaching, which is VERY different from the academic approach. Wherever you're going, contact the Catholic diocese.

Gringos,

I was just reading some of the archives, and I found this thread again. I thought I would try to "revive" it to see if anyone has taught English through their local archdiocese recently.

Anybody with such experience?

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. I have no such experience, but have asked members of the local Catholic church about it. I was told that they do not have English classes per se, but that they have classes to prepare applicants for the citizenship tests and that they can't get enough volunteers for that. I intend to look into it further in fall when these classes start.

Chuck