Paperjam: Please, introduce yourself.

Ferdaous Affan: I’m Ferdaous. I come from Morocco. In August it will be two years since I moved here to Luxembourg for my PhD in digital history. I used to work as a communications officer at the Moroccan News Agency in Morocco, and before that I worked at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakesh as a library assistant. I have an engineering degree in data and knowledge management. Before that I did two years of classes préparatoires in commerce and finance but then I switched to the school of information science in Rabat, where I specialised in records management and archives as well as data science and knowledge management. And also library science.

All right, so the PhD brought you here to Luxembourg, it seems? Or had you always wanted to come here?

It was quite by chance, to be honest. It wasn’t something I can say I’d been thinking about! It just happened that I found a very nice position here in the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH). I applied and I’m here now.

Back in Morocco I was working at the Moroccan news agency, as I said, but I was also enrolled in another PhD while working full-time. This was extremely difficult--and the PhD was in computer science and network analysis, which I did not like very much, to be honest. I’m more into digital humanities. So I got a taste of what a PhD is like, but wanted to do it full-time. In Morocco there is no financing for a PhD; you have to finance it yourself. But I wanted to dedicate my time only to doing a PhD, so I started looking online. I was looking in Francophone countries: Belgium, France and--as it happens--Luxembourg. And I came across a very interesting offer from the C2DH, which was launching a new doctoral training unit called Deep Data Science of Digital History (D4H). They had seven PhD positions, all related to digital history. And I found the project super, super interesting. It lined up with what I was doing in my studies but also in my work. I applied and got accepted. And I’m very happy about it. 

What were your first impressions of Luxembourg?

My first time in Luxembourg was a one-day trip I took from Brussels to Belval to meet my then-future-supervisor. It struck me how different Brussels and Luxembourg were. I couldn’t put my finger on how. I had spent some time in Brussels, as I have family there. But even the air felt different!

In Luxembourg City I was amazed by the architecture of the Ville Haute and Ville Basse. And then I took the train to Belval to meet with my supervisor, and the contrast was striking. It felt like I was in a steampunk city where it’s still industrial but also developed. It’s futuristic. The blast furnaces but then the colours, the red building coming out of nowhere! It was a big difference. I was thinking that Belval would be another city with old architecture. It’s good. You get used to it. It’s a nice place to be.

What about the administrative side of moving here? Was it a headache?

What took a long time was to get the contract from the university. It wasn’t really a headache, just a bit of back-and-forth that took a long time. I was asked to authorise somebody here in Luxembourg to apply for me at the ministry of foreign affairs… I think that took a month. After that, everything went smoothly. After I received all the papers, I got the visa in one day. So it was not a headache--well [she pauses]--no, not a headache. Just a bit of a long process.

What about finding a place to live? 

It was very important to already have somewhere to stay when I got here, because it’s necessary to have an address when you go to the commune to register. I come from a non-European country, so searching for a house was difficult. In part because I didn’t have a contract yet, and the landlord asked for my salary. “How much money have you got? Are you able to pay for this?” Then I talked to the university’s housing office. It was a long talk because their first response was that there’s no availability. I had to beg a little bit! [She laughs.] But then they found something. So I was lucky: I had a studio here in Belval. 

So when I finally went to the commune to register it was very fast because I already had the studio. I think that it’s more difficult if you don’t have anything, like if you come here and you’re just in a temporary residence and you have to search. That’s the headache. And I can tell you, I’ve just had to move--because you can only stay in university housing for two years--and I looked for six months before I found an apartment. House hunting is a nightmare.

Because of prices? Availability?

Both. Prices mostly… I’m a PhD student, so I have PhD salary, and sometimes this is not very much to the liking of landlords and agencies. But also availability: I was looking in the south of the country, but the most affordable houses were way back in the north.

Yeah, the transport being free wouldn’t forgive a two-hour commute on the bus. But what about Luxembourgish and local cultures? Anything shocking?

