A year ago, I was teaching in eastern Thailand, and the dean told me I could have free housing on campus. I went to visit the house. There was a professor living there who was planning to move out. “You won’t be alone,” he said.
I didn’t know what he meant. When I walked around, there were pictures of monks, small Buddha statues and amulets hanging from the walls. The house was situated on a potholed road on the edge of campus in what can only be described as jungle. It was so humid there that your shirt stuck to your skin. I decided to move in anyway. My salary was low — $460 a month — and the house was free.
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