American School Foundation of Chiapas

Welcome to the American School Foundation of Chiapas' Prospective Teacher Info Page!

We hope this site will enable you to learn all you can about our school - the outstanding students, the curriculum, our incredibly diverse location and the amazing Mexican food and culture to truly envision what your life would be like if you became part of our dynamic team!

Here, you will find information on the following:

1. Students
2. Food & Shopping
3. Tuxtla Gutiérrez
4. Apartments
5. Finances
6. Vacation Opportunities
7. Getting Around

Students

The students at the American School Foundation of Chiapas are fantastic! They love to have fun, but they are respectful and know when it's time to get to work.





The school is divided as follows:
Maternal = Under 3
Kinder 1 = Age 3-4
Kinder 2 = Age 4-5
Kinder 3 = Age 5-6

Primary = Grades 1-5
Secondary = Grades 6-9

Each year, the grade 6 students have an annual campamento, or camp out, at the school to celebrate graduating from primary school. Several teachers chaperone the event, watching movies, having a bonfire and roasting marshmellows, as well as playing a variety of games, all in the name of fun.

Culture Day is an amazing event where each class represents a country and the students, along with their parents in primary and their teachers in secondary, create a booth displaying various cultural aspects of the country. Food from each nation is prepared and the students, teachers and parents have an opportunity to spend the day tasting a wide variety of main dishes, desserts and beverages from around the world.

Field trips are planned throughout the year including trips to the zoo or the various museums in and around Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

One Friday of each month is dedicated to a House Competion where students are assigned to represent one of the four houses and take part in games and competitions with their classmates.

If interested, there are opportunities for extra curricular involvement or after school tutoring.

Food & Shopping

Mexican food tops the list of best cuisines in the world, for good reason!

In Tuxtla, a delicious meal, including one of Chiapas' trademark beverages of jamaica, horchata or pozol, can be bought for 30 pesos, less than $3 US.

A popular breakfast, pictured right, is Huevos Rancheros - two eggs prepared sunny side up on top of two fried, handmade corn tortillas and covered in a special red sauce. For 35 pesos, many restaurants serve huevos rancheros with coffee or tea, fresh fruit or fresh squeezed juice and fried plantains.

Chiapas is also well known for their excellent coffee!

Grocery shopping can be done at any number of the large supermarkets around the city or in the local, outdoor produce market where you can purchase a weeks worth of fresh fruit and vegetables for less than $5 US.

As for shopping, there are various options ranging from department stores (Liverpool, Sears and C&A) to midsize stores (WalMart, Soriana, Chedraui and Gigante) to smaller boutiques located downtown.

Tuxtla Gutierrez

Tuxtla Gutierrez is the capital city of the southernmost state of Chiapas, bordering Guatemala. The excellent location makes it possible to escape the heat by driving a short 45 minutes into the mountains of San Cristobal or head 3 hours south to relax on the beaches of Puerto Arista.


Places of interest in the city include the Miguel Alvarez del Toro Zoo, Marimba Park, the Cathedral of San Marcos, the Anthropology and History Museum, the Paleontology Museum and Botanical Museum.

There is a shopping mall and two movie theaters, Cinepolis and Cinemark, as well as a variety of restaurants.

Jaguares games are played on Saturday afternoons in the Estadio Victor Manuel Reyna and provide enjoyable entertainment.

Apartments

Each teacher is provided a stipend of 2500 pesos (approximately $250 US) each month that may used toward rent and utilities. Utilities are very cheap in Tuxtla. The only considerable cost of housing, outside of rent, is cable and internet. The cheapest package including both services is about 400 pesos ($40 US) per month.

There are a few apartment options:

1. You may live in Teran, a neighborhood close to the school, but about 10 minutes in colectivo (see Getting Around) from downtown Tuxtla Gutiérrez. In Teran, you're able to find everything you need - groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables, mom and pop restaurants, food stalls, festivals and friendly neighbors. You also have the option of walking to school and avoiding public transport of any sort.

2. You may choose to live closer to downtown Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Naturally, the closer you are to downtown, the higher the rent, but you gain the ability to walk downtown and access a greater variety of restaurants, shops and entertainment.

3. If you choose to live with a roommate, you are able to rent a larger apartment and share the cost of utilities. Some shared apartment buildings have a pool that is quite refreshing in the steamy months of April and May.

Finances

We are paid on the 15th and the 30th of each month.

In addition to the regular paycheck, you may receive cash for teaching after school ESL classes. These classes are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays immediately after school from 2:30-3:30.

You are paid 50 pesos per hour per student, so if you have four students, you will earn 200 pesos per day, amounting to 600 pesos per week. It is very easy to live on this during the week, unless you prefer going to air-conditioned restaurants daily or you have other more “extravagant” needs.

