The East Side of Europe Minyan?

Given the unsettled nature of my relationship with Shane, it's hard not to start contemplating where I might leap if things go south. A few thoughts about this have occurred to me over the past three or four weeks.

The first is to find a position at another school in Taiwan. There are other schools where I would be more settled and have a better time. Kojen, in particular, seems to have a good adult program and I would at least be in places where I would have real colleagues.

But I have also given some thought to leaving Taiwan altogether and finding work somewhere on the globe that interests me more. Nearly anywhere I go, I could find colleagues and an interesting cultural experience. I admit to not having come to Taiwan for the best reasons. I came because, it seemed, the best-paying EFL/ESL jobs were here, in Korea, or in Saudi Arabia.

Well, Saudi Arabia was clearly out of the picture. Even if the Saudi government did not bar Jews from entering the country, I have no interest in going to live on an American compound in the middle of the desert. Since North Korea is currently ratting sabers at South Korea, I felt that wasn't a good scene, either. So Taiwan it was.

The last couple of days, the thought of going to teach in Russia has been on my mind. Russia, unlike Taiwan, is a country I have had a longstanding interest in. Salaries are not high like in Taiwan--I'm told $950 to $1250 a month is about the most you can expect in Russia, though this usually comes with free accomodation--but there is so much more to capture my interest there.

Some pluses and minuses of Russia:

Pluses:

1) Personal interest in the culture. And if I went to Russia, I would make sure it was to Moscow or St. Petersburg, not the Russian equivalent of Taoyuan, which seems to be the Taiwanese equivalent of Pittsburgh.

2) Chance to learn Russian. I took a semester of Russian in college. I wouldn't have done badly had I not fallen behind on homework corrections I wasn't even aware I had to do, and which counted toward my overall grade. Having an instructor whose native language was Italian didn't help, either.

3) Synagogues are more readily available--I'm sure there has to be a good one in Moscow or St. Petersburg--and I could see all kinds of sites of Jewish interest. I almost feel fraudulent, at times, calling this blog the Far East Side Minyan, as my Jewish activity since coming to Taiwan has been all but nonexistent.

4) I would not have to commit myself to a full-year contract, which would make getting back and getting into graduate school easier.

Minuses:

1) Pay is lousy, as mentioned above.

2) In addition to the pay being lousy, Russia is apparently experiencing galloping inflation at the moment. This would necessitate being very frugal and converting whatever money I made back into dollars on a regular basis to wire home.

3) As much as I loved Dr. Zhivago, do I really want to contemplate a winter in St. Petersburg?

4) There is no Russian consulate or embassy in Taiwan. I would certainly have to go back to my country and my kindred and my father's house to apply for positions in Russia and find a school that would send me an "invitation," which would take at least a month to reach me by post.