January, 1979: Galway, Ireland
In the begining…
I was born at the very start of 1979. I was very small and young at the time and the world was very frightening. I have since put on a huge amount of weight, though I grew at a proportionate vertical rate, so things worked out fairly well in that regard.
1997-2000:
Galway, Ireland; Atlanta, Georgia
….with sidequests to Egypt and Prague
Fast forward 20 years…
I did my BA (English and Archaeology) at the National University of Ireland, Galway. In the summer after my first year I traveled on a J1 visa to the USA where I spent the summer working in a vegan and vegetarian food store in Atlanta, Georgia; it was quite the eye opener and sparked a wanderlust in me that shaped my life thereafter.
2000: Warsaw, Poland
Into the world
After graduating with my BA, I completed a short Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate and headed out into the world. I’d been reading Poland, by James Michener, and decided that it was as good a starting place as any. There was a lot of work in Poland at the time; everyone in business was furiously brushing up on their English in anticipation of the new opportunities that Poland’s entry into the EU would bring.
2001: Galway, Ireland
Regroup
After that, I returned to Ireland for a time and taught English to Chinese students at a language school. One of them, who is still a dear friend, told me I should go to China as it was an exciting time to be there to witness all the changes taking place. So, I headed to China in Sept 2001 as the aftermath of 911 was unfolding and China was preparing to join the WTO.
September, 2001:
Wuxi, China…Changchun, China
….with sidequests in Laos and Vietnam, and a train journey between Beijing and Berlin, stopping off in Mongolia and Russia.
Pivot to Asia
I stayed in China until April 2003 when the SARS outbreak worried me enough that I booked a flight home and spent the rest of the year teaching at the same language school while SARS fizzled out. I returned to China in Feb 2004 and stayed only a few months before returning to Ireland to start my MA in English Language Teaching at the University of Limerick that September.
2004: Limerick, Ireland
Masters #1
I’m afraid I made rather a poor fist of this return to study. I was not really ready to take advantage of the learning experiences that were offered, so I missed out on many of the opportunities for growth that were available. I did, however, write a pretty decent MA thesis with a wonderfully convoluted title
2005: Changchun, China
Back to China #1
After finishing my MA in Aug 2005, it was back to China and to teaching community college academic English courses and some university level courses. The next year, I started working with the British Council (BC), so I spent my weekends traveling to cities in northeast China and my weekdays in Changchun.
2007: Beijing, China
….with a couple of sidequests to Michigan
The big smoke
In 2007, an opportunity opened up to work at the Center for Overseas Studies in Tsinghua University, Beijing. This is the most prestigious university in China and this move to Beijing was the next big change in my life. I continued to work with the BC at the weekends.
2008: Nepal
The beginning of “the sunglasses years”…with sidequests to India (Delhi & eastern Kashmir region)
To the mountains…
In July the following year, a notice appeared in the British Council offices looking for people to travel to Kathmandu for six-week rotations to examine IELTS there as there was a surge in demand because of the deteriorating political situation in the country. I contacted the centre director and told him I would move there the following week if he offered me a 1-year contract, which is what ended up happening. I moved to Nepal in Aug 2008 and spend the next 12 months based there. The country was in transition from being the world’s only Hindu Kingdom to a secular republic. My time there was quite challenging in many ways and I have both an abiding appreciation of 24-hour electricity and a fear of black dogs ever since.
2009: A bit of a wander around Nepal, India, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia and, most importantly,
Australia
…in and around Bingara, NSW
R&R Down Under
In August , I got a bit fed up with the busyness and intensity of Asia, so I headed to Australia and reinvented myself as a farmhand for a while. I moved cattle around on horseback, chainsawed trees, and drove a chaser bin on the barley harvest in New South Wales.
2010: Nepal; Changchun, China
…with sidequests to New Zealand, Canada, the USA, and the Philippines.
To the mountains – To China
After OZ, I returned to my job in Kathmandu for 4 months to finish up some work there and then moved back to Changchun, China, where I spend the next 6 years.
During this time I worked as the Academic English Coordinator and continued to work with the BC at weekends. In December 2010, I met my wife Xiao Xiao; she was not my wife at the time you understand, but after a courtship during the Dōngběi winter of 2010, we emerged a confirmed couple in 2011 and were married in 2012 (twice).
2016: Beijing, China
The Big Smoke 2
In July 2016, we moved to Beijing where I worked full-time for the British Council as we made plans for our move out of China. At that time, the number of bicycles in Beijing seemed to have risen to 9 billion.
August 2017: Vancouver, Canada
O Canada
In August 2017 we landed in Vancouver where they were kind enough to let us into their lovely country; it was refreshing be in such large open spaces and to have almost nobody near us.
We both returned to study; my wife to culinary school and me to an MEd in Media and Technology Studies Education at UBC. This period has had a transformative positive impact on us and when the opportunity to continue in my studies arose, I jumped at it and began my PhD in Sept 2019
Forde, K. (2023). Currere: The agentic (re)writing of the self. Currere Exchange Journal, 7(2). 1-10. https://cej.lib.miamioh.edu/index.php/CEJ/article/view/246
July 2023: Vancouver, Canada
In July 2023, we took stock of things before we returned to China for a visit. In the time we’ve been here, we’ve worked and studied hard to make our way in this new country.
After finishing her diploma in culinary school, Nicholle worked the thousands of hours and passed the all the tests required to be become a Red Seal Chef. In 2022, she entered the Bachelor of Education at UBC and finished her studies this month to become a certified Chef Education teacher.
I reached candidacy in my PhD in 2022 and began working as a sessional lecturer in the Bachelor of Education that fall as I continue(d) to work on my dissertation. We returned to Changchun this month, completing the circle on an exciting and rewarding six years since we left.
The flag above represents the Musqueam Nation and people, on whose land we have lived and worked since we arrived in Vancouver.
➡ Read their story here: https://www.musqueam.bc.ca/our-story/
(April 8, 2024) Under The Crown
https://kieranfor.de/2024/04/08/under-the-crown/
June 25, 2005: Vancouver, Canada
At the end of this week, Nicholle will go back to China to spend seven weeks with her parents. She will return to her new full-time position at Burnaby Central Secondary school
At the end of this week, I will head back to Ireland for a 2.5 week visit. When I return, I will prepare to defend my dissertation on August 27 (this was confirmed this morning) and prepare for my Winter 1 classes.
What an amazing adventure we’ve had since arriving in Canada in Aug 2017. We will both return and take on the new opportunities and challenges that come at us.
Onward.