Departure Day

So this is it... the day has come for me to move on. To a new country, a new home, a new job. I´m leaving for the airport in half an hour, and it´s difficult to describe the feelings inside. A mixture of nervousness, excitment, sadness, happiness... The most difficult part is of course to say goodbye to Janne and my beloved pets. And at the same time, I´m so grateful that the day has finally come when I have the possibility to fulfill my dream of moving to South East Asia.

So; these are my last words from Sweden, next time I´ll write you from Phnom Penh. Until then; take care my beloved friends and family - and let´s stay in touch.


Goodbye, sweet home. See you in August.

Happy birthday, grandpa!

Today it´s my beloved grandfathers 91:st birthday! Happy birthday, grandpa!


My grandfather and Polly Jean, august 2005.

My beloved grandpa is one of my best friends. Through life he´s always been very supportive to me, and he has always encouraged me to travel and to see the world. "-Travel while you can!", he always says. "-There´s so much to explore and experience out there, do it while you can." So when I had decided to accept the position in Cambodia, Grandpa was the first to know. When I called him up, I was a little bit nervous how he would take the news, though. It turned out that my nervousness had been a total waste; Grandpa was as supportive and enthusiastic as always. "-That´s good news, Maria. I´m happy for you. This is what you´ve always wanted, and finally you get the chance to fulfill your dreams." "-I hope that I´m not worrying in any way", I said. "-No. I´m not the slightest worried. No, no", he stated and continued" "-I know that you´ll do great. You´re always taking good care of yourself when you´re out in the world somewhere, and you´ll be just fine this time, too. I know it for sure." And that was it. No worries and no questions. Just pure and simple strength and support. Just what I needed at that time. For this, and for so many other things that me and my Grandfather have experienced together through the years, I´ll always be thankful to him.

So congratulations, Grandad. Today is your day. And I´m so thankful for having you in my life. I love you so much!

Countdown - 8 days before departure...

It´s now 8 days to go before my departure to Cambodia, where I´m planning to stay for at least two years. The situation here at home in Stockholm is still "under control" - not too much stress or packing to do. In fact I haven´t even started to think about the packing yet...

I´m looking forward to spend as much time as I can this last week before my departure, with my beloved husband Janne and my gorgeous English bull terrier Polly Jean.


I´m also cuddling with our two wonderful cats; Smilla and Kasper.


I know that I´ll miss them all dreadfully, and I´m trying not to think about how it will feel to say goodbye to them on the 30:th of April.

Now is also the time for saying goodbye to friends, and together we´re starting to plan for their coming visits. Last night, me and Janne spent a wonderful evening with our good friends Peder and Rachel at our favourite restaurant here in Stockholm; "Lilla Pakistan". Mmm... delicious food and wine in the company of two of our dearest friends, made this "goodbye dinner" a very memorable evening. Some days ago, I was pleased to have another "goodbye dinner" with my colleagues from the research department. We spent the evening at a charming thai restaurant, and I received a nice present from them; a little book with the title "Good Luck", illustrated with lovely animal photographs. They do know what I appreciate, that´s for sure! :-) This coming week, I´m looking forward to see some more friends for brunch, lunch, coffee etc. Fortunately there are some nice ways to do such a difficult thing as saying goodbye for quite some time...

I´ll miss you all, and I do hope to get the opportunity to welcome you to Cambodia within the nearest future. Until then - let´s stay in touch!