I can honestly say I like my job. Ha! It only took me 18 years to be able to say that. From my first job as a landscaper`s assistant through the horrors of waitressing, assisting veterinarians and dental office 7am starts, this is the best job I`ve ever had. (It also pays the best, but more of that later) Many people dream of living under palm trees and escaping all the traps of North American life by moving to Asia and "teaching" (travelling) only to find that teaching is what we actually do here most of the time. We see lots of people here who hate teaching. Some stick it out for the money and the lifestyle, some are back home within six months. On that first crazy flight to Indonesia, I too was imagining figuring out my mess of a life under some coconuts. I don`t think I gave a single thought to the job I was presumably going there for. I speak English, how hard could it be?

Four years later I`m in a good place. It turns out the coconuts didn`t help at all, but time sure did. (Having the means to pay all my monthly bills in the same month for once sure helped.) I started off as a terrified, seriously stressed teacher who had to study the grammar before I taught it. That first year was a lot of hangman and faking it. (When in doubt, just say, "Oh, that`s how we spell it in Canada". ) Now though, I can walk into almost any class with no prep and rock out a terrific lesson that both me and my students understand.

At the moment I`m teaching at two schools. My morning job is a kindergarten. I teach illegally there since English is not allowed to be taught to Taiwanese children before the age of 7. There are 9 full time teachers at my campus and we have 3 campuses. Safe to say that the government turns a blind eye to foreign teachers in kindergartens. Most of my friends also teach illegally at kindergartens. It`s not the easiest way to earn a living, but the need is so great that you can almost name your wage.

Kindergarten teachers are a special breed. They are morning people, they are energetic, patient and kind. I am rarely any of these things at 9:00 in the morning but I fake it pretty well most days. I really like (most of) the kids which helps a lot. Not a day goes by that I am not pleasantly surprised and delighted by something they say. They also learn English 10 times faster than children in elementary school so you can see improvement on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. The hardest class is my Rabbit class. Rabbit class is 26 - 2 years olds and some of them are still in diapers. That is the dedication of some parents that their children be fluent in both Mandarin and English. I still believe that kids shouldn`t even be in school at that age, let alone being tested in 2 languages. They are pretty damn cute though, especially when they see me in the halls and scream out, "Teacha Bwee!".

My evening (legal) job is at a buxiban (bush-ee-ban). Buxiban`s are after school cram schools. Kids in elementary and high schools go to regular school from 7am until 4pm then they come to my school for extra math, Chinese, science and English classes. Most of them also go to other cram schools for computer, music and calligraphy classes. It`s not uncommon for kids as young as seven to be in their school uniforms (and thus, in school) from 7am until 9pm, 6 days a week. 

My life as a buxiban teacher is half monkey, half mother. I see these kids more than their parents do. I have to teach them, discipline them, entertain them and sometimes I just say, "fuck it" and take them to 7-11 for slurpees. I am a good teacher I think. I feel I have struck that fine balance between teaching and having fun, after all, my school is voluntary. If they don`t like me they can ask their parents to send them to another one of the hundreds of cram schools in town. That consideration is one of the most important realizations a teacher can have here. My students choose to come to my class.

My days are long. I start at 9am and I get home at 10pm, but I have a leisurely lunch break and can`t complain about either of my jobs. I`ve been teaching for a few years now though, and it takes time to know what kind of school and classroom environment is best for you. I work about 35 hours a week between my two jobs and manage to save more than $1000 Canadian dollars every month. The money wouldn`t be worth it though if I wasn`t happy doing what I do.