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| 2010-2020: Ten Years of Teaching Overseas |
One of the biggest challenges of teaching overseas is figuring out how to eventually stop teaching overseas, should you decide to do so, and return to your home country. I have known so many people who packed up, said tearful goodbyes, went home for awhile with every intention of settling in, only to end up right back in overseas teaching a year or so later. There's no shame in that; sometimes it's actually good to check in with things back home and see whether you will be happier there, or if you actually prefer your life abroad.
For a lot of us, I think there's an expectation that we will eventually return home. There may also be a feeling of obligation to do so, perhaps because of pressure from loved ones, or maybe just a sense that settling into a serious adult job at home (whatever that means) is what you should do according to society.
I know a lot of people who are "lifers", in the sense that they have settled down for good in their country of choice and are perfectly happy spending the rest of their life there. That can be a tough choice to make, but what matters is that its the one that has made them truly happy. But for many of us, heading home more long term or even permanently may be a better option.
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| Fresh-faced and just arrived in Sendai, Japan! This photo was taken at my first hanami party |
In my case, I will coincidentally be returning to the US pretty much exactly on the 10 year anniversary of the day I started this overseas adventure, around March 10th. Way back in 2010, when I actually started writing this blog, I made the big move from Portland, Oregon to Sendai, Japan. Three years in Japan led to two in Chile, one in Korea, a long holiday to get married and travel, then the last two and a half in China, and here I am ten years later preparing to head home from my life in Nanning about 6 months earlier than anticipated because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
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| At our home in Nanning, where we lived for the last 2.5 years |
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| Walking by the lotus pond on our university campus in Nanning |
And now a big question hangs over my head: how do I settle into normal, working life in the US, a country I haven't lived in for more than a few months since I was 24? So much has changed in the US since 2010. Healthcare, for example, is something I know absolutely nothing about nowadays. The job market at home, including how to find jobs, apply for them, and interview successfully, is also radically different from the job market in the TESL industry overseas.
I've been doing a lot of thinking, soul searching, research, and trying to make sense of all my options to prepare for life back home. This will be a new chapter for me, one that I am simultaneously nervous and excited about. As I go through this transition, I'll write some posts about my experience, what I've learned from research, and how it all works out. I hope that it will be helpful to anyone who is making a similar journey home after working for a long time overseas.
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| From my trip to New England last year to visit my family |
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| The road so far has had a lot of twists and turns, but I'm ready to see where it takes us next |
On a side note: I will also continue to share posts about travel and life overseas that I have been planning, including travel in China, Thailand, and Malaysia.
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