About me
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who yearned to discover the world. Her dad, on the other hand, preferred to (re)discover 'places we've been to before'. Like Finnøy. So the little girl waited patiently until she grew older. Meanwhile, she read.
Obviously, the little girl was me.
At university, I discovered anthropology, the idea that everything could be different, and that nothing is as 'normal' as you think it is. I never looked back, but went on to earn a cand.polit in social anthropology. My thesis, Expatriate Life, discusses labour migration in the Sultanate of Oman, analyzing the lives of highly skilled expat partners from a post-colonial perspective.
The first text I ever had printed was about the souq in Mattrah, Oman. My thesis advisor, Professor Ang Nga Longva, read it and commented that she 'really liked it and looked forward to read many more articles in the future' - no editor's comment have ever made me feel prouder. I kept on writing.
I've spent the last 20 years living, loving, learning and writing in India, Oman, Syria, Malaysia and Norway. I have written travel pieces and features, interviews and research based articles. I trained as a writer with Jo Parfitt; author, mentor and publisher at Summertime Publishing, and contributed to the book Insights and Interviews from the 2017 Families in Global Transition Conference. I produced all content for Shell Norway's Outpost website, worked as contributing editor with Ahlein magazine in Damascus, head of the GCC-section of award-nominated web-magazine The Turban Times and contributing writer at Pink Jinn, Destinations and Life in Norway.
'Does she write Norwegian at all?' you may think. I do! Norwegian is my first language, and I have worked as a Norwegian language instructor and proof reader.
Storytelling is a powerful tool in creating a more open and empathic world, because when we share our stories, we connect and learn about each other. Head over to the blog to read my stories. Reach out if you'd like to work with me or connect.