I was in Taiwan for two years ten years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and want to come back. The issue is, that now I would have an eight year old boy with me. He would not stay year round, but either the school year or summer break. I would prefer, that he stay with me during the school year because my ex-wife is well….lazy….when it comes to helping him navigate his way the through the school year. So my question is: would it be a too much to expect him to adapt to life in Taiwan and, once he has learned Chinese, going to school in the public school system? The major problem, is that I will once again be teaching English and would not be able to afford any of the prominent private schools. I would not be taking him with me initially, but would send for him once everything was set up. I have done a bit of research and did find one group, I have yet to get in touch with them, that have a sort of home school group set up. In addition, there is a US based international online academy that offers material for me to home school him and then I would set him up in a school to specifically learn Chinese. I am also looking for any other alternatives that I have yet to find. All of these are possibilities, but I do not actually have to go….It is not like I am a refugee applying for asylum.
I am doing this for two reasons, 1) I would like him to learn the language and culture while he is still young, like I learned French and 2)To be honest, I must admit this, I am bored to tears in the US and really enjoyed all the time I spent abroad as and expat…..which was extensive. Expats are generally an intense but very interesting group of people. I have not just lived in Asia, but also many other parts of the world. I just have an affinity for the language and I think China is the big kid on the block and that any exposure my son has to the Chines culture will be nothing but helpful. I don’t want to be one of those parents that convinces themselves that they are doing this all for their child, I’ll be honest, I am the one that wants to move. I have taken into consideration his personality characteristics, and I think he would go through some significant culture shock, but would probably land on his feet.
Thus, I am looking for as much information about the possible move as I can get my hands on. If I do bring him over it would not be until the summer vacation of 2015, and then it would be solely to get a grip on the language and travel throughout that part of the world. I might be coming over in January of 2015. But, once again, would like to say, that I will probably not come over to stay if it is not in his best interest. Any information you might have to share with me would be greatly appreciated. Also, I have a degree in broadcast journalism, I’m a photographer, and I will have a TESOL certificate in hand when I hit the ground. Thanks for any info you can give me.
Best Regards,
Weston
Taiwan
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