I cannot say I had any culture shock, because Luxembourg is such a multicultural country. There are so many people coming from different nationalities. This is something that I experienced here in the C2DH among my PhD colleagues… they’re from Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, USA, China. All different countries. We also have Luxembourgish colleagues. But I cannot think of any instance where I said: Oh, this is a culture shock. What I appreciate most about the country is its openness to people coming from different cultures and countries. I really don’t feel like I’m a stranger here. And my Luxembourgish colleagues are the nicest people you could work with. They're very helpful. This is one of the things that I like the most: people here are mostly welcoming and ready to help.

And if you speak French and English then I suppose you can talk to everybody.

Yeah. I think there are some people who prefer to speak German instead of French. But if you speak French here--in the country in general, or the cities at least--you can get by easily. German also would work. I do not speak German, but, yeah, with colleagues here we switch. This is also one thing here that I found incredible: the switching between languages. You can be talking with a person in French, and you turn your head and they start talking in German, then Luxembourgish, then English, then sometimes Portuguese. It’s fascinating.

And do you want to stay in Luxembourg?

I would love to. I would like to continue in academia, but I am not against the idea of working, say, in a museum, in a library, in archives, etc. But I would like to stay here. I think life in Luxembourg is very, very good… but it will depend on the opportunities!

Right. Now to the important things… talk to us about food and weather.

For the food, I have to say that I come from Morocco, and Morocco is known for its food culture… the food in Morocco is amongst, like, the highest-rated foods in the world--

Says the Moroccan. 

No, no, no! No, it’s [laughing] a completely objective viewpoint, people have said that--there are rankings online--you can find--! But, yes, it’s one of the best food you can ever eat in your life! [She laughs.] So, you asked about culture shock… I think I first had food shock! Back home, we use a lot of spices. Here, the food is great, don’t get me wrong, but it…

It’s not spicy enough. 

Not spicy enough compared to what I was used to my whole life in Morocco. But still now I’m very happy to say that I enjoy food here.

Are you talking about Luxembourgish food in particular or more the fare you can get here? Like Italian restaurants, all the rest?

Well, I have to say that I only eat halal food, which is something that I struggle to find. If I don’t find halal options, I have to eat vegetarian or fish. So when I want to eat out, it’s usually vegetarian or fish options. But what I’ve experienced in, say, Italian or Indian restaurants here--they are extremely good. I cannot say I have tried many local Luxembourgish foods, except for the potato galette, which I cannot pronounce the name of.

Gr--ah--Gromperekichelchen. 

That’s the one! But I haven’t tried much of the traditional food here, because it’s meat-based a lot. I still haven’t found anywhere where I could eat it in a halal option. But there are plenty of shops and restaurants that do offer halal options. Specifically that one Indian restaurant in Belval, Jay Nepal. There are also butchers where you can buy halal meat.

And the weather?

I would also make a comparison with Morocco: I come from a sunny country and the first year here was a bit difficult. I had a vitamin D deficiency, which I’ve never had in my life!

Oh, same. I went to a doctor who told me they had never seen anybody with less vitamin D in their body.

I had my blood tested and it was… the lowest possible. That had never happened to me! But the second year was much better. I think I got used to it. Yeah. I made peace with the fact that there’s more grey than sun in Luxembourg.

Any favourite spots you’ve discovered?

There’s Qosqo--it’s a café and restaurant in the city of Luxembourg that has Mexican or Spanish food. This one’s very good. That was a surprise. It’s an expensive place, of course, as places here in Luxembourg tend to be, but it’s the place I keep going back to with friends or when family comes to visit.

All right. A final word? 

I’m very happy to be here. It’s my first time living abroad. I did all my studies, lived my whole life back in Morocco. I did move between cities in Morocco--I did visit Europe a lot--I have family living in Belgium--and I was expecting that changing countries would mean I’d feel this cultural shock… but it was very smooth. I’m really enjoying my life here. It’s a quiet country, just as I like it.