Welcome to the official blog of the Rockwells!!!
As all of you know, we love to explore. This summer we will "runaway" from everything we know here in Atlanta, Georgia: jobs, family, friends, familiar running trails, people that speak English and Med Grill.
For the past few months, we (mostly James) have been researching all of the countries we could teach English in and break-even for money earned vs living costs. We earned "TEFL" (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certifications online, talked to friends that have taught abroad, applied for jobs, had some Skype interviews, and managed to sell almost all of our stuff on Craigslist. After much hard work, we have a job!
On May 20th, we are moving to the lovely city of Hsin Chu City, Taiwan. Starting on June 11th, we will be teaching English for Shane English School. The school is a chain headquartered in Britain (Rachel hopes to pick-up on a British accent). We'll be teaching mostly children (maybe some adults) between the ages of 7-15 how to speak English.
http://www.shane.com.tw/2011/ (click on "For Teachers")
Why would we leave the city of Atlanta, the only place Rachel has EVER lived, and liquidate all of our stuff to do this? Simply because life is short and why not?! Rachel has been wanting to teach kids for quite some time but avoiding paying thousands of $$$ for a new college degree. James is always looking for new running trails. Plus, Taiwan has a tropical climate, friendly people, a spread of fresh Asian fruits, 75% mountains, and 100% coast (because it's an island)! You can't argue that Taiwan seems like a good fit for us.
Here's a nice picture of Taiwan:
Now, who wants to come visit?
Why is this blog titled "Beyond Rice"? When Americans think of Asian countries, they often times think of rice. Understandable. Through our blog, we want to share with our family and friends what else Taiwan and the other Asian countries we travel to have to offer besides rice. Plus, Aimee Murphy liked it when I used this phrase and suggested we name our blog this.
We'll keep you updated on our explorations, career change, new friends, crazy new fruits and veggies and more when we embrace our new home.
