JIM BOTTOMS' NOTES ON FLORENCE, ITALY (Part 2)

MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES.

MONEY MATTERS.

The pay structure will vary by school. On average, expect around £18-20,000 per hour. I didn't find anyone fully supporting themselves solely by teaching. They were either doing other things, such as translating, waitressing, dipping into savings or tapping into other revenue sources.

Florence is expensive. Even the Italians will confirm that it's the most expensive city in Italy. And why not? Thousands and thousands of Americans, Brits, Germans and Japanese come there all the time and are willing to pay thousands of dollars to rent an apartment for a month or two! And buy tons of stuff from Gucci, Cartier, Prada, Tiffanys and the other stores lining Via Tornabuoni. There's simply no incentive to keep prices low for foreigners. The locals practically live off of tourism.

What does "Florence is expensive" mean? My initial, short-term furnished apartment near San Lorenzo was £2,000,000 per month (c. $1200) utilities included. My one bedroom apartment near the Ponte Vecchio (with a view of Santa Croce and a partial view of the River Arno) was $1,500,000 per month without utilities. It did, however, include 65 stairs from the front door to the third floor. Utilities: Electricity was £400 per kilowatt hour (c. 25 cents) and gas £1100 (66 cents) a cubic meter. How does that translate into real terms? Everyone said that utilities were expensive, but it depends on the weather, one's actual consumption, how much the apartment "leaks" air, etc. On average, my utilities ran about $250 per month. But that was winter. The apartment leaked like a sieve. I put plastic window insulation over the single pane glass (even the glass rattled--no putty or sealant!), used weather-stripping, etc. Anything to keep the cold out, the warmth in and the heat off! (NOTE: My apartment rent was relatively high because I chose to live alone; sharing will reduce the costs considerably.)

My daily living expenses (EXCLUDING lodging and utilities) averaged about $48 per day. This included groceries, wine, bottled water, newspapers, transportation, sightseeing, postcards, Internet, EVERYTHING. The figure is a little skewed because I planned to stay there much longer and the daily average includes a microwave oven, toaster oven, American coffee pot, American ironing board, TV, VCR and boom box. Without these conveniences, the daily rate probably drops to around $35.

Currency exchange: Main post office, Piazza della Repubblica, upstairs. If using the stairs at the end of the ground floor main lobby, the currency exchange window is on the left at the top of the stairs. Flat rate £5,000 per transaction. By far, the cheapest rate in town, assuming you're exchanging at least a few hundred dollars. The MoneyShop locations were, at one time, offering a 2% rate for repeat customers. But that's still significantly higher than the post office. Comparison shop. And compare the exchange rate vs. the commission. "No commission" usually means a lousy exchange rate! I never found a rate better than the post office for exchanging money.

Banking. Definitely keep your Stateside bank account and bring an ATM card with you until arrangements are sorted out. One bank that many Americans work with is the Banco di Napoli at Via Cavour, 20/22/24. It's housed in a building that was, at one time, the residence of Napoleon's mistress. My understanding is that an account can be arranged to handle both lire and dollars. However, I would be hesitant to arrange an account until permanent arrangements are finalized--and you can benefit from current information obtained from associates living and working there. Keep in mind that while Italian banks may offer a higher interest rate, they also have notoriously high fees, generally charge for issuing statements, cashing checks, etc. The banking system is still rather inefficient. The Italian economy is not well-lubricated by checks, which are still the exception rather than the norm.

Try to visit the schools. But call first--to make sure it's open. Try to set an appointment, get the name of the director or other person to talk to. Have a resume. I also had a resume in Italian, just in case. Some books suggest cover letters, but I never used them and also never attached photos to my resume. Had a school wanted one (none ever did) I would have attached a passport photo. Send your contact or interviewer a thank you note afterwards.

Except during major holidays and in the summer, the schools seem to be hiring all the time, depending on course loads, contracts, private tutoring, etc. Although the academic year starts in the fall, many contracts with private companies aren't finalized until well after that. And, as with many other aspects of Italian life, many things happen--or come to fruition--on the spur of the moment.

