Well in my last blog it seemed that life was bleak but in the real sense it was not so bad. i just hd to write down what I was feeling and how my time on tis earth really was like as a poor kid. yep a poor kid who really did a lot and has traveled around the world. It was good to travel and loved it. One can learn so much from traveling and seeing different things. Not bad really.
One good thing about being a young adolescent especially in the summer time was going to camp. It was something that made me feel good plus a chance at learning about how to deal with life and living with different boys. Learning how to sail gave me some interest in sailing and knowing it was a lot of hard work but fun as well. Swimming was great exercise and learned how to swim plus survive in water. Camping outside was good but did not fully appreciate it that much but to be honest it may of been fyun but forgot about it really.
Then after working for a long time and fed up with being told what to do or even having to work with a group of people who seemed not to care about you decided that it was time to stop work and go back to school. A tough choice really but one which really made a big difference in my life and have been extremely happy that I did what was needed to be done. Going back at 38 was a bit scary but did find a few people my age doing the same thing so was happy about this. It was most likely one of my best choices in my life and certainly was happy that indeed it was something really well worth doing.
Then it became clear that a job had to be found but where I was living at that time jobs were hardly present let alone were people coming knocking on my door telling me hey we are giving you a job. Nothing like this one at all. I took a position in Japan teaching English for just 9 months. It was a very interesting experience plus I got to see some of Japan as well. Liked it but then hated it. Liked it because I was in another land so old and full of mystery, hated it as living on a very small island away from oter big cities. Not very many foriegners lived there so this was ok. The people were great and found them eager to help me as much as possible. This gave me the chance to do what I have been doing since. Going back after 9 months was ok but not much of an outlook for work.
After returning looked around found nothing plus the fact that people did not have much to offer me as well. Then had an offer to work in Taiwan doing the same thing. Took it and spent 11 years there. It was great. Taipei is crowded while the living conditions were much differentthanI had in Japan it did give me some privacy plus a place to grow and learn more about people. I did some traveling around this island plus going out and beyond to other countries in asia as well. Hong Kong was a favorite place and went there maybe 2 times a year. There is much to see and do if you have the time and eager to look at the other small islands that surround it. It is not cheap but can be exxpensive depending on where you wantto go. The best thing is you can get food from almost anywhere in the world. Not bad really.
After my stay inTaiwan headed home thinking and hoping that I can really relocate back to Boston my home town and start life over once again. Sad to really say but there was not much there and found it extremely difficult to find any kind of suitable employment. It did seem to me that well if I was to really be happy then maybe head back to the far east and continue teaching ESL. Many opportunities and many jobs were available if you looked very hard. Then on a Monday morning at the job center put my resume on a web site that deals with this. Hoping to get a position in S Korea or China this time. Do remember receiving many ofers from both lands plus a few other countries. Then it was exciting trying to figure out who was really that interested or who jsut sent out inquries and see what happens. Then did receive a call from one school down in the southern part of S Korea. The school was really interested in me and actually was pleading with me to come and be there.
A decision was made after 2 phone calls from them. I will head for S Korea ASAP and hopefuly be happy. They sent me paper work to go and have my visa stamped into my passport and then head off for this country. It was a good choice and loved it for the one year contract. It really was a small town and no other foreigners were there. Everyone knew who I was plus some were eager to talk with me. The people were kind as well. I loved it and felt it was a good choice. Then after 1 year was informed that they would like to have someone new so once again looking for work., Same web site as before but China was my choice. Had many offers but chose one school lasting 2 years. It was a great exxperience as well. The students were great. Learned more about the land and the people. Now am in another part of China and still love it and the students are the same.