The Reason for This Blog's Name

The reason for this blog's name is fairly simple. In New York, I attend the West Side Minyan of Congregation Ansche Chesed, located on New York's Upper West Side (http://www.anschechesed.org/minyans/wsmweb/index.htm). At a Yom Kippur break-fast, someone in the minyan told me I would be the "East Side branch" of the West Side Minyan when I left for Taiwan. So I thought to myself, "Yes--the FAR East Side branch", and I knew somehow this was just the title I was looking for.

I really have never known a nicer bunch of people than I have known at the West Side Minyan. They have helped me through everything these past three years of upheavals. And so to them this blog is affectionately dedicated.

Well...back to my story.

In looking for a position in Taiwan, I learned that the best way to go for a newcomer to the field was to find a recruiter. And so I found one--Reach to Teach Recruiting. I had a one-hour phone interview with the director, who eventually told me about a couple of positions he had available. One was in Tainan, the old capital of Taiwan (which is now Taipei). The other was in a city called Taoyuan, only 40 minutes by train from the thriving city of Taipei, and a great opportunity in that I would be the first teacher at a brand new branch of this particular language school.

Well, after looking at the company's website, I quickly grabbed the latter opportunity. And so all the wheels are now in motion, and I will be departing for Taiwan in just a few days, on the 8th of October.