Having spent over 30 years in the teaching profession in Thailand, very little surprises me anymore when it comes to foreigners who come here to live and work. In fact, you can almost categorize them based on common behaviors and attitudes.

That said, we currently have an American teacher at our company who has been quite the character. He tells elaborate stories about his past — teaching in Japan, Korea, and now Thailand. However, the timelines don’t add up. According to his own account, he would have been just 16 or 17 years old when he was supposedly teaching English in Japan, which is highly unlikely. He talks constantly, boasting about his wealth and achievements — but the more he speaks, the more inconsistencies emerge. His stories have more holes than Swiss cheese.

He shirks his responsibilities — avoiding tasks like preparing tests — and when others try to hold him accountable, he reacts as though he's being unfairly targeted. While the easy option is to ignore him, the problem is that he has slowly and insidiously ingratiated himself with the center manager. As a result, he’s now allowed to show up for work in shorts and a T-shirt — something I’ve never seen permitted in a formal teaching environment in all my years here. After observing his behavior closely, I can’t help but suspect he may have narcissistic personality traits. Of course, I’m not a psychologist, but the constant need for attention, the exaggerated self-image, the manipulation, and disregard for norms all point in that direction.

Hank