In May, I was here at VID Specialized University in Stavanger, Norway, defending my dissertation. Today, I’m back to support a colleague in her post-doc research project. Hoyce is from Tanzania and part of the Maasai and the Bible research grant that Knut received from the Norwegian Research Council. I was brought in as a mid-way evaluator of her project. So, I had carefully read and wrote a detailed report with affirmations, questions, issues to discuss, and some recommendations. I think the report was 7 pages in the end. Because she is writing in her third language, English, I spent a considerable amount of time proofing and editing it. I carefully did half, but then had to be a bit more cursory to get through the 94 pages and write the report.
Before the evaluation, Knut invited me to speak at a “Forum for Glocal Theology” which discusses the tension between local and global theological issues. This is a lunch-time forum, with waffles provided for the students, followed by a 15 minute presentation and discussion. I spoke on “Intercultural Biblical Hermeneutics: Different Ways of Knowing.” OK, it might sound fancy, but it basically is a critique of Enlightenment thinking that says knowledge is only what known by reason or can be demonstrated by the scientific method. This is really important when connecting with Africans, who know things through relationship. For example, instead of Descartes’s “I think, therefore I am.” The African proverb states, “I am because we are, and since I am, therefore we are.” OK, the pictures and stories make it warmer and friendlier. I had two Egyptians and a Malagasy ask for the slides, as well as Tanzanians, Americans, and Norwegians corroborated the talk with some insightful comments.
While Hoyce was a bit anxious earlier in the day, she seemed calmer for the evaluation. I hope my words earlier helped. Before things got rolling, we had a photo op of the Maasai research group.
I brought a bag of chocolate to share, just like I did for our group seminars in 2015! Then, we spent a couple hours going through my report, Knut adding his evaluation, and some good discussion. Perhaps, a spoonful of chocolate helps the medicine go down, but it was a very constructive time.
Knut then took me to the airport with enough time to have dinner at the airport and talk over some professional opportunities for me. Here’s some things on the horizon. He’s invited me to a conference in south-central Sweden next month on “Classical Religious Texts in Global Contexts,” and I’ve been endorsed by my boss to attend. Knut also invited me to write a paper for a book related to the research I’ve been doing. This is a wonderful opportunity, but I have to make sure that my dissertation gets revised and published. Knut was encouraging me about this, and he has paved the way to make this happen. The goal now is to have it revised by the end of April.
So, the horizon is bright with some opportunities.
The sun was setting as I flew back. I arrived back in Arlanda airport about 9:15 pm. While I missed my train to Uppsala, it meant that I with another Dutch woman (who missed her train to Stockholm) were able to help a Ukranian woman contact her relatives. She spoke only a few words in English and was trying to visit her daughter, who is a university student in Umeå. There was a sweet spirit between us three strangers in a strange land, as we shared in a spirit of helping.
I collected my bike at the train station to head home. It was noticeable that it had been left there for quite a while. The type of “junk mail” here is advertisements put on the bike racks.
But equipped with front and back lights, I biked home. How good it was to see Anya asleep in bed.
She had declined the invitation to stay with Jim and Christina, our month-long hosts in August. Since several of her classmates stay in dormitories, she was game to spend one night by herself. She did have her friend, Sara, over for dinner, and they studied economics together. Everything went well.
And Anya really is liking economics! Her dad would be pleased; he was an economics major.
With blessings,
Beth
So good to see you back here!! Yay! My Swedish fix is complete. Ahhh.
Hi Beth, Oh, yes I “hear” the frustration with language (we often struggle with communication even in our English)– yet I hear hope and growth! You two (that’s Anya included) are a wonderful extension into the world for me. I think and pray for you daily!!