East is Relative

The decision I have made

The decision I have made has been well-deliberated. The decision I have made has been debated and argued and thought about and meditated on and processed in all ways possible. The decision I have made is to come home.

Shimen was not a good fit for me for several reasons. Buckland has offered me several other options for schools, but they seem to be bad fits for similar reasons to Shimen. Ultimately, I’m a city girl. I had a good time finding out about small-town China, but I feel that all I will accomplish in six more months is to realize that I really don’t like small towns. Especially small towns in which I don’t speak the language.

I love China. I love the language and the people and the cities and the small towns. I do not, however, love teaching EFL. I love teaching, but there’s a reason I didn’t minor in English…I hate English. There’s a reason I didn’t certify in lower grade levels…I have to be able to reason with my students (something that’s impossible with low-comprehension, low-participation Chinese students). The negatives outweigh the positives here.

I’ve also been extremely lucky in this term as far as travel opportunities. I have been to Shanghai, Suzhou, Changsha, Liuyang, Changde, Hanzhong, Xi’an, Yangshuo. When my mom and stepdad come to visit, we are going to Beijing, Nanjing, Huangshan, Harbin, and Xi’an. After they are gone, I will go to Lhasa and Chengdu. I will have been to almost every place I wanted to go in China in around 6 months. I have been so fortunate to have that opportunity.

For all these reasons (and of course, more), I have decided that after I travel this Spring Festival, my time in China is over. I don’t want to continue to teach EFL, and I’d much rather leave China while I still love the country than stay another six months and risk getting bitter.

I will be coming home to the US around March 4th (I haven’t thought far enough ahead to factor in the time-changes – I leave Beijing on March 3rd). I will, of course, keep you up to date about my travels with my parents, and my impressions of America and China once I’ve left the Middle Kingdom.

It is a bitter-sweet parting, but I think the decision I have made is for the best.