n ideal position
Life is good. My career in elementary education in Canada is now just a fond memory. I think back on the many years of service and I recall the many classed I taught, the different schools I worked at, the countless staff meetings I attended and the many committees I served on. I estimate that the number of faculty members I worked with over the years is in the hundreds and well over a thousand students have called me teacher. Is it any wonder that I can say that I always felt comfortable walking in school corridors?
生活是美好的。在加拿大教小学的职业生涯，如今成了美好的回忆。回顾多年的工作，我想起了我教的许多班级，我工作过的多所学校，我出席过的数不清的教职员工会议，以及我参与服务的众多委员会。我估计，这些年来，和我一起工作过的同事有好几百人了，而有一千多名学生叫过我老师。我要是说我走在学校走廊上总是觉得很愉快，没什么奇怪吧？
Sometimes I worked with students at the intermediate level. In Canada, students at that level are youth in their preteen years as well as teenagers.
有时，我的工作是教中年级的学生。在加拿大，这个阶段的学生和十几岁的青少年都是青春期前的孩子。
When I decided to retire, I knew that the first step in the procedure was to write a letter to my employer, a school board, to resign my position. I postponed mailing the letter. I was reluctant to add the postage to the letter, knowing that once I mailed it, the decision could not be reversed.
当我决定退休的时候，我知道办手续的第一步是写一封信给我的老板，即学校董事会，要求辞去我的工作。我推迟了寄信。我不太愿意把邮票贴到信封上，因为我知道一旦把信寄出，这个决定就不能更改了。
Because I was a veteran teacher of many years, I would be eligible to receive a pension. I calculated that the revenue I would receive each month would be sufficient to sustain my current lifestyle. If I was smart about my spending habits, I might even have a surplus of money. I certainly would not need to pinch every penny. I knew the money would not come to me in the form of a check. Instead, it would be deposited directly into my bank account. I could withdraw cash from my investments if I needed to supplement my income, my credit rating would allow me to be eligible for a loan when some unforeseen financial crisis a rose. I knew, therefore, that there was no reason to panic, as my future was secure even if inflation increased or a recession occurred. In either case my income would only be minus a few dollars, a fraction of the total amount.
因为我是工作多年的老教师，我有资格领取一份退休金。我算出我每月领到的退休金足够维持我现在的生活方式。如果在花钱时精打细算，我甚至可能还有剩余。当然，我不需要去节省每个便士。这些钱不会以一张支票的形式发到我手上，而是直接存入到我的银行账户。如果我需要补贴收入，可以撤回一些投资换成现金。而且，我的信用等级使我有资格在出现无法预料的财政危机时得到银行贷款。因此，我知道没有理由惊惶失措，即使是通货膨胀或者出现经济衰退，我的将来也是有保障的。不论出现哪种情况，我的收入只不过是减少这些钱，那只是总数中的一小部分而已。
I decided to take the plunge, but waited another fortnight before I mailed the letter. I even paused briefly with the letter part way into the mail slot before I thrust the letter into the mailbox. I knew that the simple act of mailing that letter would alter my life.
我决定冒险一试，但我又等了两个星期才把信发出去。甚至在信已经部分插入投信口时，还犹豫了一会儿才把它推进邮筒。我知道寄出这封信的这一简单举动将改变我的生活。
I looked for clues to determine how striking the changes in my daily life would be. How would I spend my time? In spite of having many long yearly vacations when I could pursue other interests, I had not bothered to make an earnest effort to confine my activities to one particular hobby. Would I find life as a retiree boring? What new adventures might await me? Would I use my time to volunteer at a hospital or maybe work for a local charity? Maybe I would apply for membership in a golf league. Maybe I would donate my time and work with the Better Business Bureau. I night decide to enter local politics and run for a position on town council or I could run for the position of Deputy Mayor of my town, or maybe even consider submitting my name to be a candidate in an election for member of parliament. I would need to campaign and then wait to see if people would vote for me on Election Day at the polls.
我在寻找一些线索，以便决定如何就会日常生活的改变。我该如何消磨时光？尽管有了很多一年一次的假期，可以让我追求其他的兴趣爱好，我还是想尽力把我的活动放在追求一个特别的爱好上。我会厌烦退休人员的生活吗？会有什么新的冒险生活在等着我吗？我会利用我的时间在一所医院或者本地的一家慈善机构做自愿服务者吗？也许我会申请成为一个高尔夫球协会的会员。也许我会把时间贡献出来为商业扶助局工作。我可以决定进入本地的政界，竞选市议会议员的位置，或者可以竞选一下本市的副市长，甚至可以考虑让自己成为国会议员选举中的一位候选人。我需要参加竞选活动，然后，等着看是否有人会在选举日到投票处把票投给我。
In spite of the fact that the possibilities all had merit, I had to admit that I only had a superficial interest in pursuing any of them. In fact, I was indifferent to most of the options. Did I think they might interfere with other commitments or mean I would have to cancel other appointments? Or was I just too attached to the idea of teaching, feeling that it formed part of my identity?
尽管这些可能的选择都是有益的，我必须承认我对它们之中的任何一个都没有多大兴趣。事实上，我对其中的大多数选择都不动心。是否因为我认为它们可能干扰我决定要做的其他事情，或者意味着我将不得不取消其他的约会呢？还是我对教书的想法太执着，觉得那已经成为我自身的一部分？
I examined my emotions about the new direction my life would take. Would retirement add a new dimension to my life and multiply my feeling of satisfaction or would the world apprehension be more applicable?
