Mr. Tafel grew up in Illinois, United States. Prior to his migration to Shanghai, he was constantly moving within Illinois. He transferred schools in three different towns during his elementary school period. Mr. Tafel went to college at Eastern Illinois University, where he majored in elementary education and obtained a master’s degree in science education.
After graduating, Mr. Tafel set out to pursue his dream of being a teacher. He taught in a wealthy town called Deerfield, Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan. Teaching at the school was a dream job. It was a great school, with well-supported students from families and excellent teachers. During the six years of teaching in Deerfield, Mr. Tafel got married and learned to be financially independent.
The physical characteristics of Illinois impacted Mr. Tafel’s view of the world. He had minimal interaction with mountains and oceans since Illinois is very flat. After traveling to places like Colorado and Alaska, he was blown away by the differences. This experience served as a stark contrast as he ventured out to explore the rest of the world
Prior to making the decision to migrate to Shanghai, Mr. Tafel had a lot of ignorance about China. He didn’t know about the geography, culture, and lifestyle in China. However, after he signed the contract and decided to move to China, he had a six-month window until he would be moving. Mr. Tafel spent this time researching and reading about Chinese culture.