Where did the time go? My Guest Professorship is nearly over. I’ve enjoyed the transition to Switzerland. Last spring, I was at Washington State University. Next spring, I start a Professorship at USI in Lugano. I value the many friendships and professional connections I’ve made here. It has been a wonderful opportunity, and I’ll be nearby to keep them going. It’s less than 200km and we all want to ride the new fast train!

During the semester, I gave a talk to the Institute (“Rescaling in Discourse: Migration and EU Enlargement”) and to Prof. Dr. Jarren’s group (“Aphasia and a Legacy of Violence: Disabling and Enabling Knowledge of the Past in Poland”) organized by Dr. Christian Wassmer. The discussion and perspectives were valuable for shaping my further research. While at IPMZ, I was busy editing a book, Global Cases in Communication and Culture and a special issue of the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, titled Memory, Culture and Difference. I was very pleased to learn much more about Prof Dr. Bonfadelli’s research on migration and media in Switzerland. I’m delighted that he'll write a chapter (with Dr. cad phil Mustafa Ideli and Dr. Andrea Piga). I look forward to working with him more on future projects on shared interest in migration.

I can’t recall a better teaching experience than my semester here. It takes great students to make you one of the Best Universities in the World! Both my Master's and my Bachelor's students were highly participatory. One of my Bachelor's students read up on a scholar I mentioned in a lecture and how his work is used and emailed questions. He’ll certainly get an enthusiastic letter of recommendation for his applications to Intercultural Communication programs! I looked forward to every session of my Master's seminar. The students are sharp, interested and engaging. They’re working on fascinating projects, challenging and building each others’ ideas. The great joy at the end of term is normally, well, that it’s the end of term. But, this time, I’m looking forward to reading their final papers.

Great Institutes are made from their informal interactions. I thank all of you for including me in lunches through the week, the special dinner, seminars, and the Christmas party. It meant that you had to change the language of interaction for my benefit. I noticed and appreciated your inclusion.

I also would like to thank the Institute’s staff who graciously put up with my language limitations, most of all Ms. Barbara Hänsli, Ms. Bettina Lennström and Ms. Lorena Frank.

All in all it was a great semester. I express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Dr. Gabriele Siegert for inviting me to visit and making this great opportunity possible.