I have spent the last three years exploring the east - or at least what is east of my homeland Norway.

In 2021 I met journalists who had worked abroad in Russia and East-Europe. It made an impact on me as I realized that it is possible to first of all learn a foreign language other than English, and to travel, talk to people from a different culture and share their stories with an audience like me. I was inspired to move abroad, and I moved to Armenia for 6 months as part of an exchange program.

I fell in love with the Armenian culture, the food and their language. I saw myself living there, and I spent every available movement on the road with a camera in my hands.

The journey did not end in Caucasus when the exchange was over. With the sociopolitical changes following the invasion of Ukraine, I wanted to research how the use of the Russian language was perceived in post-soviet countries. I found a master’s program in a different part of Asia - Kazakhstan.

My research topic changed when I came to Nazarbayev University in Astana as I talked more to people, but I was true to my adventurous spirit and I continued to explore Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.

My curiosity of the Kazakh culture and Kazakh people led me to Bayan-Olgii, a Kazakh populated region in Western Mongolia. The adventure there on a bus and taxi through Russia taught me about the kindness of strangers, and I will never forget the people who helped me continue my journey through Altai in Russia when Russian border guards kept me at the border so that I had to be left behind by my bus.

My heart is full of love and appreciation of Central Asian, Caucasian and Mongolian culture, and I am excited to continue to explore this part of the world.