Successful defence

Yesterday, Anna defended her PhD in what turned into a genuine and inspiring conversation with the excellent faculty opponent Maria Stern from Gothenburg University. Being in the audience, I was brought back to all the museum visits and conferences that we have attended over the years at both ends of the Pacific. Writing on the conflicted history of the "comfort women" system in North-East Asia, Anna has clearly not chosen an easy topic and I was happy to see that it was given the serious treatment that it deserved.

While Anna gets to sleep in at Hotel Savoy in Malmö, I am already in the air on my way back to Umeå where I will give 2x2 hours of lectures today. With minimal sleep for the last few nights, this calls for some caffeine so right now I am enjoying my third cup of black coffee as Gerald Viking is making its way through the clouds. After remaining on the ground for a few months, I now have quite a bit of travelling planned with Örebro coming up already on Monday. Before that, my childhood friend Gabriel is coming to Umeå for a visit so lots of exciting things to look forward to.