To Go or Not to Go?

After my last post on this topic, much advice and encouragement were received. Many thanks to all who have voiced their opinion!

Being an introvert has its disadvantages. For one thing, every decision must be preceded by a tediously long thought process. The decision-making process concerning a stint in The Land Where This Movement Started is a case in point.

Questions I've been thinking about:

• Do I want to go or graduate on time?
• Is it possible to go and graduate on time?
• How long do I go for? (A year would be ideal, a semester would be OK, a few months would be better than nothing)
• What do I do while I'm there? Be an auditor at the school or a visiting scholar? Do I have time to learn the modern language? What about a dig?

The thought process was completed mid-December and I was all set to contact profs to write recommendation letters, but then a rumour halted my steps: one of the profs I TA for will be on sabbatical next year and the school was rumoured to be considering me to teach one of this prof's courses.

It was just a rumour (and it still is), but my desire to go and my desire to teach are both strong. The new question: do I dump the dream of going because of a mere possibility of teaching?

The teaching is still a mere possibility, but the going (at a date that wouldn't conflict with the teaching) is metamorphosing into an actuality: the profs are writing recommendation letters and I will complete my application the day right after my final comp.

To go or not to go? It seems like the answer is to go...