Data entry job in L.A. = hella baht in my pocket

I got a job! Saving money for this trip just got a lot easier.

I’ve said from the start that this whole experience is an act of fate. The money hasn’t exactly been flowing on high for me for years, really – certainly not since I graduated from college. And my apartment burnt down. And I got my license suspended. (I digress.) But something always told me that everything would work out. Even as I ranted expletives about my dire straits, something still told me it would all be okay. Better than okay, it would be amazing!

Enter my dear friend Leslie King. She’s amazing. An inspiration, really. She got me a job at a production company and now I can diligently savor the sweet relief of employment (above). Also, I got a $525 traffic ticket talked down to, how much? $300? $200? Um… try $0 baby!

But it’s not all about money. As much as I can worry about it, it isn’t until I relax and allow myself and my circumstances room to breathe that things really start to work out. I elect to work with time, not against it. And I vow to not let the “zero” get in the way of my “jet set”, because if there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that with an open mind and heart, it doesn’t matter how hollow your pockets are. If you can take time to just be, fate will remind you just how sweet it is.

Special thanks to Leslie, Commissioner Alan Rubin, and my Mom. I’ll try to cuss less in future video blogs. (Try.)

Have you ever wanted to make a change?  Take on an adventure? Tell your story to the world? Change your life? 

Well, here’s your chance.

Jet Set Zero is looking for 1 or 2 more cast members for season 8.  This season starts in August and we’ll be closing applications as soon as we find the right person for the job.  The sooner you get in your information, the better.

Click the image above or right here to read more about how to apply and what happens next.

Good luck.  We’re waiting to hear from you.

(Version française plus bas)

My teaching experience in Quito wasn’t very satisfactory, so I quit. But I couldn’t see myself not working. Why? Because I don’t see myself spending money for two months without making any money. And above all, because this is Jet Set Zero, and the point is to show that you can travel by working while traveling.
Thus, even though it’s hard for tourists to make enough money to survive and travel in Ecuador, I decided I would look for something else.

So I had to ask myself: what should I do? What do I want to do? What could I do?

Mulligan's. The sports bar where I am a waitress.

(more…)

(Version française plus bas)

So, as you already know, I quit my job as an English teacher.

I enjoyed being in front of my students teaching them, but I didn’t like what surrounded the actual job: my schedule, the little things that happened during my first week, some people there, working more hours than I was supposed to without getting paid for it, being paid 15 dollars less than I was supposed to for my first week of work. I felt my boss kept asking a lot while she really gave nothing in return. The last straw was on a Sunday morning when I opened a file she gave me to edit: 130 pages!

Seriously?! Didn’t she tell me ”relax and have fun this weekend” when I left school on Saturday at 1.30pm? How am I supposed to do that when I have a such a file to edit, which some students need the next day? Sure she didn’t ask me to do it during the weekend, but when else could I do this kind of thing?! I simply didn’t have time during the week!

So on Monday morning I went to my boss’s office to ask her if she was still planning to hire another teacher, as she had been saying she would do for the past two weeks. She asked why I was asking with big, bulging eyes. I said I couldn’t go on like this, that she would had to pay me more for the extra work. She said I didn’t work that much more, that I didn’t need to work at home over the weekend and that I should be able to prepare each lesson in 10 minutes.

(more…)

Edison, 12 years old,  was a  boy I happened to meet while walking around Quito´s many plazas in the historical center. (more…)

It’s funny, sometimes you get what you want in life and then you realize it’s not what you wanted after all.  After teaching all last year in South Korea I thought I’d probably want to do the same as I traveled around South America, since it was a great way to earn money and get to know my new host country.  Teaching in S Korea vs Latin America is completely different and worthy of a post of its own, but more on that in the future.  On the road you often times learn things about yourself, in my case, I learned that when I travel I don’t like to work and vice versa.  I was having a hard time balancing doing the things I love (travel, photography) while teaching, which I still love and look forward to doing in the future once I figure out where I want to call home.  The way I see it is like this, we are only on this adventure for a finite amount of time so why not make the most of it? I have learned a few words in Quechua, the local Andean dialect, and one phrase that has stuck with me is Chulla Vida, that means life is short so do what makes you happy.  What makes me happy is running through crowded bus depots, haggling with cabbies, getting lost in the jungle, hiking the Andes, trying strange foods and capturing it all for my friends to see when I get back home.  I will keep doing what I am doing and see where it takes me.

Jet Set Zero is growing.

We are looking for our first ever intern to help with the behind the scenes work that keeps the show going – everything from helping manage new projects and collaborations to working with content and outreach.

The responsibilities of this position run the gambit from coordination, content and meetings with our cast all over the world to outreach on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. This position absolutely requires flexibility and the ability to learn new tasks quickly.

