Chapter 2- To go or not to go?

Isn’t that always the question?

Of course, Joe was outraged that I was even considering taking the job in China. Joe had been very supportive of my career choice up until then. He used to get up at 5am to pack my lunch because I worked 12 hour days as a student teacher and only had time for fast food otherwise. If only he was an inconsiderate jerk or had a drug problem, it would have made my decision a lot easier.

“There’s a huge teacher surplus here and no jobs. I won’t even make it on the supply list as a new grad. I need the experience. ” I tried to explain to him that it wasn’t really up to me.

“I can support both of us on my salary. You don’t need a job!” He’d offer for the 10th time.

And for the last 9 times, I tried to tell him that I wasn’t ready to be a housewife at the age of 22, but he didn’t seem to remember.

“Fine!” I said, “But I want a credit card with no limit so I can buy designer bags and go to Vegas with my girlfriends every month.”

“Done!” He replied with a straight face as if taking me seriously.

I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. I had a feeling he wasn’t.

“Come on, be reasonable!” I begged him. “ It’ll only be a year or so. Once I get some teaching experience under my belt, I’ll come right back! ”

In the end, neither of us was able to persuade the other, and being too young to understand how compromise worked we decided to do what any sensible young adult would do. We decided to “take a break”.

The day after we went “on a break”, I accepted the job offer and the week after, I was on a plane to Shanghai.