The waves of lay-offs that followed the global financial crisis left a lot of extra work to do for those who remained, and the ubiquity of communications tools makes it difficult for them to get away from their job.
Well, I'm a designer. I design leather goods, mainly shoes and handbags. Soon after I arrived in Florence, I got a job with one of Italy's top fashion houses, Ferregamo. So, I decided to stay.
The recent fighting this summer between advancing Taliban militants and beleaguered Afghan government troops has only added to Afghanistan's dangerous legacy of unexploded munitions.
They were far too qualified to be teaching at a school like mine and could easily have made double the money at private schools, but they stayed with us to give us a chance, and that taught me loyalty.