US headmaster happy in Shanghai

Shanghai (CNS) – "Chinese culture is like an onion, you need to peel off layer after layer, just like you try to understand the diversity of Chinese culture from Chinese characters to dragon totem", said Jim Koerschen, the head of Concordia International School, Shanghai.

Jim has lived in Shanghai for five years now. The school he serves has over 1,200 students from 30 countries and regions. He said the job of being headmaster of an international school is one of his favorite professions.

Jim admitted that he knew very little things about China before he came here, but he was attracted by Chinese culture and once he attended an auction and bid for a Chinese calligraphy work.

Jim has selected chic and typical examples of Chinese art for his collection, including a porcelain lamp, an abacus lamp and a delicate Ruyi (an S-shaped ornamental good luck charm, usually made of jade). Jim said he was glad to find that Shanghai was a globalized city in which he could get a job and live well without speaking Chinese.