French speaking fencer required in Vancouver BC

[Fencergrl]

I'm looking for a fencer fluent in French that is available during the day in the Vancouver BC/ Lower Mainland area.

This part-time/ contract work pays $25/ hour. Please send me a PM if you're interested. Right now I could use someone in mid-April, however if I find someone sooner rather than later, I might have some work for them sooner.

[Fencergrl]

If someone was interested in seeing Western Canada, this situation might provide an opportunity to work a little & travel. I can provide accommodations at no charge as I have a small suite in my home. Work visa won't be needed as I will pay cash. So that might also be an option as well.

I have a European friend who spent the last year travelling and working for cash while in Canada. He did most of his traveling by van (that he camped in). He will be returning to Germany in May, so his van and perhaps some camping gear might also be available if someone was wanting to purchase it for their own travels.

[rcmatthews]

what exactly would this person be doing?

[Fencergrl]

Introducing fencing to students in French immersion classes. Which is why I'm asking for a fencer rather than a coach (although a coach would do), it's real basic stuff.

Very few people speak French in Western Canada, but since it's one of our two official languages, parents who want their kids to learn it can put their kids in French immersion classes.

[rcmatthews]

cool. i wish i could. i love immersion french

[Wetmelon]

Ah bummer. I could easily brush up on my French enough to talk to some grade school kids :P

But I'm all the way out here... perhaps for the coming summer?

[rcmatthews]

you might be surprised. i'd be willing to bet that the kids are quite fluent.

[Wetmelon]

Depends on the kid. If they're properly French and speak french at recess, sure. If they're like us and spoke English at recess (regardless of being in French Immersion), then not so much. Also of course if their parents are French native speakers...

[rcmatthews]

i didn't mean that as a dig against you. it just seemed like you thought they were kids learning french, where as i thought they are kids that speak french fluently. i dunno though

[Fencergrl]

Based on the conversations I have had with the instructor, I assumed the kids were pretty fluent, as she wanted all instruction to be in French. Knowing how to ref in French isn't enough, the person I need would have to know how to converse in French.

Having said that, I'm hoping my latest lead turns out to be interested. My ideal candidate would be someone semi-retired who's looking to earn some extra money on an irregular basis. My work is all contract work. So you might work an hour, every day of the week, or an hour once in a week. Typically, I'm booked 3 months in advance, but sometimes I have only a few days notice. This lends itself to some flexibility in when things get scheduled. I also need to trust that they conduct themselves professionally, as in the end it's my business reputation at stake. Often I find the younger folks lacking in this regard.

These are not evening classes, so this can work for or against someone. A university student is likely to be in school at the same times the hight school students would be, so I don't know how that would work out. The high school kids are on summer holidays when the university kids are.

However a fencer who wants to spend their evenings training and work occasionally, but still have plenty of time for traveling to World Cups etc... might also be a good choice. My predecessor was an elite fencer who chose this work because of the flexibility it allowed in her schedule.

Someone who wants to mainly travel, but earn a little cash on the side could work out for me in the short term... but doesn't for long term planning. If I decide to add this to my business, I need to know when I'm booking the job that I have someone to do the work. So if I picked someone who was traveling Western Canada for 6 months, I would use this to test the market, then start looking seriously for someone who would be a more permanent partner for me for my fall classes if I saw potential.

The more I've been thinking about this, the more I realize I'm looking for a partner with similar (good with teens etc...) and different skill sets (fluent in French). It would be nice to have someone take some of my English classes from time to time. So I'll be looking at some sort of equable split, so the $25/ hour would be low in many cases, or not when you factor in the non-billable time such as picking up the gear or travelling to school. In either case, this would be discussed privately with the interested party. I know there's much more work out there, but I am limited by my own availability. I see potential for this business supporting two people if we wanted to, or just make enough to support a fencing habit for the 2nd. person.

[Fencergrl]

I have found someone! We're both thrilled.