Cost of Living is Going Up

It should come as no surprise that the cost of living is going up. Afterall, inflation happens. Yet the problem with Peru is that because it IS a third world country, it's hard to live ok. You either have to fight the idiots on the combis or get a crazy taxi or your own car. There's no middle ground.

Housing costs are going up and that bubble's going to burst soon.

Transport fares are on the rise as well.

Food is getting more expensive.

Seems like the only thing that's not going up is salaries.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

Teach English Abroad

Knowing English opens up a world of possibilites as far as jobs and travel go. Due to this, more and more people are studying English and therefore need English teachers. Teaching English is a great way to travel the world and get paid to do so.

Whether you're looking to teach for two years or twenty, Teach English Abroad: The Complete Guide has everything you need to know. With 3 books and access to a members-only website you'll be on your way to teaching overseas.

The Guide to Countries is one of four parts of Teach English Abroad: The Complete Guide and it will give you the lowdown on 62 countries around the world. Countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East are all covered extensively. You'll find out about the salaries, cost of living, paperwork involved, and chances of getting a teaching job. Popular countries such as Korea and Japan as well as lesser known ones such as Laos and Paraguay are included in this guide.

The second part of Teach English Abroad: The Complete Guide is The Guide to Jobs tells you how to find the best ESL job out there, whether it's advertised or not. You'll find out where to look for job and what the most popular ESL job boards are. You'll also learn teaching methods and the truth about TEFL certificates. Included in this ebook are sample CVs and cover letters to help you create a stellar CV that will stand out from the rest. Many teachers teach private lessons and there's a whole chapter on how to get private students. There are also insider tips that tell you how you can make even more money by teaching online and freelancing.

How to Teach English as a Foreign Language is the third part of Teach English Abroad: The Complete Guide and contains valuable information such as how to teach the four skills, sample lesson plans, and tips on classroom management. The 111 page guide also has information on placement tests and where to look for material on the web.

The last part of Teach English Abroad: The Complete Guide is the Members-only website has thousands of links. All 62 countries mentioned in the Guide to Countries can be found here with links to job offers, language schools, embassies, or even English newspapers. You'll also find general links such as ESL job boards and recruiting agencies. There is also an active discussion forum, so you can find out about your chosen destination before you arrive.

So what are you waiting for? Click here to get Teach English Abroad: The Complete Guide and soon you'll be on your way to living your dream. With a 60 day money back guarantee you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

30 Days to Move Abroad

If you're thinking of moving abroad you're probably feeling daunted about everything that has to be done, from packing to visas to finding a job. 30 Days to Move Abroad makes moving overseas a breeze.

Their guide is chocked full of information. You'll find tips on what to pack and what to leave behind. Learning the language, budgeting, and finding a job is also covered. Of course, you'll want to travel in country so they discuss driving tips as well. If you're going with your family, you'll find their section on bringing children and pet particularly useful.  You'll also learn what documents you should bring with you and who to contact in case something goes wrong.

Written by a team of expats in Portugal, 30 Days to Move Abroad is exactly what you need to take the stress and anxiety out of moving abroad. Included in their guide is the A-Z of Moving Abroad, which covers how to choose the right country, setting up a business, buying foreign property, your children's education, and much more.

Everything you need to know about moving abroad can be found in this book. They also offer a 60 day money back guarantee, so you've got nothing to lose. Click here to go to 30 Days to Move Abroad and in a month from now you could be living in your dream destination.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

Naturalised Peruvians on the Rise

More and more people are getting Peruvian citizenship. I remember when I got mine a couple years ago, people questioned me about it. My motivates weren't the best, but some of the people had been in Peru for much longer than I had and swore that they'd never get citizenship, but things changed.

I think the elections of 2011 caused people to get citizenship. They wanted to vote because they were scared of the outcome. While getting citizenship from a first world country, like England, France, or Spain is one thing, I really don't understand why first world citizens get third world citizenship.

When I was in the naturalisation office I had to deal with idiots who told me I HAD to change my name, yet a friend of mine didn't. Actually, no man I know has had to change their name, seems like only women do.

In addition, everyone there was there because they were Peruvians born abroad and were trying to get citizenship. This was back in 2008. Now I've been told things have changed.

I know one thing's for sure: my motivates for getting citizenship weren't the best and I'd much rather have citizenship from a first world country: one in Europe would be nice.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

I Teach English Online

Teaching English online is a great way to earn extra money from the comfort of your own home. John Buchanan has written How to Teach English Online and Get Money.

He'll take you through each step and show you how to start and maintain your very own online teaching business. Teaching English online is extremely popular and this is proven by all the online teaching adverts out there. The problem with that is that you have to deal with a middleman and they take a cut of your earnings. However, by setting up your own school you can avoid the middlemen and keep all the profits. 

Online English teachers usually make between $15 and $30 an hour. The best part is that you don't have to waste time or money commuting to work. Teaching online allows you the freedom to work from anywhere in the world.

You'll get valuable information, such as a checklist of what you need to do, conversation questions to ask students, vocabulary words to teach students, how to attract students, how to get students via youtube, and more. Whether you want to make a little extra cash by teaching online or are ready to make it a full time job, click here to go to I Teach English Online.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

Lack of Libraries: Low Literacy

I didn't miss food so much as I missed libraries when I lived in Peru. I guess I was spoiled to grow up near one of the best libraries in the state. Peruvian libraries just can't hold a candle to US ones. In an early post I wrote about the low literacy rates in Peru and how the government was fighting against illiteracy, but in my opinion, is making some big mistakes.

