Thoughts about Running Away

Recently president Obama has finally made the trip to Australia. This means that Australia is finally on the news and I can get up to speed on what's going on back home.
Apparently the Australian economy has been doing great recently, which leads me to question why the hell am I here? I work very little, my pay in crap, and so far I've saved nothing. If by chance I manage to save anything, it will be worthless back home, and will probably only be the equivalent of a plane ticket.

That's why I've been thinking run Cathryn, run far far away, back to Australia.

Of course there are a few advantages to staying. I can practice Chinese, hang out in a big city, nobody back home ever has to know about the things that I get up too. If I just ride it out for another three months I will have paid off my loan, and hopefully they'll finally give me a pay rise.

But I can't shake the feeling that I'm wasting my life away working for this company. By the time my contract finishes I'll be a year older. That's a whole year that I could have done something more meaningful with my life. In my current job the conditions are pretty crap. I don't have paid holidays, paid sick leave, or any paid time off at all. I also have training and meetings that I'm forced to attend in my free time, that I don't get anything for.  It's not just my job, these are pretty universal conditions throughout Taiwan. It's even worse for the average Taiwanese worker.

If I went back to Australia, the conditions would be great, the pay would be great. Everyone speaks English, which is also great. Sure the public transport is crap and everything is so much more expensive, but I would finally have more money.

But it's also embarrassing to return home after making a big deal about leaving. Everyone always talks behind your back and asks questions such as: why are they back, did something happen? Couldn't they take it? Did they get homesick?

Of course it's not really possible to go back now due to my lack of funds. But that doesn't stop me from job searching. Ha ha ha ha. Taiwan, I will escape you yet!