The editors at the big American magazine in midtown Manhattan weren’t asking me to do anything outrageously difficult. They just wanted me to write short online pieces related to technology, and contribute background research for articles by my American colleagues. Sitting at the desks around me were college kids, interns who seemed to be taking on similar duties without any trouble. I was a 34-year-old professional, with a decade of experience as a journalist already under my belt, yet I struggled to complete even the smallest of tasks.
I’d start typing, then stop, because it felt like there was a veil shrouding my vision and obscuring the computer screen. I couldn’t see the sentences properly, I couldn’t hear the rhythm of the language, I didn’t understand the nuances...