A couple of weeks ago, Reachtoteach held its’ monthly social event—a meet and greet at a local bar. Generally speaking, this event was no different from the many others I’ve attended—similar venue, music, and drinks. But in one way it was unmistakably unique. So many of the familiar faces I’d grow accustomed to seeing at these events had disappeared. In the past 2 months, a seemingly endless trend of exodus has started.
In their stead was a fresh new batch of faces. The new recruits had arrived to fill the shoes of the retired veterans.
Meeting these fresh faces proved easy. Being new means being especially sociable in hopes of making new friends. I introduced myself, and went through the check-list of standard questions you always ask when you meet someone for the first time (at least until the alcohol catches up and things spice up a little).
“What’s your name? Where are you from? Where’d you go to school? Age/Sex/Location?”
And then of course:
“How long have you been here?”
The answers I received almost knocked me off my chair (I promise it wasn’t alcohol-induced).
“1 month.” “1 week.” “3 days.”
Make no mistake. These kids were newbies.
A couple of things happened at this point. First, I felt a sudden jolt of nostalgia that I previously figured I wouldn’t feel until I arrived back home. I was jealous that these new teachers were experiencing Taiwan for the first time, and that they possessed all the vigor, anticipation, and enthusiasm that I did just 11 months ago. I felt a little like that old grandpa reminiscing..." you know, when I was your age..."
Second, it became very clear that I’d made the transition from rookie to veteran. Before I knew it I had become one of the seniors in Taiwan. I spent a good portion of the night answering questions on what teaching was like, what fun things there were to do in Taiwan, stinky tofu, typhoons, heaven money, and all the other quirky things about life in Taiwan. It was like I was the Oracle of Taiwan. For once my Chinese skill appeared strong, and some even told me that they enjoyed this blog—ill-updated as it is.
I’m not going to lie, it felt pretty freaking sweet.
What was even more surprising is that I met a handful of people whom I’ve actually interviewed for Reachtoteach. It was strange meeting people face-to-face whom I’ve already fairly in-depth hour long conversations with. Even stranger to see the "fruits of my labor", so to speak.
Honestly, I was in a little disbelief when my friends began to leave. I likened it to the emotions I felt when everyone dispersed after the LanguageCorps training roughly 1 year ago—an almost fairy-tale kind of year which seemed to be prematurely coming to an end. But then I realized that I soon was to be part of this trend. So in that sense, the people leaving and the new influx of recruits signaled the beginning of the end of my Taiwan tenure.
At least I now know that if I decide to return, there will be more cool people to hang out with. And even more to replace them when the time comes. In the words of the great Lu, “the show goes on.”
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| The new kids on the block. |
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| Me and the bosslady, Carrie. |
