Voice equilibrium

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I withdrew into a shell. I did no work because there was none. I ignored emails that required responses. I stopped smiling and talking to colleagues. I took days off […]

Finale grotesque

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The last standing man in HQ, Mr. Yamada, was very enthusiastic about “improving” the overseas operations and considered me one of his disciples to execute his plans. He was young […]

Venom to venom

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I was fighting a lone battle. I was allowed no more attempts to prove my worth to my colleagues, most of whom were polite and left me alone. But only […]

Plan B

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I don’t remember how the breakdown unfolded. I believe I called Stuart and told him about the call and everything that happened since my relocation was agreed upon. I might […]

The call

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I told Stuart I didn’t want to give up Germany yet and wanted to give myself another couple of years to achieve something. Stuart said it was fine.  Summer was […]

The promise

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Stuart moved into his new flat by the end of summer. He was in no haste to furnish it because he was very particular about how he wanted his new […]

Weight of debt

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Stuart started viewing flats in the same neighborhood he had lived in since university. He invited me to the second viewing once he narrowed it down to a few. The […]

Property ladder myth

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In early summer, Stuart told me he would purchase a flat. He had been talking about it before, but I didn’t realize he was that serious. I shuddered—the housing market […]

Accent politics – part 2

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I didn’t fully grasp how political accents could be until much later. In a novel Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian woman who returned from […]

Accent politics – part 1

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Since I arrived in Europe, especially as I started seeing Stuart, I became increasingly conscious of my accented English. Because of a stint in California, my accent was tinged with […]