One aspect of my life that had been nagging away at me, at least a little bit, is the issue of professional development. As happy as I am to be living abroad, and as rewarding as I find my life here, I couldn't help but notice that I was doing the same job as people who were fresh out of university, and more than a decade younger than myself.
From a professional perspective, I was basically starting over from the beginning. My decade-long career in IT seems like a distant memory. And part of me was asking myself, "Is this it? Will I just keep teaching like this for years and years until I retire?"
But I chose to stay positive. I have a stable job, a stable income, and legal status, which are things that seemed so unattainable only a year ago. And who knows what's around the corner? Sometimes nagging questions have a way of answering themselves.
A couple weeks ago, the owner of the school where I work, who's name is Jackie (we call him Teacher Jackie), asked if he could talk to me for a minute. I had only spoken to him directly a few times, as usually any managerial/supervisory issues are handled by the Taiwanese teachers. I thought maybe he was going to give me crap for playing around with the students (when the students are in the lobby area putting on their shoes, etc. I often like to play with them, give them high-fives, etc.)
Jackie said that recently he has so much work to do, because one of the supervisory Taiwanese teachers left to study abroad, and recently his wife is working to obtain her MBA. He mentioned that in the past he had had a foreign teacher on the managerial side of things, and that it worked out really well. He said he had a good feeling about me and wanted me to consider being a supervisor.
So, last Wednesday, I had another meeting where he wanted me to share my ideas about how to improve the schools (there is a school here in Sanxia as well as one in Banqiao, another area of Taipei County). I'm not sure if he agreed with every idea I put forward, but he seemed very impressed with how organized and prepared I was, and how well I was able to articulate myself. I guess working in a business office for 10 years actually taught me something after all.
So this Tuesday, at our general meeting, Teacher Jackie himself will come to make an announcement, that I am the new head foreign teacher for the schools. I will still be teaching but I will have a reduced schedule to help me achieve my managerial goals and duties.
I still am not sure how it will all play out. I worry that the other foreign teachers (who are also my friends) might distance themselves from me. I also worry that at times, the workload might seem unbearable.
But on the whole, I feel happy. Last February I made a hasty retreat from Tokyo, and arrived here in Taipei with no money, and no job, feeling somewhat useless and more than a little bit desperate.
Becoming a manager in less than six months is a welcome turn of events. And with the knowledge and experience I gain in this new position, who knows what might come down the pipeline next?
