The Third-Year Question

It was pointed out to me today (though not for the first time) that you can always tell if I have considered a week to be exciting based on the number of words I manage to jot down about it.  That is true, but this week is deceptive, I see so many words below these, but I don't like them.  If It weren't for the sake of this project, I would delete them all.  Not because they are meaningless, not because they are negative, but because they are failing to express the thoughts running through my mind right now.  

I underwent my second year appraisal and was asked to stay on for a third year, which has left me spending most of the week weighing through the pro's and con's of a renewed contract.  Here is a short summary of the key points:

The PRO's

*I love my students, there isn't a single class that I don't enjoy, so the idea of giving them up is heartbreaking. 

*I have a system that works for me, with a lot of freedom to plan my own lessons and implement new ideas to the classroom.  It is a great way to allow teachers to not only find their teaching identity but also to keep improving upon it.  

*I have established such a strong group of friends who get me through every week.

*Every week feels like an adventure, even when there is nothing 'new' to write about, each day is a new day, and even the repeated locations hold new adventures.  I constantly add to the list of things I want to do in Taiwan, and my list of things I want to do in Asia has barely been skimmed.

*My transportation, housing, and employment are all established here (there will be a lot of work involved in re-establishing myself in the US).  

The CON's

*My eventual post-Taiwan plan is to continue my education in the form of a Master's Degree.  In doing so, I will need to be settled in the location of my future school prior to the start of the fall semester (which could be in any given year, but at the current time I am aiming to start in the fall of 2015).  Another year's contract will leave me finishing in Taiwan in the fall and finding a creative way to spend the rest of the year waiting for a new school year to start.

*I have several big commitments in the fall, spanning from August-November.  I could return for a partial-year contract and following this time, but I would be spending a lot of that time working towards the cost of the flight.

*There is no financial incentive to remain with the school past the second year.  Pay is capped at $620NT per hour (about $20US), leaving the school with very little to motivate their teachers with, except a continuation of what they already have.

*I'm not a 'life-r'.  Some people have settled in Taiwan, and intend to be here the rest of their lives.  After five years in the country you can apply for permanent residency, but I still feel like there are aspects of my life which are 'on hold' while I am here, and permanent residency won't solve that.  

If I'm being honest with myself, this is the 'after-the-fact' list, because I know I am going home.  It is almost like I am assessing the pro's and con's incase I find myself miserable a year down the road (which is not unheard of among the foreign teacher population here).  I am excited for the weddings, I'm excited to spend time with my family, I'm excited to do some of the traveling in the US that I've been neglecting, but most importantly, I am so excited to see what I come up with to occupy my time.  That slight tinge of fear about not having a job, a house, a car, gives me endless possibilities (and the knowledge that I have people who will save me if I start drowning in those possibilities gives me courage).  Should I find that the polar vortexes are too cold to handle, or the constant presence of English to convenient, I always have the option to leave again, I hold two years of teaching experience and the ability to resume this Taiwanese adventure or pick a new country.  With my mind made up, I know I will only be strengthening the unwanted 'countdown' until August, but I hope it won't be overwhelmingly present in my writing.

On a note of things that are far more positive, the weather has been gorgeous this week, which allowed for our first outdoor weekend of spring.  Abandoning my jacket, holding social events on roofs, outdoor meals, and parades, I have barely been inside for two days.  The most exciting thing though, was the first scooter trip of the year.  While the destinations were not new to me, it was nice to play 'tour guide' and show off two enjoyable places in Nantou County: Sunny Hills (a pineapple farm/ pineapple cake distributer) and the Skybridge (a 204 meter long suspension bridge across a canyon).  I look forward to more weekends like this one.

Satisfied by our pineapple cakes and smoothies, it was time to leave the farm, but not before we got our group picture taken.

On the Skybridge over the mountains of Nantou.