The die is cast
Well, at least the decision is made
I decided to accept the offer to travel to Japan later this year, and teach English for a year.
I plan to stay at least a year, maybe more, to pay off my debts and save some cash
for graduate school. The program I'm looking at is a master's degree in Policy and
Administration which will hopefully lead to a career in either the federal government
or with a non-governmental organization.
And there you go.
Sounds so simple .. now all I need to do is to do it.
There are many, many emotions running through me at the moment. I'm excited, certainly
as this will undoubtedly be an adventure unlike any other. This will be an opportunity to travel and see part of the world that I haven't seen. This will be an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends and grow as a person and build up new skills.
Of course, there are a million unknowns as well, and as someone who is uncomfortable making decisions based in large part on faith, this scares the hell out of me.
I hope this will be a great experience .. of course I recognise the possibility that there might be difficulties .. personality conflicts, health problems, natural disasters .. any of the above. There is the possibility that I may have difficulty fitting in with the Japanese style of working, that I will have difficulty communicating with my students .. I really won't know the answers to any of these 'til I get there.
I know I'll do my best to work well with my students and colleagues, and to enjoy the experience .. I will be receiving an information package from Aeon, the company that has hired me, on Monday, which should answer more of the questions I will have.
There *have* been many indications that this is the right thing to do .. some conventional, and some quite unusual. Late last year, in the midst of a very confused time of life, I found myself sitting across from a woman who called herself a psychic .. we chatted for about 20 minutes, and among other things, she said that 2005 would be the year in which things change for the better. Further, she mentioned that teaching in Japan would be a positive opportunity for me. As well, she said that by the time I turned 40, my financial situation would have been finally taken care of, and I would, at last, be free of the debts that I currently carry. A friend of mine, a little older and often quite a bit more resistant to change than me, travelled to Taiwan last year and taught English for 11 months. He returned, saying that this was one of the best experiences he'd ever had, seemed much more content with the world, and is looking forward to doing it again, in another country, possibly Japan. I happened to be chatting with the receptionist at an organization called the Ottawa Talent Initiative, a grassroots group for out-of-work technical people. I mentioned that I had been considering teaching ESL, and she immediately lit up, saying over and over 'Do it!'. It turned out that she had lived in Japan for five years, and has wonderful memories of the time there.
And so it goes .. this really is the realm of the unkown for me. I know I will miss the people and places here, that I've become familiar with, and only can hope and have faith that they will be here when I return.
Well, there's the beginning. If anyone's reading, come on along for what should be an interesting ride.
I decided to accept the offer to travel to Japan later this year, and teach English for a year.
I plan to stay at least a year, maybe more, to pay off my debts and save some cash
for graduate school. The program I'm looking at is a master's degree in Policy and
Administration which will hopefully lead to a career in either the federal government
or with a non-governmental organization.
And there you go.
Sounds so simple .. now all I need to do is to do it.
There are many, many emotions running through me at the moment. I'm excited, certainly
as this will undoubtedly be an adventure unlike any other. This will be an opportunity to travel and see part of the world that I haven't seen. This will be an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends and grow as a person and build up new skills.
Of course, there are a million unknowns as well, and as someone who is uncomfortable making decisions based in large part on faith, this scares the hell out of me.
I hope this will be a great experience .. of course I recognise the possibility that there might be difficulties .. personality conflicts, health problems, natural disasters .. any of the above. There is the possibility that I may have difficulty fitting in with the Japanese style of working, that I will have difficulty communicating with my students .. I really won't know the answers to any of these 'til I get there.
I know I'll do my best to work well with my students and colleagues, and to enjoy the experience .. I will be receiving an information package from Aeon, the company that has hired me, on Monday, which should answer more of the questions I will have.
There *have* been many indications that this is the right thing to do .. some conventional, and some quite unusual. Late last year, in the midst of a very confused time of life, I found myself sitting across from a woman who called herself a psychic .. we chatted for about 20 minutes, and among other things, she said that 2005 would be the year in which things change for the better. Further, she mentioned that teaching in Japan would be a positive opportunity for me. As well, she said that by the time I turned 40, my financial situation would have been finally taken care of, and I would, at last, be free of the debts that I currently carry. A friend of mine, a little older and often quite a bit more resistant to change than me, travelled to Taiwan last year and taught English for 11 months. He returned, saying that this was one of the best experiences he'd ever had, seemed much more content with the world, and is looking forward to doing it again, in another country, possibly Japan. I happened to be chatting with the receptionist at an organization called the Ottawa Talent Initiative, a grassroots group for out-of-work technical people. I mentioned that I had been considering teaching ESL, and she immediately lit up, saying over and over 'Do it!'. It turned out that she had lived in Japan for five years, and has wonderful memories of the time there.
And so it goes .. this really is the realm of the unkown for me. I know I will miss the people and places here, that I've become familiar with, and only can hope and have faith that they will be here when I return.
Well, there's the beginning. If anyone's reading, come on along for what should be an interesting ride.
posted by xiz at 4:33 AM
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