Learning Curve

During times of war, volunteer teachers in Nicaragua developed education and literacy programs in even the most remote, impoverished, communities

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This chapter looks at a period when I taught English in South Korea. For the first time in my life, I was able to save money and dream of a future. I wondered what hope could I offer Korean children for a better future. At the same time,  Koreans’ anger against Americans was rapidly increasing due to actions near the US military base in Seoul — and, once again, ghosts from an American past return for a haunting. (more…)

This story is about my private ritual  on Jomtien Beach to honor a friend who had drowned there earlier. It looks at the concepts of faith, ceremony, and spirits. As a side plot, I explore the rapid growth of tourism in Thailand and wonder about the ghosts of the country’s past. (more…)