You may have already read the article about
Heather Eisenlord's paid leave from Skadden on the New York Times website, but I thought that I would give you guys a little bit more insight. As you may know, I used to work for Skadden as a legal assistant (albeit very briefly), and I worked with Heather on a few things. I noted that a great many readers made snarky remarks in the comments section, directed at Heather and the lawyers like her. As one commenter put it;
$240,000 base pay for being an attorney. That's what's wrong with our society. "Ms. Eisenlord has been an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a notably grueling place for a lawyer to work." Gee I wonder if it's any more grueling than getting up at 4:00am and working outside in the freezing cold during the winter and sweltering heat in the summer. I'm ready for a re-distribution of wealth.— Frank, NJ
This kind of sentiment, in my opinion, derives from at least two things. First, this person does not fully appreciate the gut-wrenching difficulty of being a top lawyer at a firm like Skadden. Lawyers do not work outdoors, but their jobs often involve incredible stresses from their clients and their peers. In addition to this, they always work far more than 50 hours per week, sharply departing from the all-American standard of the 40 hour work week. Being a lawyer is difficult.
Second, the style of the article itself is flamboyant, highlighting the author's apparent sentiment of how envious everyone should be of her opportunity. Here's a good example;
For a sixth-year associate at a New York law firm, $80,000 isn’t exactly competitive pay. But for someone cruising around the world, doing good wherever she sees fit and, let’s face it, probably hitting a beach or two, the pay is excellent.
It's true that Skadden's deal of not requiring associates to do pro-bono work is unusual, but these people deserve a good vacation. Skadden doesn't want to lose its talent, but it can't pay the bills if it keeps them on as full-time employees. If Skadden wants to cut costs like this, I say let them.
Okay, here's the real reason I wanted to write this. About a week before my departure, I told Heather that I would be leaving the firm to teach English in China. She told me that in addition to having spent some time off between college and law school to work as a waitress, she was looking forward to taking a long sabbatical to do some travelling. However, she said that her future opportunity seemed quite distant.
Since then, the economy soured, and her dream to live abroad was more or less forced into a happy reality. For Melissa and me, the opportunity was more or less always up for grabs. Obtaining a teaching position in China was a simple task, mostly due to our youthful lack of responsibilities. We cast off our good jobs, our nice apartment and our adorable cat (sorry Coco!) all to find adventure in China. It was sad to say farewell to our loved ones, but we inhaled and took the plunge.
The point that I am trying to make is that the opportunity to live abroad is open to pretty much anyone brave enough to make the effort. For instance, we know a former attorney who is now teaching English in Zhuzhou, three hours south of our location. She made the difficult decision to spend part of her retirement away from her family and friends in order to see more of the world. Things are going so well for her that she plans on teaching at her school for a second year. Life is short, and the world is big! Why not see more of it?
Melissa and I have weighed our options and desires, and we have decided to again seek employment in China as English teachers. We are busy applying to various schools and are hoping for the best. In July, we will come back to America for some much-needed quality time with our incredible families, and we will most likely leave for China at the end of August. We miss everyone very much, and we hope to see you all this summer!
Cullen
The last stop during our Spring Festival vacation was Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia was a pleasant surprise due in part to the fact that it was an unintended destination. We had to leave Thailand earlier than expected, so we decided to see a little bit of Malaysia instead of renewing our passports at the border and going back to Thailand. Besides, we'd just spent two weeks hanging out on a beach, so it was about time we crammed some culture into our vacation. In any case, I've mostly been letting our PICTURES tab speak for the vacation, but I just uncovered this video that I took while standing in the plaza outside of Suria KLCC & the Petronas Towers that gives another perspective to the photos.
