But for right now, where we are in our lives, Norway seems like it's the place to be, for one winning factor, and the only one that matters for us now and in the coming years: the possible quality and quantity of family life.
All the other 'negatives' of Taiwan when compared with Norway are overcomable by extra effort on our part.
For example: The girls being looked upon or treated differently (mostly in a positive way) because they are hapa haole (Hawaiian term). "Oh look how cute the foreigner kids are; oh look how white her skin is; my what pretty eyes you have" etc. So we would have to work with them so they know they are different but no different than the other kids. That is to say all kids are different and have value in their own right. Yadayadayada. As well as help them feel and know that they are truly Taiwanese (and Norwegian), they are not foreigners, help them make sure they feel they belong and fit in here if they were to have difficulties in that area.
In Norway society is more mixed (though far from a New York or Paris kind of mixed), and there are lots of kids adopted from Asia (especially Korea), so it is easier for the girls to be accepted as 'just another Kari'. I am not saying I want them to feel unspecial...but...you get my drift.
Another example would be the educational system. It's not so stellar here. When Judge was growing up there was corporal punishment (I am not a big fan!). Now, however, there is no corporal punishment but also no alternative discipline/guiding actions the teachers are allowed to take (too many parents have a hissy fit if the teachers try to discipline the kids, yet they themselves have to work such long hours that they do not have time to guide their children either, leaving a mess and a lot of bad incidents).
It's not perfect in Norway either, of course, perhaps even far from it, but there is at least a focus on tolerance and inclusiveness (story books where the families are not 'traditional' - maybe two moms or two dads or a single parent or ethnically mixed families etc.), a focus on letting kids be kids - play outside and inside, investigate, etc., and on guiding discipline rather than corporal punishment or no discipline.
So we would have to take some focus off of school work (grades and cram schools from super early on) and make sure the girls have time to be kids as well as find an internal work ethic that is strong (the latter is something we of course have to help foster wherever we end up living).
Another item is the natural environment. It is much easier for the girls to be out in nature and breathing fresh air in Norway than here, unless we live in the mountains or on the east coast.
All of the above (and more) would require extra effort on our part. It's not that we are opposed to or scared of extra effort, especially because we love Taiwan as much as we do. It rather just comes down to the deciding factor of quality/quantity family time. The girls are small for such a short period, and once it's passed it's passed. We don't want it to slip us by.
On the flip-side, choosing Norway will require extra effort in the Chinese department, not to mention the lower risk career wise in Norway also comes with a lower potential payout in the short/medium/long? term.
Basically, we will make our choice soon, live by it, and be happy we are living where we are while at the same time missing the other place. C'est la vie.
[Taken on our kite-outing the other day]
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