我在心里仔细衡量着我的新生活究竟要走向何方。是退休给我的生活带来一种全新的方式，使我倍感称心呢，还是（走出去与人）沟通交流更切实可行？
Did I feel guilty about not being gainfully employed when I was qualified and capable? As a certified teacher, did I feel obligated to work in the field of education? Did I feel entitled to sleep in late each day, or would that bother my conscience? Would I simply grow old gracefully or would feel that ridiculous?
当我够资格有能力但没被高薪聘用时，我会觉得惭愧吗？作为一个有执业资格的教师，我是觉得有义务在教育领域里工作吗？我觉得有资格每天睡懒觉呢，还是那样会使我良心不安？我是这样悠闲地衰老下去呢，还是会觉得那样很可笑？
My instincts told me that although I would feel grateful for my good health, curiosity about other countries and lifestyles would overtake the desire to spend my time with senior citizens, playing board games, such as chess all day. Wouldn’t I rather learn about other cultures and at the same time be an ambassador for my own country?
我本能地告诉我，尽管我觉得身体很健康，应该保持，但对其他国家和其他生活方式的好奇心，超过了希望把时间花在与老人们整天玩像国际象棋这样的棋盘游戏上。难道我不能学习其他文化，同时做一名我自己国家文化的使者吗？
I began to inquire about opportunities and whenever I searched the internet for jobs, I always seemed be drawn like a magnet to the category of teaching. It did not take long before I found that there were countless positions available in many countries. Amid the listings I identified several that were for teaching positions in China.
我开始寻找机会，每当我搜索互联网寻找工作时，我总是像一块磁石一样被吸引到教学目录上。没过多久，我就发现在许多国家可以得到数不尽的工作。在这些目录表中，我挑选了几个在中国的教书工作。
I decided that I would communicate with some of the people offering these positions. I sent e-mails and made phone calls to several prospective employers. The feedback that I got from most of them was that they expected me to bring all the resources necessary. How could I pack enough in my baggage to provide what was needed? I was inclined to look for a situation where books were provided. I wanted to sign a contract for only one semester but found that most positions were for one or two years. I could sympathize with the amount of paper work needed to arrange for a person to accept one of those positions and realized that it was wiser for people to spend a year or two in one location. I attended seminars by companies trying to recruit teachers. I found several companies that captured my interest.
我决定与提供这些工作的人联系。我给几个有希望雇用我的雇主发电子邮件，打电话。他们中的大部分回答说，他们希望我带上所有必需的资料。我怎样才能在我的行李中装上足够的东西以备所需呢？我倾向于找一个能提供书籍的地方。我只想签一个学期的合同，但发现大多数的职位是一年或二年。我可以理解，要安排一个人担任其中一个职位，要做的工作量相当大，并认识到受聘人员在一个地方呆一年或两年是更明智的。我参加了想招聘老师的公司的讨论会。我发现了几个我感兴趣的公司。
I began to review my options. I asked specific questions about the positions with companies that sincerely interested me. I inquired about how many suitcases I would be allowed to bring and what the living accommodations would be. It was refreshing to realize that there was a big demand for people who could teach English. Several positions seemed superior in their benefits and they sparked my interest even more. I especially wanted to teach students at the secondary or high school level rather than middle school.
我开始核实我的选择。我向真正对我感兴趣的公司问了几个特定的有关职位方面的问题。我询问我可以带多少个手提箱，食宿条件如何。了解到对教英语的人有这么大的需求，真是令人振奋不已。有几个职位在待遇方面好像不错，这更加激发了我的兴趣。我特别想教的是高中而不是初中。
I could hardly believe that I was contemplating dong this at this age of my life. At times I felt that it was a radical idea but I also realized that I had always had the desire to have this kind of experience but circumstances never seemed quite right. Now they were. I decided to proceed.
我几乎不相信在我一生中的这个阶段还希望做这件事。有时，我觉得这是一个过激的想法，但是我也知道我一直有想获得这种经历的欲望，只是环境从来没有这么合适。现在是时候了。我决定坚持下去。
I made an oral agreement with a company. I read their written contracts, clause by clause; to be sure nothing had been omitted from the oral agreement. In spite of wanting the clause about staying two years to be deleted, I signed the legal contract after a few minor changes were made and initialed in the margin.
我与一家公司达成了一个口头协议。然后我一条一条地读了他们的书面合同，确信没有从口头协议中漏掉什么。尽管很想删掉关于工作二年的那一条，但在做了一些较小的变动后，我签署了法律合同并在页边签字。
There were many details to consider. After choosing the company that I wanted to work for, I still had to take a long time look at my circumstances. I decided that I would sell my car, put my personal belongings in storage and rent my house. A lot of time and effort was required to make all the arrangements. I decided to tackle one aspect at a time.
还有很多细节要考虑。在选定了我要去工作的公司后，我还花了很长时间认真地考虑我现在的状况。我决定卖掉我的汽车，把我的个人财产保存好，并把我的房子租出去。做好所有这些安排要花许多时间和精力。我决定一件一件来处理。
The first thing I targeted was to sell my car. As a matter of principle, I felt that the value of the car would depreciate over the time I was out of the country. The sensible strategy was to sell it. Fortunately, my niece wanted to buy the car.
我要做的第一件事是卖掉我的汽车。事实上，我觉得在我出国这段时间里汽车会贬值，明智的办法就是卖掉它。正好，我的侄女想买这辆汽车。
I made a list of things to take with me. I was advised to take auxiliary light. I packed battery-operated flashlights to be used to case of power failure. I included a waterproof jacket in case I needed to walk to school in the rain.
我列出了一个我要带走的物品的清单。有人劝我带上辅助照明设备。我在包里装进了使用电池的手电筒，以备万一停电时使用。我也没忘带上一件防水夹克，以防下雨时需要步行。
I needed to sort my belongings. I had to decide what to save and what to pitch out. For example, I decided
责任编辑：sealion1986
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