Surviving Mexico

Since it was now in the middle of April and had no job on the horizon, I kept applying for different positions on Indeed. I believe my application was rejected by some because I don’t have a TOESL certificate. In lieu of that, I have a Bachelor’s in Science in Education with endorsements in English, Spanish, and ESL. But since I had to check a yes/no box, I had to check no.

Another issue that most likely kicked my application out of review was that I no longer have a valid teaching license. I had two, one from Nebraska and one from the state of Virginia. However, having not lived in the US for over 15 years, those licenses have expired with no way to renew them. Again, the yes/no box foiled my chance to explain the situation.

Some of the jobs had ridiculous expectations that I didn’t have a chance in hell in meeting. One required 50 Mpbs internet speed. Another stated applicants must be South African citizens. With some jobs, the requirements and pay didn’t match up. One position paid $10 an hour, but the applicant must have a Master’s Degree in Education, for example. 

I also tried to figure out what was going on with the internet. It was so bad some days that I couldn’t even fill out online applications. What I discovered is that the company through which we have our internet service discontinued the modems and wasn’t providing further maintance. So we had what we had until the company decided to shut it down completely. 

Looking at other internet options was fruitless. Telcel requires a physical address, which we don’t have in La Yacata. Wifi Moroleon only has coverage to the cemetery, which is where the last light posts are too. A mere 2 kilometers away. Every other company requires a phone line to run the cable, which we don’t have. 

My brother thought he’d be helpful and looked into Starlink for me. HAHAHAHAHA! Not only is it not available in all areas, but the cost is also prohibitive.

In addition, I had some health issues amidst all this stress, or perhaps because of it. My hypothyroidism reared its ugly head, and I went hyper, which resulted in inflamed knee joints, ravishing hunger, and general irritability. I did get blood work done to verify the cause and am working on getting stabilized, but geez, Louise, what a month!

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A Woman’s Survival Guide to Living in Mexico Series