Taiwan - Scratching that Travel Itch

The Lewis-Murphy family is off to Taiwan!

I'm on the road again.  After three years of stationary existence and working a full-time job with all the trimmings, the travel itch came on with an intensity that could not be ignored. The big difference this time is that I am not taking off on my own with nothing but a backpack.  For this adventure I have the distinct pleasure of sharing my journey two hearty travel partners - Abel and Jess.  While Jess has more travel experience than Abel or me, it is Abel who is proving to be the all-star.  He has already flown from Austin to Silex, MO, then driven 2000+ miles from Silex to Temagami, Ontario.  Not bad for 2 1/2 months, if you ask me.

It has been a few years since I've posted on this blog, but I don't see any reason to start a new one.  Ideally, I would have been posting throughout my time in Austin, since life is an adventure no matter where or what one is living.  However, the highly domestic routine that I found myself in does not translate into exciting reading material.  Gym -> Work -> Grocery Store -> Home -> Repeat.  Another reason, or perhaps excuse, is that I had a busy job in addition to a great deal of coursework to earn my Board Certified Behavior Analyst certification.  Between +10 hours a day of work, domestic tasks, and then coursework, I didn't have much time to devote to trying to make my life sound exciting via blog posts. Hopefully living in a very foreign place where I don't speak the language with an infant will make life exciting enough that I don't have to stretch my writing skills to compose interesting blog posts.

Why Taiwan?  Good question.  There are a few answers.
1) Adventure.  Jess and I love to witness culture as outsiders and to experience different foods, languages, music, etc.  We also love to challenge ourselves by getting out of our comfort zone and learning what parts of  our habits and routines are intrinsic and which are just part of our surrounding cultural framework.
2) Abel.  Babies aren't babies for very long, so Jess and I really want to spend as much of this year with Abel as possible. Living in Taiwan allows us to work only part-time while having a very comfortable lifestyle.  Jess has a job working in the afternoons for 15 hours a week and I'm searching for a job in the mornings for the same amount of hours.  Thankfully, Taiwan offers National Health Care for anyone (foreigners included) who work at least 15 hours a week.
3) Mandarin.  No matter how many times I hear Jess speak Mandarin, I'm still amazed.  Chinese language and culture are an important part of her life and living in Taiwan will give her the opportunity to improve her language skills and share the culture with Abel and me.  Who knows, maybe I'll even pick up a few words . .
4) Careers.  Seems silly to bolster our careers by quitting good jobs that we really enjoyed, but that is part of the plan.  Jess wants to try working with younger students (1st - 3rd grade) and I want to get some experience doing 1:1 Applied Behavior Analysis therapy with students with autism.  This will help position us for jobs after we return.

Another post to follow very shortly as we are already here and I have lots to share about our journey thus far.  Thanks for reading and following along with our family adventure!