To give you an idea of what our jobs and lives will look like in Taiwan and hopefully answer some burning questions that you might have, here is a quick guide:
- We'll be living and working in Hsinchu, which is a city of about 400,000 people on the west coast of northern Taiwan.
- We will be teaching in an American school, so everything is in English, and the schedule and curriculum are based on North American schools. This means that we won't just be teaching English; we will be teaching all subjects that would typically be taught in a kindergarten here in America.
- We will work 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday. We will be with our kindergarten class from 8:30-4:00 with a 1.5 hour break then we will head over to our elementary class that will go from 4:30-6:00.
- In our kindergarten class, we will have a native English-speaking co-teacher and a Taiwanese liaison.
- The school will help us find an apartment within walking distance, and the price range we were given was under $200/month for rent!
- We will be provided lunch and dinner on school days, and the cost of living is very low in Taiwan, so it is common to eat out for every other meal!
- Taiwan is hot and humid all year round...yes, we're moving to a tropical island.
- Our contracts are for a year, but if we love it...we'll get a re-signing bonus to stay for round 2 :)
After a rough few months of transitioning to new jobs, a new town, and diving headfirst into the stressful world of wedding planning, God has shown us that even through the times that our faith and trust in him are at their weakest, he will come through anyway. Just within the last few weeks, we have found a place to live in the Grand Rapids area for the summer, we nailed down jobs in Taiwan, and through the help of some amazing friends and family that have not only offered but begged to help in whatever way they can, I finally feel like wedding plans are really coming together. These are three huge things that have been causing Lance and I (and by that, I mean mostly me) a lot of stress lately and to have them taken care of lifts some huge weights off of our shoulders. And the amazing thing is that they were hardly by our efforts. God's hand was definitely involved in creating these opportunities for us, and we are beyond blessed and grateful!
Getting these jobs has only made us more excited for the future and our life together!
再見 (that means goodbye),
Rayanne & Lance
