Some people have been asking when I will return to the United States. With almost 100% certainty, I can tell you that I will be back in Michigan sometime shortly after my contract finishes mid August, 2012. How long I will stay in Michigan, however, is another question. I'm not sure what I will be doing when my second year in Taiwan comes to an end. There is a possibility, though very small, that I would stay in Taipei and continue teaching here. Even if that does happen, I would still like to fly home for a few weeks. Two years is simply too long to be away from home.
I can honestly say that in most aspects of my life here in Taiwan, I am very content. I like my job, especially my kindergartners that I care about deeply. I make enough money that I can live comfortably and still make my immense student loan payments each month. I'm able to explore and learn about a different culture that I knew little about before coming here, in addition to being close to other countries I can vacation to. Since I've been here, I've visited Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ghana and in a few months, I will add Thailand and hopefully Cambodia to that list. Additionally, I hope to visit my friend Krystal in Japan before both of our contracts are finished. I love my independence and in my free time, I've been pursuing new hobbies and hobbies that I once loved, but couldn't do due to my time restraints in my university. As of today, I've read 65 of the 72 books I set as a goal for me to read in 2011. I'm taking salsa dance lessons. I actually started a project I've been meaning to do for a long time - writing a novel. I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo and have 68 single-spaced pages of my first book written in a word document. All this and much more has given me a lot of things to appreciate and be grateful for in my time in Taiwan.
However, this is definitely not a permanent place for me at all. Though I really love Taiwan and think I picked well in my choice here, it is no longer new and exciting for me. I'm not taking advantage of my time to study Chinese like I thought I would, so there isn't a solid reason for me to stay. I thrive in new places and situations and I'm interested to start a new chapter in my life in a new location. My degree is in education and all my experience is in teaching, so there's a big chance I'll try teaching abroad elsewhere. Many people have told me to try Korea, so I might look into teaching in Seoul (I refuse to live anywhere that isn't a big city or close to a big city.) I have also started to look into teaching in other sections of the world, such as the Middle East. I'd ideally love to teach somewhere Spanish speaking, but the chances of finding a good paying job there are slim.
I'm not entirely ruling out staying in the States either. I've considered joining Americorps and locating myself somewhere in a bigger city down south and redirecting my career into something geared toward Non-Profit organizations. Or, I could find a teaching job back home. I've even considered joining Teach For America. I probably wouldn't stay in Michigan though. I don't like the weather, the conservatism of west Michigan, or the lack of big cities, so I can't see myself staying there, at least not for an extended period of time.
Going back to school is another option, though that's one I'm hoping to do in the far future, when my undergraduate loans are paid off. As I've mentioned before, I don't know if teaching is what I want to do the rest of my life. For now, I'm content with my job. But doing this for another 10 years? Probably not. But who knows? If you told my in my final year of university that I'd live in Taiwan for two years, I would have thought you were crazy. As I continue to grow as a person, my interests and life plans change and develop in completely different ways than originally expected.
There's a lot to think about and decide in the next year, and I can't really answer what will happen because I really have no idea. All I know is that I will follow my heart and hope it doesn't lead me astray.
Much love for all!
:) i love this post. and YOU. very much.
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