About a month and a half ago, I was sitting on a high speed rail (called the HSR) from Taipei to Taichung amongst my fellow study abroad students, wondering what I was going to do next. I’ll be honest: I was so enamored by all that Taiwan had offered me in just two weeks that I wasn’t sure what could be better than the time I spent there. But then it hit me: Taiwan was my next big move.
On the top of my graduation cap, I glued on the words “ready for my next big adventure” without really thinking the next big step could be abroad. Like the majority of my graduating friends, I was under the impression I would endure corporate life for a couple years, save up while living at home before taking a much needed vacation and switching to a job I liked, or possibly attending a master’s program of my choice in whichever location I decided, probably state side. I couldn’t be more thrilled to say that my next big adventure is indeed Taiwan.
I’ll be Teaching English as a Native Speaking Teacher at a buxiban (cram school to us English speaking countries), earning about the same I could here with an entry level job but spending much less than my cost of living would be in America. What could be better than that? Of course my friends and family all have questions for me ranging from the “you don’t speak mandarin, what are you going to do?” or the “aren’t you sad you’re leaving us all behind?”. Yes, I’m scared. But my excitement for the plethora of firsts that are going to come out of this adventure–first big girl job, first apartment, first move, etc, etc–outweigh all the worries. I will miss major holidays, I will miss my family, and of course my amazing friends that have supported me no matter how crazy my schemes are, but I get to share my stories with them and hopefully, they can visit me or we just end up face timing so many times we forget that I’m there and they’re, well, here.
This blog is where all my documentation of my adventures will go. Anything from video blogs, written blogs, photo albums, etc, will go here for the world to see. Feel free to ask me anything and everything! I’ll be posting here from now until I leave, and then through my travels as well as probably afterwards. I look forward to sharing the experience with new friends, old friends, my family, and all you readers. Let the countdown begin!
