• Teaching

    Getting Settled in the City of Perpetual Gloom

    A  green-eyed monster was here.  I knew it when another foreign teacher complimented Sarah, a post-doc student assigned to help me transition to life in one of China’s largest cities, the City of Perpetual Gloom.  To me, the green-eyed monster was a minotaur which shook its head furiously and threw its horns to either side.  They were big horns too.  The kind that would pierce, rip, and crush if they ever connected with your heart. “Wow, your English is very good,” the other teacher said.  Ingratiation oozed from his pores. He was one of those nice guys.  He reminded me of myself, actually.  Maybe that’s why I wanted to smack…