Teachers have also been able to set up their own tutoring jobs, outside of school.

Rent per Month
Shared 2 Bedroom Downtown - 1500 pesos each
Shared 2 Bedroom in Teran (more spacious) – 1500 pesos each
Single 1 Bedroom Downtown – 2500 pesos
Single 1 Bedroom in Teran – 1500 pesos

Utilities per Month
Water 80 pesos
Electricity 44 pesos
Cable/Internet 420 pesos

The school provides 2500 pesos per month for housing, but if you don’t use the entire amount, the remainder is included in your check on the 15th and 30th of each month.

Keep in mind that if you are a conscientious saver, it is possible to send home $500 US per month while enjoying trips in and around Chiapas, the Yucatan, to Oaxaca City and the beaches, Mexico City and even Guatemala.

Food is extremely cheap and if you don't spend a lot of money in restaurants or ordering pizzas, it is more than possible to save money during the week and enjoy yourself on the weekend.

Vacation Opportunities

El Chiflon

The school year begins at the end of August and goes until the first week of July. There is a two week Christmas break and a two week Easter break with ample vacation in between.

Amatenango

The Mexican government is known for giving puentes, or bridges, when a holiday falls on a Thursday or Tuesday, providing Friday or Monday off for a nice, long weekend. As we are located in the beautifully diverse, southermost state of Chiapas, your options for long weekend trips are endless.

Baños del Carmen

2006-2007 School Holidays
September 14-15: Chiapas becomes a State of Mexico / Mexican Independence
November 2: Day of the Dead
November 20: Mexican Revolution Day
December 1: Presidential Inauguration Day
December 21 – January 7: Christmas
February 5: Constitution Day
March 19: Benito Juarez' Birthday
March 31 - April 15: Easter
May 1: Mexican Labor Day
May 11-15: Mother's Day / Day of the Teacher
July 6: Last Day of School

Comitán

Ruins of Chinkultic

Cañon de Sumidero

Chiapa de Corzo

Getting Around

The main way to get around Tuxtla is by colectivo, a gutted out van with three benches in the back able to carry 14 passengers, albeit very smashed together. It only costs 4 pesos (40 US cents) and they are extremely convenient and easy to use.

If you're looking to leave Tuxtla, there are a variety of things to see using reliable, deluxe busses in the state of Chiapas:

- San Cristobal de Las Casas is an hour east for $3 US = quaint, colonial town

- Puerto Arista (near the city of Tonala) is 4 hours south for $9 US = quiet beach

- Palenque is 6 hours east for $14 US = Mayan ruins and jungle

- Laguna Miramar is 8 hours east for $18 US = ecotours, canoeing, sleeping in huts, macaws and monkeys!

Just outside of Chiapas, there’s much to see and do, as well:

- Oaxaca City / Puerto Escondido are 10-12 hours west for $30 US = state capital with colonial, narrow streets, beautiful stone buildings, relaxed, cosmopolitan / surfer beach town

- Mexico City is 12 hours north for $63 US = cosmopolitan megalopolis with a variety of things to do and see

There are often extremely cheap flights from the US to the resort cities in Mexico.

Flying within Mexico is expensive with regard to the distance traveled. A roundtrip flight from either Cancun or Mexico City to Tuxtla (1.5 hours) is $300 while busses are $125, but 17 hours and 12 hours respectively each way, but things are improving with the arrival of Tuxtla's new airport last year.





US Carriers & Travel Sites:
http://www.aa.com/
http://www.continental.com/
http://www.delta.com/home/index.jsp
http://www.expedia.com/
http://www.nwa.com/
http://orbitz.com/
http://www.suncountry.com/suncountry/index.jsp
http://www.travelocity.com/
http://www.travelzoo.com/
http://www.united.com/

Mexican Carriers:
http://www.aeromexico.com/mex/spanish/index.html
http://www.aviacsa.com/splash.cfm
http://www.click.com.mx/
http://www.interjet.com.mx/
http://www.mexicana.com/app/main.jsp

Bus Schedules & Prices (very deluxe and comfortable):
https://www.ticketbus.com.mx/ticketbus/inicio.jsp

Travel Websites:
http://www.surf-mexico.com/states/Chiapas/otherCities.php
http://www.chiapastravelandtours.com/
http://www.chiapastravel.com.mx/
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/charlan/chtuxtla1.html
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/tuxtlagutierrez/2301010001.html
http://www.mundomaya.com.mx/tuxtla/index.htm
http://www.visitmexico.com/wb2/Visitmexico/Visi_Tuxtla_Gutierrez
http://www.tourbymexico.com/index.html
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/76843.html
http://www.only-maps.com/mexico-central-america-map.html