Faced with a new challenge

Hunkered down, laying low, staying home, watching movies. That has been my life of late. I'm saving money. Why?

I'm having a baby.

American abroad having a baby with his Turkish spouse.

The timing couldn't have been bettter.

That last bit is not true.

The truth is that I was making serious plans to leave Turkey and scattering my resume all over the world while fretting about where I will find the money to buy planefare to relocate. That would be quite difficult with a baby and a spouse who would frankly prefer to stay in Turkey.

The Ride

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

- Hunter S. Thompson

Today I'm thinking about retirement. That's right. Today. I've spent quite a few years living and working in various places and at various jobs. The path of my teaching career is either sideways or downward. Sure, last year was a brief upward spike, but this year I am squeaking by month to month. Teaching in America was a bust. Japan was a crabwalk towards old age. Turkey is just too tight a fit.

So where do I go from here? I find myself thinking about jumping off again towards a paradise location where there may or may not be amenities like hospitals, electricity and hurricanes. Low salaries are a real consideration. Should I try to stomach the UAE or Saudi Arabia in exchange for some savings in the bank? It's a possibility.

(I'm also wondering if I should change the tone of this blog to sound like a know-it-all expert)



Teaching Abroad

Teaching abroad is a good way to see the world. If you're from an English speaking country, are a native English speaker, can pass the photo test and are in the preferred age range for your chosen country, you can get there and 'see the world'.

However, there's one very serious reality to consider, and that is that teaching is a difficult job. Your salary will generally allow you to live comfortably (but not always), and depending on the type of school or company you work for, you may have enough time to see a number of different places.

But when you're teaching, you're working. It's possible that you'll be working and working and working, just like you would be in your own hometown.

Clever expats find different ways of circumventing the daily grind, but if you're teaching abroad, count on a full workload.

Settling Down... in spite of myself

Going global sounds good, but momentum comes and goes. Teaching means having a job and hardly ever eating exotic... or even nice cuisine. It means taking the bus at a regular time. It means not strolling jauntily around in a foreign land. But it still sounds nice, and it's better than being stuck in your home town. It's much better to leave your home town and later wish to return than to never have left at all.

As it stands, sometimes get homesick. I also sometimes want to shoot off to India. My mind changes every time I see a travel program... but mostly I just want to leave this place.