It’s official.
My boss knows that I’m moving this summer. I surprised myself and teared up when I told her. I think it’s the stress from the reality that I’m really, actually, absolutely leaving Taiwan.
Whoa.
I arrived August 27, 2010. I’ll leave within a couple of weeks of that date – almost exactly two years later.
There’s an onslaught of questions I have to answer now. Where will I go? What do I want to do? How am I going to afford this? There are quite a few, and while I have some ambiguous answers, the questions are like a fog in my brain, keeping me from focusing on much else.
There are a few things I (basically or just pretend to) know:
One
I want to work somewhere I can feel good about what I do, and where I enjoy what I do. I’ve found most of the positions I want to apply to on idealist.org. Most positions I get excited about are writing related. That surprises no one.
Two
I don’t want to teach. I’m good at it and I love my students, but I don’t enjoy lesson planning. Quite frankly, I’m also sick of schools and politics that have lost sight of the students in this whole “education” game, but that’s another post for another time (never).
Three
I’m looking at New York, DC, California, Hawaii, Vancouver, South America or Europe. State, city, state, state, “foreign” city, continent, continent: I like to keep things simple.
Four
It’s terrifying moving into a weak economy with no job lined up. It’s puking terrifying.
Five
I’ve been a conference coordinator, recruiting coordinator, teacher, technical writer, executive assistant, timing chip assistant, office manager, sales clerk, cashier, and janitor. Surely I’ve picked up a decent skillset somewhere in all that work experience. If nothing else, I’m really good at doing laundry. And lawn mowing.
Six
I shyly speak Spanish and bumptiously abuse English. I would love to be fluent in Spanish again.
I’m ready. It’s scary, but I’m ready for the next adventure. First there’s a pre-adventure adventure in figuring out the next adventure, but that’s okay. Leap and the net will appear.
No time for regrets 
I’m super excited for you! I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago and I’m really happy with the decision I finally made! Best of luck in choosing where to go:)
Thank you for the encouragement! I’m a little nervous, but I have lots of support, so everything should turn out fine. I’ll be following your blog to see how your adventure continues!
No worries! I’m excited to see where you decide to move:)
I loved DC life. But I hope you enjoy talking about politics, because people who don’t tend to get quick sick of everyone else going on about the subject, and this is an election year.
I’ve thought about that – I loathe politics. Hate, hate, hate it all. Why can’t people just be honest? But a great friend of mine lives there, and there are some incredible opportunities in the non-profit/not-for-profit sector in DC, so I gotta look into it. How long were you there?
Honest people disagree about stuff too!
I was in DC for two and a half years. The non-profit sector is obviously massive, and I loved being surrounded by very smart people there. But it doesn’t necessarily pay big bucks, and the rents are high. It also has a reputation as an unfriendly city by American standards, but when your baseline is Dubai, practically anywhere is an improvement, so that didn’t bother me at all. Major pluses include relatively low unemployment in the region right now, an outstanding collection of monuments and museums, most of them free to visit, and the ease of getting around on public transport if you live in the DIstrict or near suburbs.
Haha, touche. I think the proximity to so much history, plenty of outdoorsy stuff to do, museums, and other big international cities will help me get past all the politics. As long as I don’t marry a politician, I’ll be good!
Would love to have you in Northern Cali!! 🙂
We’d have a blast!
Yay for you! Another adventure. I loved DC (but was ready to leave after 2-3 years). There are a wealth of national nonprofits headquartered there that you could feel like you’re part of a mission, doing good. But, where ever you pick, you will shine. Keep us posted!
Monique! I’ve been thinking about your adorable little family a lot recently – I killed my old computer, so I lost your blog link… which I could probably easily find on FB, I know. Anyway, how are you?
I’m excited, but pretty nervous about the next step. There’s so much I want out of life, and I feel like 30 could be My Year. There are a lot of possibilities, and I keep throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. 🙂