Today my son returned to the US for only the second time in five years. Five years ago this month he left Boston for Suwon, South Korea. He had a TEFL certificate and wanted to travel- so off he went. He stayed at that center for three years, before moving on to a private school in Seoul, which offered better hours, salary, and experience. He went back to Boston for a few weeks in between.
As time went by and he used any spare moment to travel- all around Korea and many other countries it seemed like he might really be ready for the next step- teaching at an international school. He got his teaching license in EAL K-12 and elementary and joined one of the big recruiting agencies for international teachers in August. Being the mom of adults is an ongoing transition. I worked hard to not overstep my bounds but offered advice when asked.
The world was his oyster and I had high hopes for him. I was excited as he looked through options, applied for jobs, and in the end super proud when he had two offers to consider. I learned it is more fun to be an observer to the process than the stress of going through it myself. He ended up choosing a position at a small school in Bangkok as one of two EAL teachers. I am so proud of him for working toward a goal and achieving it. In a non Covid world we will be only a 45 minute flight apart and could meet up for a weekend whenever we want. Many of our holidays will align, so we can travel together for longer jaunts too. Let’s hope that will be our reality.
This “boy” of mine definitely has itchy feet and I know that even though I have been living in Southeast Asia for nearly 8 years he will soon be more experienced in travel in the region. I take some of the credit for his traveling ways- by the time he was three he was living in his third country (also his third continent) and he has added five more home countries since then. It actually seems to be a genetic thing- my mom loves to travel (still, at almost 81) and her mom did too.
Today I am thinking of him as he returns to his passport country for a few months before beginning his next adventure. I am not sure he knows how strange it will feel to feel like a visitor there. In 2 1/2 months, I will see him there and we can compare notes together (it will by then have been three years since I have been back). I take some of the blame for that strange feeling but know that it is part of this lifestyle we have both chosen.
Ms. Victor Reads 
Your son is definitely following in your footsteps! It is hard when you are both overseas, but great that he will now be closer geographically to you! For a while I had a daughter in Burundi, another in Shanghai and one in South Africa and we were in India. We tried to get our paths to cross about once a year back in Australia! Now we’re all back in Australia for the time being, you just never know.
The life of an expat…sounds like he got it from you for sure! Good job for him getting an international school gig! I sure hope you two can meet up next year.
How cool is it that you both have chosen such similar lifestyles? And in close proximity to each other to boot!