11.12.2007 - The north wind doth blow.

MMI "Since 181 posts ago
Now available in a collectible ring binder.
"Be the envy of your friends this Christmas!"

Well, it's that time of year again and being out here doesn't mean you can ignore it. Taiwan seems to have gone Christmas crazy, more so than last year. The department stores have switched to carol CDs, trees are popping up all over the place and turkey pre-orders are already popping up in the expat magazines. Christmas is funny here, since no one knows why or what they are meant to be celebrating except buying gifts. The Christmas songs are incompressible, Christmas cards are in English yet they go shopping like maniacs, flooding the 20 story department stores and telling their kids that Santa is coming. On second thought, is it very different from home? I forgot.

I myself put a little tree up in the corner of my flat, complete with paper craft star and when the kids wake up this afternoon we are going to put up the tree and decorate the class room, happy times! I'm reading them a Christmas story about a family who hangs fruit and nuts on a fir tree in the forest every year to feed the animals. Then we're going to make popcorn and hang it outside on an evergreen to feed the birds. Of course the school say don't focus too heavily on Christmas and for the love of Santa don't mention the meaning behind it, but I overcompensated for not being home last year so I'm sure I can get away with it again.

My life at the moment has been filled with thoughts of the future, having successfully escaped boredom in my life for a long time now, I am thinking carefully about the next move. My time at this school ends in July, at which point I shall be returning home to ponder my predicament. I have to say, teaching has been one of the most challenging and character building choices I have made in life. July will be two years at this school and I will really be ready for a break. Being home will tell me how I feel about the prospect of work in the UK.

But having such a great life out here and getting paid so well and living so cheaply has surely spoilt me. So much so, that the choice to settle into a job I dislike is going to be much more difficult to make. Regardless, a month or so of seeing family and friends will be worth making the trip alone. Therefore the next few months are also going to be spent hammering away at my UK debit and credit card balances so that when I return, it shall be with a clean slate financially plus enough to support me when I am home. That way I can take it easy and plan my next step. I am actually really excited to come back and have it be longer than 5 days this time and look forward immensely to seeing everyone again.

Well, I've got to get back to it,
these decorations aren't going to hang themselves,

Til we meet again,
This has been MMI