Private lessons, on your own or through a school, can be another lucrative approach. I never bothered with them 1) because of my erratic teaching schedule and 2) because of the many horror stories I heard from other teachers. No-shows, last minute cancellations, haggling over why they should pay under these circumstances, long commutes to and from lessons, odd hours, you name it. Not to mention security issues, especially for females (hours, locations, being alone with someone you don't know, etc.). HOWEVER, when you get a good, dependable private, the going rate is around £35,000, which is well above what any school will pay you. The tradeoff--the school I worked at (Istituto Americano--hereafter referred to as "IA") paid £18,000 an hour. BUT, they made all the arrangements and I had full use of school facilities, classrooms, resources, etc. Doing a real private lesson means you are completely on your own as to location, materials, etc. And, unless you are really, really careful, NEVER wean away a private student from the school you are working at--it will never be kept secret and the school will probably fire you as soon as it finds out about it!

The schools often need teachers for private lessons because students literally walk in off the street, regular students want special instruction when they are having problems with classwork, students want to prepare the to take the TOEFL exam, etc. I even had one English-Italian student who wanted instruction in American history! Although school staffs tend to be somewhat stable, there are always teachers returning to the States, taking extended vacations, maternity leave, switching schools. Job migration, just as we have in the States.

With regard to regular, classroom instruction, hours can vary enormously. My first class started at 9AM. My last class ended at 930PM! And there was a lot of "dead time" in between. Schools use a variety of teaching materials. IA uses Spectrum by Prentice Hall, which is very good. The only drawback is that the audio portion is on cassette tapes and the school had few tape players with a counter--so we were constantly estimating how far to rewind or advance a tape to get to specific lessons, sections, conversations, etc. Very annoying and time consuming. CDs or tape players with counters would have been better, but they are also pricier. The school has a large but somewhat outdated resource library: Books, encyclopedias, English-language videos, supplementary teaching materials, etc. Unfortunately, no computers yet. It also has a comprehensive schedule of extra curricular activities for the students: Conversation nights with American students from local universities, pizza/conversation nights, English-language video nights, American-oriented holidays. One year we even had Thanksgiving dinner in a local trattoria. It was worth the price of admission just to see how the Italian restaurant cooks interpreted "whole roast turkey," mashed potatoes and candied sweet potatoes! MY problem was that I could never get used these activities starting at 830-9PM! That was always just a little too late for me, especially because the actual starting time usually drifted well beyond then!

Expect evening hours! Obviously, because many students are in day jobs or classes and the evenings are when they are free. I actually had students who were upset that we wouldn't do lessons past 930PM!

Some job opportunities are advertised in the papers, but my experience is the same as in the States--the best stuff never gets advertised. In Italy, more than most places, the most lucrative positions are published by word-of-mouth, kept within the "family", etc. So, how do you get jobs? Working the phones, visiting each of the schools, dropping off a resume, letting them know you are available, checking back a week or so later, etc. I first went to Florence in Oct 98 with no job prospects and expected to wait out most of the winter. When I went on my first visit to drop off a c.v., another teacher was there to finalize her contract. Two weeks later she was gone and I was hired! Some schools want bonafide teaching credentials. I obtained my TEFL certificate from New World Teachers, San Francisco, CA. I understand the school is now closed. However, the certificate got me my job and I would not have gone to Florence without it--I had to have some credibility! A few of the schools, notably British/English ones, will insist on a RSA-Cambridge certificate and one hired only "British mother-tongue" teachers..

Recommendations for schools? I was very comfortable with the environment, support and staff at the Istituto Americano. Had something become available, the British Institute would have been nice, and the British School on Via di Barbano was promising. The London School on Viale Dei Mille looked pretty good, but I understand the working conditions are difficult. At first you may not have a lot of choices, but work where you are comfortable with the academic structure, the pay, the hours, etc. You can always adjust later as things sort out.

SECURITY.

SHOPPING.