Destination: Bolivia

Bolivia is an interesting country is South America. It’s intriguing, but unfortunately, there is not a lot of good information about it on the net. Maybe it is because a lot of the teachers who choose Bolivia as their destination are not able to share the information as much as teachers from other destinations are.

In an attempt to rectify this, I scoured the net for information and came across this report from a Mr. Martin. He has graciously allowed us to post this article here on this site. It’s the information you need to know to teach in Bolivia.

Bolivia Information
I came here with the TESOL qualification, but that doesn’t seem to be an essential.

I started with one Institute very quickly and they were paying just under 2 dollars an hour. However they made great promises about training days that they never kept, so I left fairly quickly. I walked into another and was asked if I could start the following Monday, which I did. They paid 4.2 dollars an hour and were much better. You can get more money if you are qualified, which I am, and if you like teaching children which I don’t!!!

I stayed at the second Institute for just over 18 months and also started to teach in house, as the Institute was usually only for three hours a night. Eventually, I changed to just teaching at home as a). it’s easier and b) I was fed up with teaching teenagers and adults who were often only there because their parents could afford the tuition fees.

A word about the economy here. It’s the poorest country in South America and the average professional wage is 140 dollars a month. Therefore, most people live with their families, in some cases even after they’re married. You should be able to get a reasonable apartment for about 100 dollars a month, and food is very cheap with fruit and vegetables in plenty and of course an abundance of chicken. They have something here called almuerzo, (a 3 or 4 course lunch), and it’s usually about a dollar in most restaurants.

I love it here and get on very well with Bolivians. It’s only fair to point out that, though, that unrest is always here, and there are periodic protests and outbreaks of violence. The ex-President resigned at the end of 2003, which may have prevented a Civil War!!

Cochabamba is a city of about half a million and it’s at 2500 metres, which is just perfect. The altitude hardly affects you and the all year round daily temperature is between about 70 and 90 degrees, with little humidity. It’s called the City of Eternal Spring. The rainy season is from about Dec to March. Bolivian cities are very different. La Paz, the capital, is in a beautiful setting, but a lot higher, and some are affected by the altitude. The weather is also not as nice as Cochabamba’s. Santa Cruz, in the Lowlands, is very hot and humid. So something for everyone.

I should also mention that I now teach free. However, I do think that if you advertised in the local press, you would have a plentiful supply of students as most want to learn English. I am in the fortunate position of being able to do this as I took early retirement and receive a pension, which goes a lot further here than at home.

A story to finish with. When I was charging my students, I charged 3 dollars an hour if they could afford it. A young woman joined and wanted 4 hours a week tuition. A few weeks later I asked her what she was earning and she was paying me about 70 percent of her salary, so I halved her fees. (she was still paying me over a third of her salary) She was a professional but wasn’t working full hours.

I later found out that her husband had left her, was working in the USA, but was not sending her any money and she had a young daughter, which was the reason she wanted to learn English to teach her, so I halved her fees again to under a dollar an hour (still 17% of her salary) It’s because of stories like this that I eventually decided to teach free but students have to get 65% in periodic tests to remain, to ensure they are working.

I should also mention about getting visas. I don’t know what its like for residents of other countries but I got a 1 month tourist visa to start with and then applied for a one year, followed by a 2 year. I now have an unlimited visa. The whole process is very costly and like probably every other Latin American country very bureaucratic. Be prepared for a lot of blood sweat and tears!!

I reckon that you could live reasonably comfortably here for about 600 dollars a month and that would be allowing 150 dollars for an apartment. And be prepared for lots of hassles with the paperwork for immigration.

I do know a very good doctor and also a good dentist. The doctor costs about 13 dollars a visit. You do pay for medication, although there’s one place you can get it considerably cheaper if you are willing to queue. There is no national health insurance plan here that I am aware of. Just no money to do it.

Safety has been a lot better here since they introduced security guys in the streets about two and a half years ago, who are just about everywhere. But it makes it a lot safer to walk at nights.

As I am not a North American, I don’t get asked about US foreign policy and the situation in Iraq? But most Bolivians strongly dislike the United States’ foreign policy. I think that on the whole they are quite friendly to individual North Americans, though.

Reading what I wrote again, I see that I said that the average professional wage here is 140 dollars a month. This is because so many here only work part time, either mornings or afternoons only. But even those fortunate enough to be working full time would still only receive about 300 dollars a month maximum. And so many professionals, too, are unemployed. And just two weeks ago, one of my students applied for an office job, (54 hours a week), and they were going to pay 45 dollars a month!!!! And when she asked for more money, they offered the job to someone else.