Key responsibilities include:

• Coordinating with cast members around the world to ensure timely and organized delivery of digital content (photos, videos, blog posts).
• Organizing and distributing digital content from cast members  to social networks and the production team.
• Selecting and uploading photos, featuring blog posts, and viewer interaction across jetsetzero.tv, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks.
• Coordinating with guest authors and partner sites for collaborative projects and guest posts.

We would strongly prefer someone familiar with html, CSS, and WordPress.

At the end of the day the only key requirements for this position are:

• A superhuman attention to detail and obsession with organization.
• Basic tech savvy.
• Ability to learn quickly and troubleshoot problems independently.
• Excitement for what Jet Set Zero does, and a desire to learn more about how it all works.

We expect about 15 hours/week of work, and this can be done remotely from anywhere in any time zone. As long as you have good communication skills then we can make it work.

This position starts immediately (well, as soon as we find the right person).

If you are interested in some day being a producer, videographer, cast member or otherwise on Jet Set Zero, this is a great place to start.

We’re willing to train the right person in all of these areas and to answer questions and just explain in general how everything works behind the scenes; however this is an unpaid position.

Please send all résumés, cover letters, stories, photographs, tall tales, sculptures, presents, paintings or other qualifying materials to: jobs@jetsetzero.tv

Lynne and Courtney Circa 2007 - Cirie, Italy

Moving to a different country without a clearly defined plan is definitely the way to go, with one major exception: finding employment. On the job front, doing a little research before you leave can pay off BIG TIME.  It did for team Italy!

As of next week all four of us will be teaching English to Italian children at English immersion summer camps throughout Italy with a non-profit organization called ACLE.

JOB FACTS:

• I found ACLE through a Google search in 2007 and it was my ticket out of my corporate job.
• Lynne and I met in Italy working for this very same program three years ago. Our Jet Set Zero experience will be a reunion of epic proportions.
• Sarah and Perrin are ACLE newbies.  Hazing rituals likely.
• ACLE has an important mission: To prove that the “traditional Italian scholastic system of “chalk and talk” fails to stimulate the emotions and energy that an entertaining atmosphere can provide.
• Instead of  lectures and boring workbook lessons, we’ll be teaching English through songs, theater, art, games, sports and multi-cultural activities.
• ACLE + Italy = one delicious summer.

A lot more on our sweet summer job soon, but for now check out these excellent sites to begin YOUR international job search:

Jobs Abroad
Teach Abroad
National Association of International Educators (NAFSA)
Craigslist (Search Europe/International Jobs)
Dave’s ESL Cafe
Expat-Blog (read success stories and get tips from other expats)

The first major hurdle in Quito was finding a place to call home which we did in a very short amount of time, I arrived on a Wednesday night and we were moving into the the 3 bedroom on Carrion Street that Monday afternoon. Job hunting has not been easy for us in Quito. I have been pounding the pavement on foot, by taxi and on the public buses. I have gone to 4 or 5 schools where I have been asked to fill out an application and leave my resume, then I’m usually told “Thanks for stopping by. Someone will be getting back to you shortly.” This is the time to hustle and keep our noses to the grindstone. I did go to an elementary school this weekend in a very colonial part of the old town where I met with the principal and he seemed very receptive and loved my CV. One issue I am finding is not physically having my degree with me in Quito is apparently closing some doors for me as schools need this to verify your education. After the last interview I got on the horn with my family back home in Chicago and hopefully they can send it my way this week. My goal is to have a job before the month is out.

(Version française plus bas)

I have a second part-time job: I am now a French tutor ! My students are the mothers of two children I work with at the day-care center. One is Brazilian, the other is Japanese. I teach six and a half hours per week and I get paid 8 dollars per hour. I know it is not much for a private tutor, especially since it takes me the same amount of time to prepare the lessons. But, considering that I have little tutoring experience, that I enjoy doing it, that it’s a good opportunity for me to review some gramatical rules I have forgotten, and last but not least, that my students are extremely nice, I’m very happy with 8 dollars/hour.

Besides, I have started teaching workshops now and then to a group of French speaking Vietnamese students who will do their master’s degree in France. So much work, so much time, but so much fun! YAY!

* * * * * * *

DEUX JOBS ET DEMI

J’ai un deuxième travail à temps partiel: je suis désormais tutrice de Français! Mes étudiants sont les mamans de deux enfants dont je suis la maîtresse à la crèche. L’une est brésilienne, l’autre est japonaise. J’enseigne six heures et demie par semaine à 8 dollars de l’heure. Je sais bien que pour un professeur particulier, ce n’est pas beaucoup. Mais enfin, vu que je n’ai pas beaucoup d’expérience dans ce domaine, que j’aime ça, que ça me donne l’occasion de revoir des règles de grammaire oubliées, et que mes étudiantes sont très sympathiques, ce forfait horaire me convient pleinement.

D’autre part, j’ai commencé à animer des ateliers pour des étudiants vietnamiens francophones qui s’apprêtent à faire leur master en France. Tellement de travail, tellement de temps, mais tellement de plaisir! Youhou!