By Rex Simmons ‘19, Taigu Fellow

My fellowship did not begin nor end as I expected it would. I was never able to travel to China due to Covid related travel restrictions, I was never able to secure a working visa in the two years that my application was sitting at the consulate, and I was never able to meet any of the students or staff at Shanxi Agricultural University in person. Instead, I was thrust into the watery realm of remote work, where I taught conversational English to students virtually, relying heavily on sitcoms to provide relatively interesting content and examples. I can’t say I saw it coming.

By Rex Simmons ‘19, Taigu Fellow

Working from home has been a striking adjustment for much of the global workforce. Some love it, some hate it, but the boons and banes of the hilarious juxtaposition of personal and professional lives has become a common trope in our lives, and is often parodied and celebrated in comics, commercials, and internet memes.