From Wachovia to Wall Street

My last day working for Wachovia Securities was November 28, 2008.
My first day working on Wall Street was January 11, 2009.

I find it quite ironic.

Eh-hemmm. My first day working at Wall Street was January 11.

I went from retirement and securities to teaching English at Wall Street Institute (WS) in Manta, Ecuador.

My job is awesome.

I am paid $4/hr to teach English to high school students, bank executives, a chiropractor, a safety director at a wood mill, a retired 60 year old who wants to visit her kids in the US, and dozens of others who eagerly come to class.

WS is a franchised school of English which focuses on learning grammar more by interaction than by rigid book format. I do not have to prepare for class. I arrive, take out a book and box of activities, and follow the directions. It took a few weeks to understand the format, but now I don't stress at all about class.

I usually have 1-2 students per class. The students are awesome. I love the opportunity to give such individualized attention. But I've got an issue - I have no formal training in English grammar! It's quite humbling when my students who have only been studying for four months know what an auxiliary verb or the present perfect verb forms are, and I don't.


My signature trade: I give my students high-fives when they do something well. The first time I meet a student they look at me for a split second in complete disbelief, then burst into a smile as they "give me five." What a simple way to acknowledge successes!

And everyone loves receiving the Hi-5s... Especially the adults. I think it reminds them that they're also meant to have a blast when learning.


My supervisor's name is Ruth. She is Belgian and speaks Flemish. Top that! She is always giggling, happy to help, and has a silly - funny Dutch accent when she speaks either English or Spanish.

:) I am blessed.