Job Discussion Forums

[killian]

hi ya'll. the run as been fun. about the only chore i have left in this island is the run to the airport.

some of the regular posters here have already left taiwan and re-acclimated back to livin at home.

if anyone would care to offer up some insights on RETURNING home from taiwan would find at least one grateful reader.

having lived outside the continental US for well on 10 years i am finding myself a bit edgy about returning to "mainstream" american life and all that such entails.

best wishes,
k

[Okami]

A friend of mine in the same situation told me you have to have goals and the will to stick it through the rough patches and reverse culture shock. I think the hardest part would not having anybody to talk to about it and having to make new friends all over again.

I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors,
Okami

[Libertarian]

I`ll be in a similar position as you when I return to my former profession in Canada after my contract expires. This will be after a five year absence.

If you have the time, please post now and then and let us know how your getting along and maybe offer some advice to others who will be following a similar path.

I wish you great success in all your future endeavours.

[Polina]

Good Luck and Congratulations, Killian!

I wonder about what it will be like for me, too, so any details would be really useful.

[Taylor]

Dear Readers,

My wife and I have been back in the US since May 2003. Our main reason for returning was to pursue graduate studies.

Being enrolled in graduate classes has indeed served as a "cushion" for the transition of being back in the US. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys the academic environment.

We have been living on savings, part-time jobs, and student loans. Obviously, getting a full-time job would be of concern for most people returning home. I guess retail is the easiest area for finding employment, as consumer spending makes up 2/3 of the US economy.

Best wishes. Remember, "wherever you are, be all there!"

Sincerely,

Taylor
Texas/Taiwan

[jason_seeburn]

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[killian]

"lost" ten years of my life? i'm sorry, but i can't (and won't) see it that way. the skills i learned over here are directly going to provide me with a leg up when i return home.

ten years ago,if i had to address hundreds of people i would have been unnerved. not anymore.

what is the most popular language in the world? no. not english. based upon number of speakers it is chinese. still not too many white guys conversant in chinese knocking around the midwest. much to my bemusement, my sister the kindegarden teacher has asked me to give chinese lessons to her students in jerkwater, USA.

opportunities abound. i'll just be selecting oportunites that'll allow me to have more time around my folks.

i have returned home for visits and happily,things with my family are pretty much the same: they work, they come home and eat, they fall asleep watching network television. such is "lost"?


i have doubts if i'll ever be able to go back to the way i was. such ain't necessarily bad.

[jason_seeburn]

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[Taylor]

Dear Mr. Seeburn,

Why are you so concerned about what Killian is going to do with the "remains" of his life, anyway?

Perhaps, his parents are getting on in years. People have been known to pass away at the ripe old age of 50 (or eariler).

Ever wonder why you ended up in Korea and Taiwan to begin with? I mean why not Switzerland, Egypt, or Russia???? Perhaps it has to do with the intelligence and industriousness of the Chinese and Koreans having developed powerful economies within a few decades!!! Yes, their weakness is English--which is why you earned all the thousands of dollars you did! No more comments about Taiwan's "destructive effect on people."


The LAST thing I hope Killian does is as follows: gets a 9 to 5 job working in some downtown metropolitan CUBICLE, spends 2 hours a day commuting, watches TV for 5 hours every evening, does it all again the next day. Saturday comes! Yeah, go to the mall and spend $400 on a bunch of overpriced junk. Sunday, watch sports for 9 hours.

If the above situation is what the American dream has become, just count me OUT now!!! I can live without a 60" plasma TV, a 3500 square foot McMansion with a 30-year mortgage, and a HUMMER to impress my similarly debt-ridden neighbots....I like that typo.."neighbots"...like Robots!!!!

Well, I hope others have some comments to add.

Sincerely,

Taylor
Texas/Taiwan

[lagerlout2006]

I'm a bit shocked that someone in Toronto thinks knowing some Chinese and Korean is useless. There are over 200 000 Koreans and God knows how many Chinese...When I lived there I met a lot of people who would have loved me for speaking their language.

[Hsinchuguy]

Take a look around you, is Taiwan really where you want to spend the rest of your life? I suffered a serious injury this past year and had to spend some time in a Taiwanese hospital and that was a blast of cold water of a reality check for me. Can you imagine being old or handicapped here? The other day I saw a mobility impaired, elderly Taiwanese woman trying to cross a busy street and nobody, but nobody what let her pass, people were speeding by her, honking at her.
I think Killian is doing the right thing by splitting. It might be a bit tough to find work and re-adjust at first, but I'm sure that you can make a life in the U.S. that equals life here in exotic strangeness if that's what you're after. Good Luck!

[Taylor]

Dear HsinchuGuy,

Was the old lady crossing the road at a crosswalk? I doubt it. Of course, most people do not. However, I vividly remember telling my students (8 to 10 year olds) to cross the street only at the crosswalk on their way home. This is a common-sense precaution that especially children and the elderly should take.

By the way, did YOU stop and help the elderly lady cross the street????? If so, you failed to mention it in your post.

Can you speak Chinese? I would imagine that nurses would treat a Chinese-speaking foreigner quite well--even better if you could speak Taiwanese!

I am well aware that living in Taiwan is stressful. I spent over seven years in Kaohsiung. But you will see many negative things in America, too! Litter, noisy neighbors, barking dogs, dangerous drivers, foul language, obnoxious cell phone users, etc. THESE ARE NOT SPECIFIC TO TAIWAN!!!

I just want someone to convince me that the American dream is not a life of debt-based materialism. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I have been back for almost a year (in grad school) and I am still not sure what America is all about!

Sincerely,

Taylor

[jason_seeburn]

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[jason_seeburn]

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[Taylor]

Dear Mr. Seeburn,

Your initial response seemed to have the following insinuation: "Dude, you had better stay in backwater Asia because things are so great in the US and Canada that you will never catch up to the Wonderful Society here."

Now, when I point out a few negative aspects of life in the good 'ol USA (and Canada, I presume), your position evolves to indicate that he should not give up his "established" life and career in Asia.

Pension plans, company-funded 401Ks,and full health coverage are going to be HISTORY in five years, my friends. Oh, yeah, maybe 5% of the working population (executives) can demand it, but the rest of us should forget about it.

Mr. Seeburn, please remember the advice I passed along earlier. "Wherever you are, be all there!"

Sincerely,

Taylor