Time and again, one hears how important team work is. True – but how is this to be put in practice? In the humanities, it is particularly difficult to implement. So much of our work requires a contemplative individual brooding over a specific topic.

Yet , those moments when there were several of us and we got something going as a team were really most rewarding. It can happen with students when a course works out well and in a collaborative research context working together with colleagues.

Most importantly, it applies to fieldwork. Despite many years of experience in different parts of Africa, cultural differences can be challenging. Yet,But I would not want to miss a single moment of the times spent working with African colleagues, acquaintances and friends – whether in the sparsely populated Angolan-Namibian border region, or in the urban settings of South Africa.

And for the rest, I wonder why one should look back into the past for the highlights. Hopefully, the best is still to come!