Monday, August 25, 2008

Taichung

I haven't updated in quite some time, but here it is.

I had a wonderful visit back to Ohio in August. I got to see my family, and some friends too. It felt very good to be back home. It made me realize that I really did put my life in Ohio on hold while I commenced my life in Taiwan. I hadn't thought of those two things as being separate before, but they are in a sense.

All of the people, places, and things that made up my life pre-Taiwan have changed. Upon returning, I had no trouble identifying all of these things and people and places as being part of my life, but they were different, changed. My brothers are older, my house looks different, there are new restaurants in my neighborhood, Bud Light now comes in lime flavor.

I've put all of these things on the backburner again, however, and returned to Taiwan. I'll be starting a new job next week, teaching kindergarten at Marshall School in Taichung. Taichung, a city of about a million, is located about 2 hours south of Taipei, on the middle of Taiwan's western coast.

I feel excited about this new job. I'll miss my old students and coworkers (and to a lesser extent, the town of Linko,) but I was due for a change of scenery.

My roommate, Nick, and I rented an apartment on the 4th and 5th floors of an older building on the city's near west side. We live in an area with a fair amounts of expats from England, South Africa, and North America. We live within a couple blocks of a canal, a department store, two parks, two temples, and dozens of small shops and restaurants.

My girlfriend, Ariel, lives about five minutes walking from me, and she'll be working nearby too. So it's an all around good deal for me. I'm pretty excited about the next year of my life, and I'll definitely try my best to document all of my noteworthy thoughts here.

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2 Comments:

Blogger tom and Deb said...

Joe - First and foremost Aunt Debbie I want to apologize for not seeing you while you were home - some things just came up. We are so sorry to haave missed you during your brief visit - looks like you had a good time without us though!
Your plans for the new adventure sound great - new apartment job etc. Having Ariel so close is a nice bonus- please tell her I am sorry she missed your favorite uncle!
Your reflections are accurate - it was once said "you can't go home again" and you are at a point where that is true. Everything is a little different - I hate to tell you buddy but you are now officially and adult.
Glad to hear all is OK at this point - I swear we will see you next time you come "home".
You are always in our prayers
很爱
uncle tom and aunt debbie

August 30, 2008 at 2:23 AM  
Blogger Patrick Cowsill said...

Whereabouts in Ohio are you from?

The Marshall School - what's that? I've heard it's a Taichung answer to Taipei American. Is that right?

October 16, 2008 at 9:40 PM  

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