Living abroad, far from your family, has become too difficult; We are backwards

In search of adventure and need to reimburse student loans, I moved to Taiwan at the start of the twenty.

I complained about my debt when a friend mentioned that teaching English abroad could be a good way to get out. My child and youth work in Canada did not cover invoices. I convinced my boyfriend of the time to join and we spent the following two and a half years to teach students of kindergarten and primary to Taiwan

But after budgetary success, after reaching our goal, we decided to return to Canada. Back home in the middle of their twenties with an swollen ego after a few years of easy money, a comfortable life and a level of respect as a English teacher turned out to be an obstacle to my success in Canada.

We have lost a lot of our savings in the time we needed to put our lives. We had a hard time finding a job in Canada who paid enough to respond to subsistence costs and ended up moving four times between the cities. We found ourselves once again in a financial hole which became deeper with each passing year.

Safety search in Taiwan

Thus, 6 years later, after our marriage, we returned to Taiwan in 2009, this time, our plan was to move permanently.

I spent most of my 1930s, the next 7 and a half years, Taiwan teacher English.

I loved the work, the lifestyle, the financial security, the opportunity to travel, the design of my dream apartment and, possibly, the adoption of three cats.

However, even if we were building a good life in Taiwan, it did not cancel the fact that an important part of our life was back in Canada, our family.

By living in Taiwan, my stepfather suddenly died of a heart attack and our world bowed. We got home to cry with my husband’s family, but we realized that two weeks was an insignificant time to treat such a loss.

A little over a year later, my nephew died on his school playground for recess. He was 8 years old and had spent 7 years in Taiwan. I had only met him a few times in his short life.

Suddenly, the money, the pretty apartment and the beautiful view no longer kept us.

My husband and I clearly started to understand that the distance between us and our family meant that we could not really be part of the life of the other. We couldn’t be there to cry, celebrate or share.

The house called

We are now back in Ontario, Canada for almost 8 years. I am involved in the life of my nieces and the nephews and I take the time to travel with my sisters. My five brothers are no longer foreign to me. I was able to visit my only grandparent living several times since I was back-she is in mid-90 years. I see family almost every month now for a vacation or sometimes just to come together.

At 46, after having started in Canada, changing career and cope with the increase in the cost of living, I doubt that we will be financially at ease. We will probably never have a house, will buy a new car, go on a fanciful vacation or will not take a comfortable retirement.

But it is worth seeing my nieces and my nephews turn into adults. I also have time for intimate conversations with my brothers and sisters during car walks or hiking nearby.

I found great adventures there – lessons and ideas that came when I deleted everything that is familiar and influential. The growth occurred when I exceeded my limits and I realized that the only limits were the ones I had created.

I also came to see the enormous value of sometimes staying there.