testing 1,2,3

Hello. I am a 38-year-old, getting ready to go to Taiwan to teach English on a 12-month contract. I have never been to Asia, have never taught English and do not speak Chinese (none of the many dialects).

A little about me- I decided in Spring 2004 that corporate America was not for me. I've had experience in finance, approximately 5 years with one company, but I've always had the suspicion that I would never get too far from a career standpoint because I could never buy in to the various philosophies and credos that go along with the business field. Finally, at 37, I decided, for the present, I'd had enough. I quit my job, took the summer off, got certified to teach English as a second language (TESOL certified for those keeping score) and started to look for overseas opportunities. I also started having more fun, making myself relax and not worry about the future. People much wiser than I have told me that the future tends to take care of itself, and making oneself happy, or at least working towards making oneself happy, is an end in itself. I'd had the good fortune of living in Germany for about 18 months after college and decided that I would like to see Asia. That is me in a nutshell. I'm leaving August 11 for Taipei. I will be working at a small, private school in Hsin Chu, which is a suburb of Taipei.