Dr Anne here — setting out on yet another, this time epic, journey.

I’ve just concluded a one-year position as Visiting Professor, once again on South Korea’s Jeju Island, at the Jeju National University. There I taught courses of my own design on intercultural competency, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and developing global mindedness, and the benefits and challenges of multicultural societies, as well as a course in practical psychology.

Now, following visits to my bases of Hong Kong and New York, I’ll set off in just 3 days for Russia — the first of 55 countries over these next 9 months. I’ll be conducting cultural research throughout Eastern Europe, Central Asia, 10 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and more of South America. Research goals, beyond generally increased cultural understanding, include reconciliation and reconstruction in post-conflict zones, the status and nuances of gender equality, and the identity and self-presentation of nations and cultures, including the preservation of tradition in the quest for modernity.

A new series of articles, entitled ‘100 Countries‘, will soon begin here in this blog. In it, I’ll share cultural highlights and interesting anecdotes from my ongoing research — on these upcoming 55 countries, as well as many of the 58 others previously studied. Of particular importance to me is not only to learn about each culture from its own members and my direct experiences, but also to ‘connect the dots’ — to draw correlations, compare and contrast, gain ever-increasing understanding of these intertwined histories, and in so doing, to look at the greater picture: our shared humanity.

I invite you to join me in this quest.