You have been warned!

[SunShine]

I did a four week bootcamp TEFL course in Granada which was so intensive that it made me physically ill This company's website gives no indication of how intensive this course is. I am not saying that they are all the same but as mine was a boot camp type they stretch you until breaking point and far beyond. You have one deadline after another and quite often I found myself still at the computer in the early hours of the morning. We were all sleep-deprived, even the young ones.

What got me most was the fact that before I had paid my money I had been promised a lot of help in certain areas of my weaknesses but when I was physically there, having paid my course fee, and needing that help, I was told that no help was forthcoming and that I was on my own. Had it not been for the help of a fellow student I would not have been able to continue on the course past day three.

And then there was the accommodation. Some of us were staying at the local hostel. It was dark and dismal and the drains stank. We were told not to put any toilet paper down the loo but place it in the wicker basket provided.
(Which we all ignored). After the first week, I found that my bed was infested with bed bugs and If one of the teachers hadn't intervened and confirmed that I was suffering from bug bites, the DOS would have done nothing. I was then moved too another room but by then my clothes. shoes and other items had become infested. Every morning, upon waking up, I had to shake the bottom sheet as it was full of their eggs. There was no vacuum cleaner, only a pan and a brush. We were told that although it was a hostel, we had to provide our own toilet paper and soap. Clean sheets and towels were provided, if you shouted loud enough. The use of the washing machine was limited to weekdays during the hours that we were all at school and when this was pointed out we were told to organise our time better. The kitchen was filthy, and even the oven door was broken, and the gas hob needed a flame thrower to light it.

All of the above is a pity as I cannot now bare to visit Granada. I am still waking up after having nightmares about my experience. It is a beautiful city, and as to the mountains, Sierra Nevada, they are breathtaking. So, as a summary, do not attempt that course, unless:

- you are under 25 and don't need much sleep
- you are a recent University graduate
- you can speak fluent Spanish
- you are immune to bed bugs and other biting insects
- you are not bothered about tripping up in the dark because all the outside lights have been turned off for economy reasons.
- you are physically big and tall enough to carry things like a 1950's flip chart up and down small narrow dodgy stairs
- you are not bothered that there is no fire alarm/smoke detectors/fire doors/no fire exits and that all the windows have metal grills. (you will be told, with shrugged shoulders "That this is Spain (it is not, I have been to other places)).

I did pass the course, which I am ecstatic about as I would never be able to face that place again.
You have been warned! :!: :cry: :W: :!:

[SunShine]

Thank you, a good idea, as no decent teaching jobs seem to be available. That was just a summary of my experience, I could talk all day and reveal lots more. The oven actually fell on your lap when you tried to open it. Imagine a hot oven landing on your lap. I was told to shut the oven door by pushing a chair against it. What? A wooden chair leaning against a hot oven?