Our journey through desert

“A journey through desert” is a famed expression in French (traversée du désert) to describe when someone is left alone or cast aside in political or professional life. This is what the ENP-China team experienced in the past month when our own university turned us into research refugees. An ERC Advanced Grant project is one of the most challenging, selective, and prestigious research awards in European academia. But at Aix-Marseille University, even after a month no reply has been given to ERC’s letter asking for a clarification. So much for the consideration due to the European Research Council.

In a journey through the desert, a very big threat is thirst. Where to find water outside of an oasis? Well, cartoons and comics have taught us that water can be found in cactus.Whether true or not, we found our cactus during the rough patch through AMU sand. It is a welcoming co-working space in the heart of Aix en Provence named Cactus! It is there that we found our final port of abode for three weeks.

Cactus is run by an enterprising and charming Russian couple who made our stay a most pleasant experience. Throughout the weeks we spent working in their offices, they were especially attentive and helpful. The place provided ample space for us to work in safe conditions (in the metropolitan county with the highest covid incidence rate in France), including our bi-weekly team meeting.