Ooooookinawa

I don't know why I think that anything in my life would be simple.  I've got an overactive imagination and with it, a need to plug my life full of things to keep the gears turning.  So the complex finds me.  Or, rather, some part of me seeks it out.  Either way, I've got Conundrum #954929 to work out right now.  Here goes:

In the next couple weeks I have to decide if I want to live in Okinawa, Japan for 2-3 years.  But I wouldn't be moving out until May of 2007.  Which means any number of things between now and then could make me regret whatever decision I make either way.

But here are the benefits:

1)  Mo money.  Adam finds out in a week if he's getting a promotion which would elevate us from paycheck-to-paycheck to solidly middle class.  By the time Adam's contract expired he'd potentially only be 8 years away from pension, meaning he could pension out at 40.  If he doesn't get this promotion, everything else is mute.  But if he does, and we reinlist, there's a reinlistment bonus to boot.

2)  Trilingualism.  By the time I graduate I'll be fully fluent in English and Spanish.  And if we go to Oki I'll start taking Japanese next summer, and have 3 semesters under my belt before I'm fully immersed.  2-3 years should be ample time to get at least vaguely conversational.

3)  Experience.  I've heard rumours that finding an ESL teaching position over there isn't that hard.  I could probably, at the very least, find a teacher's assistant position, or do private tutoring.

4)  Education.  If we stay here and we're broke, grad school will probably be out of the question for a while.  If we go over there, it'll be expensive, but I can get my degree online (and with experience for my portfolio, which, as I mentioned shouldn't be that difficult).  Or get another bachelor's in business or something.  Jeremy will be in school during the day, so I won't have to worry about time unless I'm trying to juggle full time school and full time work, but even that I've done before.

5)  Change.  I thrive off of it. 

6)  Environment.  If we lived on base, it'd be impossible to live more than 3 blocks from the beach.  We might even get in a high-rise building ON the water.  Snorkling, scuba diving, deep sea fishing...all out my back door.  And the jungle to the north.  Gorgeous architecture all around.  New plants and animals every day.

7)  New stuff.  We'd have to move into a smaller space, so we could ditch all of our old, huge, falling apart furniture for new stuff.  And have the money to buy nice new stuff.

8)  There's a Taco Bell (and every other necessity) on base.

So, there's the good.  Here's the bad:

1)  Senior year solo.  Adam would be going out right when I'd be starting my last year, so beyond what help I could get from my mom and Jeremy being in kindergarter/daycare I'd have to go it alone.  It would be for about 9 months, but we could go visit for a few weeks for winter and spring breaks.  But still.  I'd get lonely and it'd be hard.

2)  Jeremy misses daddy for almost a whole year.  We'd see him every few months, but still.  That's an awful lot to ask of a 5 year old, although I kinda went through the same thing for a while...but my dad was just 150 miles north of us and it was only for a few months.  Still, I survived.

3)  New home AGAIN.  I've been in San Diego for 2 1/2 years and am finally starting to feel like this place is home.  I've got friends I love, a job I like, know almost the whole city, can go anywhere I want at any time.  How would I meet people in Okinawa?

4)  Island fever.  I'd be stuck on a foreign island.  When I got upset I'd likely feel very trapped.  We'd still be able to go back home about as often as we do now, but still. 

5)  Jeremy starts school abroad.  Depending on the experience, this could be an excellent and completely enriching thing, or totally shitty.  But he'd be going to school on base at an English speaking school.  Kid's adapt, and I'm not that worried about him.  He'd get to start 3rd or 4th grade back in the states and have plenty of stories to tell.  Or it might fuck him up for life in some previously unconceived of way.

That's all I got for now...that just drained me....

Comments

[Erwin]

valid points on both side. I don't want you to go, but I am selfish, and want you around forever!!! muahahaha... but seriously... good and bad things. i want to wish you good, but I can't shake the bad. i see bad things coming to light more readily than the good... I dunno. I'll tell you more in person if you want to know more about what I think.

[Jimbo Baby]

I wouldn't worry about Jeremy too much, kids are adaptable and the stimulation can only help him. My brother went away for a year for the Navy and his kids were 3 and 5 and it didn't seem to traumatize them too much. I don't get it though - is Adam getting stationed over there and/or is your potential job through the military? I'm sure either decision could be a good one.

[=AnnA=]

Unexciting logistics:

Adam's reinlisting again. He'll be spending all but the training period of his reinlistment in Okinawa and will be virtually undeployable (barring WWIII...keep your fingers crossed). I don't have any job lined up, but there's a decent network out there that I'm beginning to tap into. I might be working for the DOD, but it will be a government job on base, not a military position. I'll be fresh out of college with no experience, to be sure, but with my ESL teaching certificate and decent command of English and Japanese, I've been told I'll bank teaching over there. At the very least I'll work some teaching assistant position while I get my masters and Japanese fluency, then bank (as much as teachers can) soon after.

[Kirsty]

Just stopped by via the 'recently updated' list and thought I'd say 'ohayo gozaimas' (good morning - 07.30 GMT+1) and good luck with your move. I started learning Japanese two weeks ago - my tutor is wonderful and I'm having great fun learning, but it doesn't sound easy to become fluent.
All I want are some basic phrases so that I can get by there on holiday!
Sayonara!

[=AnnA=]

'ohayho gozaimas' is one of about 5 things I can say! That and 'nihongo ga wakari mas' (I understand Japanese), which is a complete, bold-faced lie. Looks like we both need some polishing ;)

[anne barnett]

I don't know you, but I have lived on Okinawa when I was younger. I loved it. My father worked for the Military as a civilian and my family of 8 children moved there in 1972. I went to a DOD school there as a child and it made a lasting impression on me. I've got a 5 year old now to, don't know if I want to leave my hubby for a year, but I know it'd be real tough on the child.

Now can you help me? I've got an 18year old who just graduated from AF BMT. He's scheduled to go to Keesler for training but is now a "hold over" til they get the base back on line. How does it look? Do you know anything about when training classes will start again?

Good luck to you, you sound like a pretty dynamic woman!!!
aeb

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