The book is out

The book I've been working on since Fall 2008 was released by Routledge at the TESOL Convention in Boston last month. The book sold out, probably because the publisher had brought only a few copies to the convention!

Excerpts from the book could be read at
http://www.routledgelanguages.com/books/Nonnative-Speaker-English-Teachers-isbn9780415876322

Edmund Tsang

Edmund at CUHK


Edmund came to have lunch with me, and we had a leisurely discussion of life in Mobile, AL, which brought back memories from another time in my life.

In 1989, after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, I joined the English Department of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, which is on the southern coast of Alabama. I decided to go there because the person who interviewed me for the job, Prof. James Dorrill, was the most amiable of the interviewers I met during my job search. What I didn't know was Prof. Dorrill was also a Catholic priest. But that's another story.

Alabama is known as the "Heart of Dixie", one of the most traditional (and backward) places in the American South. (I'll write about all that on another occasion.) I spent six years there, generally happy at my job. But, when Fr. Dorrill was replaced by a Machiavellian Chairman, the last two years turned out to be tumultuous ones both for me and the English Department, but, that, too, is another story.

Not once did Fawzia, Roy, or I face any type of racial discrimination in Mobile. (An experience not uncommon to us in Hong Kong.) But, religion triumphed over everything; in a city that had 500 churches, the school system was a wreck, with mobile homes being used as classrooms on some occasions. As seen in most Southern cities, the whites and the blacks did not mingle. They lived, shopped, and worshipped separately.

The one little spark of liberalism in Mobile was the fortnightly tabloid The Harbinger, put out mainly by a few faculty members at the University, and distributed free. The Harbinger was incessant in its criticism of State officials, including the Governor, and various incompetent and failing city services such as the school system. The editor had the unusual name of Edmund Tsang, and not having visited Hong Kong or met many people from here, I couldn't guess the origin of the last name leave alone pronounce it. When I met Edmund, I was astonished to learn that he was from engineering (and not the humanities where most liberals find their home). He obviously spent many hours on The Harbinger, not only writing and typesetting it, but also taking copies around town for distribution.

Two incidents provide evidence of the racial discrimination in Mobile. In 1958, Jimmy Wilson, a black handyman, had been condemned to death for stealing $1.95 from a white woman. The jury may have been influenced by the woman's testimony that Wilson had spoken to her in a disrespectful tone. (Fortunately, due to an international outcry, Wilson's sentence was commuted). Second, the last recorded lynching in the USA occurred in Mobile as recently as 1981.

Edmund told me that he ran The Harbinger from 1983 to 2001, when he left Mobile to take up another appointment in Michigan. I asked him where his liberalism came from, and he said the Christian Brothers at St.Joseph's School had inspired it. He said boredom led him to start The Harbinger. Although the newspaper is no more, past copies have been uploaded at this site:

http://www.theharbinger.org/


With Edmund at the "infinity pool"on CUHK

Edmund married late and is now the father of three children. He remembers his upbringing in Yau Ma Tei, seven people sharing a one-room flat. His elderly mother still lives in Hong Kong.

David & Jay

In August 1995, I arrived in Hong Kong to take up a position at the Chinese University. A flat in the staff quarters was assigned to me, but the flat was still occupied and for almost a month I was housed at the Royal Park Hotel in Shatin. That's where I met David Johns, who had arrived from Canada also to take up a position at the Chinese University. When we eventually moved on campus, we were both assigned to flats in Residence 8.

Originally from Britain, David had spent most of his career teaching in Canada, but he still liked cricket. Soon, we were soon playing for the Chinese University's cricket team, often at the Sek Kong Grounds belonging to the RAF, and also traveling down to the Sandy Bay grounds at the University of Hong Kong and other grounds such as Mission Road. David did not own a car for some time, so he rode in mine or in the grand old Mercedes that Mano Arumanayagam owned. We would come home exhausted from these games. After a hot bath, we would get together either at his flat or mine for more beer and dinner. David is a fine cook and I too could come up with a decent curry dinner those days.

Later, David was joined by Jennifer (Jay) and we became good friends. Cricket isn't a particularly interesting game for spectators (some claim watching grass grow is more interesting!) and Jay, along with a few other spouses, would accompany the players to matches, spending leisurely afternoons at the grounds. Vera, the wife of Rob Jones, usually kept score, helped by Fawzia. Jay, along with a few other spouses, read, chatted or relaxed under the nearest shade.

David and me at Shaffi's Curry House in Sek Kong grounds.

Sek Kong was our favorite grounds. It was only a 20-minute drive north of the Chinese University, along the Tai Po Road, Tolo Highway, and Lam Kam Road which ran along a beautiful valley of village houses and orchards. We would go through the entrance manned by Gurkha guards and would drop in at Shaffi's Curry House for a quick bite and a beer before the game began. I have written earlier on this blog about the cricket at Sek Kong, so will not describe those wonderful days again. But another mention of the great meals at Shaffis after the cricket is justified.

Vera, Fawzia, Jay and other ladies at Sek Kong grounds. 1996. Vera and Fawzia are keeping scores.

David & Jay eventually moved to Residence 15 on campus but we saw each other often. Jay is a trained nurse and her advice on my diet was a great help in controlling my diabetes. Some of the best and most wholesome meals I've had in Hong Kong were enjoyed at their home. The pot roast was the best.

They have two children, Christopher and Annelise, and we had Roy, all of the same age. We often discussed the challenges of bringing them up. We discovered that, in temperament and behavior, Annelise and Roy were quite similar. Jay's parents were in Brisbane during this period and my parents were in Sri Lanka, so we also shared the challenges of caring for elderly parents living away from us.

My decision to buy a house in Sai Kung was motivated by a dinner at Jaspas with David and Jay. Similarly, when David was offered the Chairmanship of the Sports Science Department, he sought my advice on whether to accept it. I told him he should , because he may otherwise have to work under an incompetent boss. Our friendship was such that they gave me a spare key to their flat so that I could rest there in the midst of a long teaching day on campus.

Jay had a group of women friends and they often hiked together. She also edited the newsletter on behalf of the Chinese University's Women's Organization (CUWO), to which I occasionally contributed a short piece. David was a fitness buff, a keen cyclist and a sailor, and later became the Commodore of the university's Yacht Club.

They planned their retirement carefully, choosing a lovely site in Saanich north of Victoria for their home. Taking their time and working closely with an architect, they built their dream home. When they left Hong Kong in 2006, I organized a farewell cruise on Victoria Harbour which was joined by 30 of our mutual friends. It was a memorable goodbye to a lovely couple.

Me at their lovely home in North Saanich, Vancouver Island, March 2007

Two year ago, I took the ferry from Seattle to Victoria, where I was met by David and Jay. We drove north to their home, which overlooks the water and has the greatest view of any house I've been to. I spent a few enjoyable days there, taking a ferry ride to a nearby island and also going back to Victoria for a stroll around town and a visit to the museum.


With Jay. Visiting a nearby park. March 2007

Not everyone enjoys retirement. The absence of a schedule, the loss of work responsibilities, and the availability of endless free time may not be easy to cope with. But David and Jay have adjusted well, David with numerous projects around the garden and Jay busy with a gardening club. They now have a dog, Coco, which must be good company.

Driving through campus, I often go past their former flat, and old memories keep flooding back.


David with Coco


A Christmas 2008 photo of David & Jay