Lyktvägen 5A

Dubai x 3

Come to HUFS, see the world

Five years ago, in a Beijing hotel room, I came across an advertisement in The Chronicle of Higher Education for a position as Senior Lecturer at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS). At the time, I was on a short-term contract as a Marie Curie Research Fellow at Tsinghua University, with little certainty about the future. With my PhD less than a year old and only a handful of publications to my name, I was far removed from the job security I now enjoy as a tenured associate professor in Umeå. Yet the world lay open before me, with nothing holding me back, so I submitted an application.

A month later – after a rather confused phone interview conducted from Osaka – I was offered the contract, complete with a one-way ticket to Seoul.

In the end, I spent three fascinating years at HUFS, meeting many remarkable people, among them my exceptionally bright student Sarah, with whom I later co-authored an article on the domestic Korean climate change debate. During those years, I travelled more than ever before – partly out of necessity (our faculty dorm room was simply unbearably small and hot for a family), but primarily by choice. I would not claim that all this travelling granted me a “global perspective” or anything of the sort, but it did expose me to fragments of alternative lifeworlds and realities. At times, I fear I even became a little like the kind of person I once mocked.

And yet, making bulgogi in Gothenburg the other week, I realized that the journey is still very much with me – even as I have never felt more settled. More on that soon, once everything is in order. There will be pictures from our new home at Lyktvägen 5A in Tomtebo.

QR172

Last night, Anna and I redeemed some hard-earned miles for a business class flight on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner between Stockholm and Doha. Leaving at 22:40, there was still time for a glass of champagne and a quick supper before falling asleep somewhere over Poland.

Waking up over Iran, the reverse herringbone 1-2-1 layout, with its fully flat beds, had clearly done the trick, and we are now all set for exploring Dubai.

Lego Creators

This picture is an excellent illustration of why being on parental leave with a 3.5 years old can be pretty magical when it is no longer only about changing diapers and being sleep-deprived...

May Day

After a few days of icy cold rain, spring finally made it to the West coast of Sweden. Running around with this little fellow in the sun, it feels like we are in for a summer of truly great adventures!