Episode summary
After years in Texas, a graduation and a new baby have Tayvin weighing what it means to leave one chapter behind and step into the next, and the quiet weight of a phrase we all know: move on.
T.E.A. Time is hosted by English teacher Tayvin Bayless. Read the full transcript.
Hello, hello, and welcome to T.E.A. Time with Tayvin Bayless. 久しぶりですね。 That’s Japanese for “it’s been a while,” which may fall into the category of understatement. It has been four years since I last posted a podcast episode, so I think it’s fair to take a moment to explain what my goals are for this show.
When I recorded the first 15 episodes years ago, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to make. I had been teaching on iTalki for about a year at that point, and I wanted to record something I could send to prospective students so they could get a sense of me, my speaking style, and some language-learning tips. With 15 episodes, I accomplished that goal. But I felt like there should be more. I just didn’t have the vision, or the time and motivation, to build it.
After four more years of teaching and working with over 1,000 students, I have a much clearer picture of the kind of content that would actually be helpful to English learners and the kind of content I’ll be able to produce to fill that role.
This podcast will be conversational in tone, focused mostly on my day-to-day musings. I’ll be talking about my life and interests, lessons learned from being married to my beloved Emma, and lessons learned from being a father. There will also be a healthy dose of language-learning advice based on my experience working with students from all around the world and the linguistics research I’ve read on the subject.
In the very near future, I’ll begin creating a few companion series focused on different topics: current events, US history and geography, science, and American folklore. I couldn’t be more excited to embark on, or begin, this journey with all of you. But more on those soon. For now, let’s get into today’s episode.
Before I get into today’s story, I want to share a phrase I’ll use before the end of this episode. The phrase is: move on. Move on. You’ve probably heard this one before, but it has a couple of different meanings, and it’s worth taking a moment to look at it closely.
On the surface, to move on simply means to leave one place and go to another. To pick up and go somewhere new. But in English, we also use it in an emotional sense. To move on means to leave behind an old chapter of your life and step into a new one. You might move on from a job, from a relationship, or from a place you’ve lived for a long time. It carries a sense of forward motion, of choosing to go toward something new rather than staying stuck in the same place.
Here’s a quick example: We’ve really enjoyed living in Texas. But after my wife’s graduation and the birth of our daughter, it feels like it’s time to move on. Keep that phrase in mind. You’ll hear it again before we’re done.
As I record this, I’m sitting about 1,200 miles away from my home in Texas, in a house that was built in the early twentieth century, surrounded by vibrant nature: lush green trees, clear blue skies, and striking red and blue birds flitting, or darting quickly, through the trees and singing their songs. It’s quite the idyllic moment. Idyllic means perfectly peaceful and beautiful, almost like something from a dream. Or in other words, it feels like a scene out of a painting. Peaceful and full of wonder.
Have you ever had to move? Not just down the street, but far away to a new city, or even a new country? What was that experience like? How did you feel?
I’ve moved many times in my life. Each time, the reason for the move determined the destination. We wanted to be closer to family. To go to school. For a specific job. And so on. My wife and I are preparing to move next year. But this move is a little different because we don’t have a required destination. The reason for our move is housing. We want to buy a house. One that we can afford to pay off in less than a decade.
I won’t get into all the details of the US housing market today. The ins and outs of it could fill their own episode. But just for a frame of reference, the standard in America is to get a 30-year mortgage. A mortgage is a loan for buying a house, and 30 years is a long time to be paying the bank. We don’t want that. So we’re looking for places with a more affordable housing market.
Our price range does a lot to narrow things down. But there are still decisions to be made. And it’s for that reason, to hopefully find the place we want to call home, that we decided to take this road trip to Indiana.
Now, I realize most people aren’t in the same position as us when it comes to moving. I don’t need to worry about finding a job in a new place because I can keep teaching English online wherever we go. But if you were in my situation, what criteria would you use? What would make an area worth moving to? Good schools? Clean public parks? Nice neighborhoods? High-quality libraries? Distance from a big city, what we call a metropolitan area? These are just a few of the things we’ve been evaluating this week.
We’ve spent a week here in Anderson, Indiana, and we have one more day before we head back to Texas. Later today, my wife and I are planning to visit an international market. While it’s labeled an “international” market, that doesn’t mean it carries items from all over the world. In this case, “international” means from one specific country outside the US. And that country, for this market, is Japan.
That actually brings me to one of the things I find most interesting about Indiana. There’s a surprisingly robust, or strong, connection to Japan here. Japanese manufacturers play a very important role in Indiana’s economy, which means there’s also a meaningful population of Japanese speakers in the state. And where there are Japanese speakers, there’s a demand for Japanese language teachers. For me and my wife, who plan to raise our children bilingual in English and Japanese and share a deep love of Japanese culture, that’s a very big deal.
As we wrap up our trip, I’m re-experiencing a lot of the emotions from the week. The worry and discomfort. The frustration. The surprise. The joy and wonder. It’s a complicated picture, and there’s no easy answer. All I know is that it’s time to move on to a new stage of life.
All right, let’s take a closer look at today’s expression: move on. I used it at the end of the story, and I want to make sure it really sticks.
Move on. Two words, but they carry a lot of weight in English.
The first meaning is physical. To move on means to leave a place and go somewhere new. If you’re on a road trip and you’ve spent enough time in one city, you move on to the next one. Simple enough.
But the second meaning is where it gets interesting. In English, we use move on to talk about leaving behind an emotional chapter, a situation, a relationship, or a version of your life that you’ve outgrown. After a breakup, someone might say, “I’m ready to move on.” After losing a job: “It was hard, but I had to move on.”
It’s one of those phrases that works on two levels at once: the physical and the emotional. And in today’s story, I was using it in both senses at the same time. We will be literally moving, packing boxes, loading a truck, and driving to a new state. But we will also be moving on, stepping into a new stage of life with a new home, a new city, and a new chapter.
So here’s your challenge before the next episode: Use the phrase move on at least once this week. And notice: are you using it in the physical sense, the emotional sense, or maybe both?
Anyway, that’s what’s been on my mind today. Big changes make you think. It’s easy to get comfortable with your routine. That comfort and familiarity can keep you in place, and that’s not always a bad thing. But sometimes it’s important to leave what’s comfortable in pursuit of something better.
What do you want your future to look like? What’s keeping you from going after it? You don’t need to have the answers yet. Asking the question is a good place to start.
And with that, my cup is empty. Thanks for joining me for T.E.A. Time. Until the next pot.
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