First off, I used to live across the street from the National Library. One day I decided to go visit and I didn't even get to see one book. Getting into the building is hard enough due to the lack of signs and security guards asking you what you're doing (Um, trying to get books?). So I went into a massive hall and went to the desk and asked to go in. Nope, I was refused entry. (Remind me again WHY I pay taxes if I can't even use the library). They said that I needed two reference letters and a letter from my university saying I was studying. There were fees, but since I was technically a student, I was extempt.

I couldn't believe it!

To make things worse, I later found out that you couldn't even TAKE the books out of the library. Kind of defeats the point of a LENDING library, doesn't it?

Needless to say, I left, extremely pissed off, yet completely understanding why so many Peruvians are illiterate.

So I decided to go to Britanico and ICPNA and buy a membership to their libraries. I never actually used the Britanico one, but I did use the ICPNA one: I wasn't impressed.

You could borrow 2 (TWO: whoop-dee-doo) books and they had to be returned in prestine condition. I was slapped with a 30 soles fine and banned for two months when one of the pages bent on a 40 year old book. Seriously? I'd hate to think of the poor kids who check out kids' books. To make things worse, I had joined so I could research for my thesis and none of the books I needed could be checked out. Of course there was no copy machine either; you had to request copies: max of 10 and it took 2 days to get them. Again: seriously?! Oh, and you had to check your bags, they were so afraid you'd steal something.

And don't get me started on the toilets there. No soap and no TP was the norm. I went to complain once, it was a Saturday morning. I was told that the kids from the children's classes must have used up all the soap and TP for the day. They weren't allowed to use more than the quota for the day. Once again: seriously?! That's gross. Peru's not exactly a clean country, I can't believe they don't care about all the germs that would get on their precious 40 year old books.

Britanico library is supposed to be nicer. I know it's bigger since I had a tour. Though I lived farther away. I guess there's always a next time!

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

Free Inca Trail Packaged Tour

Details can be found at http://www.karikuy.org/contest. Contest is open to everyone and ends this February 29th. Wish you all the best.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

For Better or For Worse: Peruvian Education

My husband has recently told me he wants our daughter to study in Peru for 3 to 5 years. I nearly fell off my chair when he said that. Before he said if we had kids, he wanted them to go to Peru for 6 months to experience the culture. 6 months in one thing, 5 years is another.

Now, I'm not getting on my high horse and saying that I want our daughter to study in the US either.

However, education in Peru is a bit of a nightmare. Private schools are ok-ish, though high grades are handed out like candy. I was told to change Bs to As, since my students were in therapy and a B would "undo everything the therapist had done".  When I refused to change the grades, the homeroom teacher changed them for me. Nice.

Public education in is horrid, especially after the results came out a couple years ago saying the average teacher in the public schools knew just as much as a fifth grader did. The way they care for schools is atrocious. Graffiti, overgrow school yards with weeds, rotting buildings, broken windows, and unhinged gates are just a couple of examples that I saw at the school on Benavides: in Miraflores to boot!

Alan gave 25 schools money to fix things and there were banners proclaiming all this. Though if you took into account the amount he gave and the number of schools, it came out to about $3000 per school. Not much, even in Peru.

Hopefully things will change, though it's going to take a while. One thing I know for sure, is that students who study at home are a heck of a lot smarter than those who go to school. No matter where that school is located.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

Synergy Spanish

Think you need to study for years to get by in Spanish? Synergy Spanish disagrees. Traditional ways of learning languages don't work. It all boils down to grammar. Something that both students and teachers hate.

Sitting in a classroom and memorising verb conjugations just doesn't cut it in the real world. Traditional methods put way too much emphasis on getting the grammar correct and totally ignore the way that people naturally learn a language. Marcus Santamaria (in the picture on the left) has put together Synergy Spanish based on his years of language teaching experience.

By starting with 138 words, you'll begin to branch out and be speaking Spanish before you know it. Phrases can be built to form sentences and thousands
of phrases can be learnt based on the initial 138 words. For example, learning the cognates helps since many English words that end in "ify" can be changed into Spanish by changing the "ify" to "ificar". Marcus has divided these words into 30 categories and you can learn over 3000 Spanish words this way. Synergy Spanish is divided into 5 sections.

• Talking about yourself. Instead of memorising useless vocabulary like animals, he starts you out by having you talk about yourself.
• Sentences starters and sentence builders use the knowledge you have from the 138 words he starts you off with.
• You'll learn useful words and phrases related to travel so that when you go to a Spanish speaking country things won't get lost in translation.
• Speaking to groups of people is next.
• You will learn to communicate in any situation. By learning Spanish naturally you won't be stuck trying to conjugate verbs or translate from English to Spanish.

Marcus created this course based on his experience as an English teacher and Spanish student. He has made learning Spanish fun and easy so that you can start learning today. If you have any questions, you can even email him. Take a look at the course Marcus Santamaria created: Synergy Spanish.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.

Housing Prices are on the Rise

If you're looking to rent or own a place in Peru you're in for a shock as prices are going through the roof. You'd think they'd learn from other people's mistakes: mainly the US. However, they haven't. Things are going well now for people as mortgages are easier to get and owners are charging high rents.

The bubble's going to burst though. Maybe not right away, but give it a couple years and it will. My advice: pay off your mortgage. Save the rent you're getting from your tenants if you're renting your place out. Things will get tough in a couple years and this is partly due to the fact that more and more places are being listed in dollars rather than soles.

Resources: Check out the Ultimate Peru List's recommended ebooks and The LA Jobs List's free list of schools in Peru.