The journey to work is indeed an important one.  The journey though is not so clear for international school teachers, when looking for jobs at schools and cities/countries to which they have never been.  So let’s share what we know!

One of our members, who works at the American School Taichung, in Taichung, Taiwan, described her way to work as follows:

The Bike Ride to School

I live 3 km. from my school, which makes my daily trip sound brief and routine at first glance. However, I live on the far eastern edge of Taichung, Taiwan in an established community that is undergoing massive transformation. One can see construction projects nearly everywhere. Block by block, they are overtaking previous farm or fallow land.  Soon, this neighborhood will be teeming with new residents.

Meanwhile, it seems busy enough on a weekday morning—with people rushing to work and school on foot and by vehicle. Scooters reign the streets here and throughout Taiwan. In the middle of all this, there’s me on my bicycle.

I ride every day to work, which gives me the exercise and fresh air that I need. It takes a bit of preparation to pack everything I think I will need into my panniers and on to my back. I have to give myself extra time once I get to school to clean up and change into school clothes. I ride in sun and rain—even in a typhoon!  With my home in Oregon, I’m prepared for the rain. Same for winter temperatures.

As I ride to school, I leave the outer bounds of an urban area and quickly transition into a natural preserve.

Our school sits surrounded by jungle and bamboo farms. The road to our school barely covers two lanes. I most enjoy that going slower than a scooter, and being exposed to the elements unlike a car driver, I can absorb all of the sensual experience of the jungle. The bird calls. The frog songs. The fresh scent of the air washed by rain. The shy, white egret rising from a fishing spot on the nearby river.

Currently, we have 12 international school listed in Taiwan on our website.  6 of them have had comments submitted on them by our members. Check out which ones here by using our school search feature and ticking the box ‘schools with comments’.

***********************

So what is your journey to the international school you work at?  Earn 6 free months of premium membership to our website if you participate in this blog series – ‘The Journey to School’.  Email us here if you are interested.