One Year Later

Upon exiting the airport in Taipei after nearly a full day of check-in lines, crowded airports, and cramped airplanes, Taiwan welcomed us back by engulfing us in a very warm, humid embrace. Despite all of our travel going relatively smoothly, I can certainly see why many expats here don't go home frequently. That being said, I don't regret for a second that we did. The chance to get away from work and go see our families and a small number of friends was incredible. Although we'd only been gone for ten months, the reverse culture shock had already began to set in. It took us several days before we stopped automatically thinking about how to order things in Chinese as we were waiting to make our order at restaurants. The first time I saw Chinese characters (on the front of a Chinese buffet somewhere in Southeast Michigan) was, in a strange way, comforting.



The few oddities aside, it was strangely easy for us to slip back into the hustle and bustle of being in the U.S. It was as if we hadn't missed a beat with our families. My beautiful niece is growing bigger everyday and her curiosity matches her physical growth. My time with my siblings was painfully brief, although it's always fun to catch up, whether it's been a month or in our case, nearly a year. Having returned to our lives here in Taiwan, I feel the disconnect from my family more than I did before. I am already anticipating our trip home come next Fall after our adventures in Europe. It's quite a ways from now, but I know the next year will fly by far faster than we would like it to.

It's been over a month since we returned from our short trip home, and our lives are once again in a fairly comfortable routine. The dogs are finally healthy, after what seems like the last half of the year was spent multiple times a week driving across town on the scooters to get the dogs to a vet who spoke English. It was stressful for us, the dogs, and our relationship. Thankfully, they finally both seem to be happy and healthy.



Starting when we got back to work, I had a seven week Summer Camp four times a week in the mornings for two hours. This was on top of my already long days, but the overtime pay was significant enough to get me to agree to it. The class had anywhere from 15-25 students (depending on the week and who was sick) of varying ages and English levels. I taught them different themes every week, including sports, water sports, foods/snacks, magic and games, the planets, and a few more. The classes were generally well behaved, thanks to a reward system I picked up from my job back in the States working with autistic children (edible treats work pretty well as motivation across the board). Although the class went pretty smoothly, working from 9 am until nearly 9 pm, four days a week, definitely tired me out. As of last Friday, I am finally done with Summer Camp, and now I officially don't begin work until 2 pm everyday! This allows me to get back into shape (P90X starts next Monday), lock into improving my Chinese, and learning some more Chinese. On top of that, the dogs will spend less time locked up, the apartment will be more clean, and I will have a far better disposition a majority of the time (which is a huge benefit for everyone involved!). Who knows, perhaps I'll even begin writing more often *GASP!*.



A few weeks after we returned to Taiwan, we welcomed a good college friend of mine named John and his girlfriend Rachel. They had contacted me with some questions about teaching abroad right around the same time that it became clear that our school would be needing new teachers soon. I informed them about the positions and they got in contact with our director, and not long later, were making the same nerve-wracking and exciting trip we had made just a short year before. They're pretty settled in at this point and very excited to get their first paycheck. It's been fun showing them around our little pocket in Taiwan and watching them respond to all the sights and experiences in much the same way that I'm sure Sara and I did when we arrived. In two weeks, we'll be making a weekend trip up to Taipei with John and Rachel and another couple that we are close with. We hope to make another trip down to Kenting in the coming month as well. It's been over half a year since we made a long trip anywhere, due to having the dogs, and it's been six months too long. We found a vet that'll board the dogs for a very reasonable price, and I am ecstatic to say the least.



With the start of my new schedule, some upcoming weekend trips on our calender, and our trip to Europe (and eventually home) all on the horizon, I happily enter the second year of our tenure in Taiwan. The previous year has been far different than what I expected in many ways (some not so great, and many incredible), and I am looking forward to see what the next 11 months hold for us. Stay tuned for more to come!