Dr. Nils C. Prieur

Dr. Nils C. Prieur

ML Engineer / Earth & Planetary Scientist

Living far away from wifey and family. Not easy!

1 minute read

Published:

Hey everyone! Today’s entry is a bit more personal. Living far from home isn’t a walk in the park. My wife, Siri, is also a researcher, currently doing her postdoc at Ås University near Oslo. As much as we’d love to live together, her work keeps her in Norway, though she visits me every 3–4 months. She’s even considering applying for funding to establish a collaboration with a group here at Stanford—fingers crossed for early 2023!

Life is so much better when she’s here. But when she leaves, the apartment feels eerily quiet. You really notice how much someone’s presence shapes your day-to-day life. On the flip side, I think this time apart has made our relationship stronger. The 9-hour time difference is a beast, though! She’s winding down her day as mine kicks off, which makes syncing up for a chat tricky. But we make it work.

Luckily, life at Stanford has been great. The university does a lot to make postdocs feel welcome. I’ve met some awesome people, especially through the tennis postdoc group. Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m terrible at tennis! But the real fun starts afterward, when we grab beers and hang out on campus. Between that and meeting people in various intro classes, I’ve found a solid group of friends: Derrick, Laura, Robbie, Jose, and my buddy in San Francisco, Andrasz.

When Siri’s not around, I pour my energy into the project and make the most of the vibrant social life here. It’s all about finding that balance between work and keeping morale high. Till next time—take care!

My love Caption: Missing my wife <3!

Japanese car in the US Caption: I used the time to alone to get my driving license in the US, and I bought a old subaru from a colleague that will go back to Australia.

Wine tasting in Sonoma Caption: Wine tasting in Sonoma with a few other Stanford postdocs.

Trip with Andrasz Caption: Hiking in the hills behind Stanford with Andrasz. My good Hungarian/US friend that lives in SF.

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Big life updates, everyone! Siri is now at Stanford! Thanks to a fantastic program from the Norwegian Research Council (NRC), postdocs already involved in NRC projects can apply for a research stay abroad for up to a year. The NRC covers the salary, and with a high success rate for these grants, it’s a great way to build international collaborations. After some searching, Siri found a group at Stanford doing work closely related to her research at NMBU in Ås. A few weeks of visa wrangling later, she’s here!