An Englishman in Winter Park, Florida

About this blog

An Englishman in Orlando (Overwhelmed by America!)

The hotel where the AASSA job fair was held - in Winter Park outside Orlando - was sprawling, friendly & slightly down-at-heel. My only problem was with the bedroom air-conditioning; I prefer an open window & fan.

Anything especially American about the hotel? Yes: the maple syrup for breakfast, the hotel staff's excessive politeness, the resident pianist/crooner (laid back as Perry Como, on automatic pilot but with a good piano technique, probably a lush), the coiffeured & pickled old matrons (who played cards together in the afternoon, danced along with their superannuated beaux to the crooner's melodies), the superannuated beaux. People as well preserved - i.e. elegantly mummified - as these I have never seen in England.

Winter Park is an exclusive middle-class suburb of Orlando. A picture-postcard place reeking of wealth & sterility. Designer shops, designer people, everything brand new (apart from the oldsters who predominate) & squeaky clean, no sense of history, no sense of the real world. In short, soulless but extremely comfortable. I've never been anywhere quite like this.

My English voice attracted attention ("Kevin, you've got such a cute English voice") - & caused confusion. Comic highlight of my visit was in Wallgreens (a pharmacy like Boots in England, only grander) when I asked an assistant where the "public toilet" was. She gathered her thoughts before leading me to a display of plastic animals. I repeated to her my desire to find a "public toilet", to which she responded : "Oh, I thought you said 'puppy toys'." At the job fair itself I was one of only two Englishmen - the other was a 58-year-old eccentric Music teacher who'd travelled from Abu Dhabi.

A disappointingly narrow range of English jobs for me. Two interesting positions - listed beforehand on the AASSA webpage - never materialised. I had three interviews: for Guayaquil in Ecuador, Curitiba in Brazil & CIC in Caracas. The Guayaquil school was surprisingly good (great video, impressive Principal), but it was switching to AP exams, which effectively ruled me out. My interview with Joe Walker from Curitiba began inauspiciously :

"Kevin, how would you teach IB History of the Americas?" "I don't know; I'm an IB English teacher!" "I apologise; I'm confusing you with..."

Curitiba was tempting - nice city, IB school - but there were several downsides, notably the poor salary, shared accommodation, Portuguese language & the fact that Curitiba is in white Brazil (I like black!). He offered me the job, but I declined it. He asked me to let him know if I changed my mind. Flattered by the offer, I telephoned him later & requested another interview - just to make absolutely sure I was not throwing away a pearl. He was quite impressive this time, more sincere, not on automatic pilot. He offered to raise me up the salary scale if money was a problem (being a good socialist, I refused; I don't like favouritism: a pay scale is a pay scale) & said I could have my own flat. I felt more tempted than after the first interview but still didn't really want the job.

The main reason I turned down Curitiba was CIC in Caracas. I liked the two CIC interviewers & they obviously liked me; they came across as sincere human beings. CIC is an IB/IGCSE school - right up my alley. Also, the CIC package is better than Curitiba's. One snag: the job cannot be formally offered until January. Putting all my eggs in one basket, preferring the birds in the bush to the one in my hand, I told Winthrop W. Sargent Jr. - the Principal - that this was the job I wanted & that I would visit the school in early January. We'll see what happens....

I never ventured outside of Winter Park into Orlando proper. The job business, the interesting people staying at the hotel & the unappealing image I had formed of Orlando - all these centripetal factors held me back. My excursions from the hotel stretched only as far as the end of Park Avenue, the main shopping thoroughfare, where I had lunch & dinner & gorged myself on cheap jazz CD's.

I talked a lot to the other teachers, especially with Marita (40-something American from Columbia), Robert (the other Englishman), Mindy (shopaholic American from Venezuela) & Sheryl (petite 22-year-old from Orlando). Drank my fair share of Sam Adams bottled beer. Went shopping with Mindy et al to Wallgreens & Albertsons. Bought a few unnecessary items while Mindy emptied the shelves.

Overall, a worthwhile trip. Cost me around $900 (including $120 worth of CD's). I could have interviewed for the CIC job, & saved money, by going to Caracas for the weekend - as Anders & Monica did - but the Brazilian job offer tickled my ego, I did some good networking & the short break in America was an interesting first-time experience.

December 7th 1999