Between
1907 and 1909 Dutch scholar and diplomat Hendrik Muller made a
lengthy trip through parts of Southeast Asia. He recounted that
amazing journey in a two-part book that was published in 1912.
Almost a hundred years later, Dutch scholar, Southeast Asian
historian, Arabic linguist and Islamic expert Carool Kersten has
translated Dr. Muller’s book and introduced it with a
biographical sketch about the author. Dr. Muller’s Asian
Journey, published by White Lotus, was just released. This is
author Kersten’s second book. The first, published in 2003, is
provocatively entitled Strange Events in the Kingdoms of
Cambodia and Laos, 1635-1644, and is again a translation of a
work by a Dutch author, Pieter Casteleyn. I found them so
interesting that I started reading both of them at the same
time!
How, you may ask, did this gentleman from
Holland with a background in business in the Middle East come to
be an author and university lecturer in Chiang Mai? As he says,
it was a series of most serendipitous events.
Carool Kersten was born in a small village in
Holland. One of the most outstanding things in his village was
an old castle that was used as a retreat house for an English
mission organization. His grandparents were active supporters of
the organization; and his grandmother even arranged to have him
baptized by one of the members of the mission. But his most
startling memory of the castle took place at its annual fair. A
priest demonstrated a rather exotic cultural dance for the
fair-goers, the dance of a headhunting tribe. Something, young
Carool thought, is out there other than my village.
In high school he became interested in the
events that were unfolding in the Middle East, near peace
through the Camp David Accords, considered the “framework for
peace in the Middle East”, and then the assassination of
Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat. He knew then that he
would focus on Arabic studies at university. Middle Eastern
studies included Arabic language, but he also concentrated on
the study of Islam. After graduation, he traveled to Egypt and
practiced the language, and then he went into the military for
compulsory service. He was placed in the communications
division, but an accident in which he injured his knee resulted
in his being discharged from the military. He was not
displeased.
A Dutch construction company with contracts
in the Gulf States hired him as a translator, and he was soon
moved to Saudi Arabia to work on a defense project. He considers
his experiences living and working in Saudi Arabia to have been
“wonderful years”. He had almost unlimited opportunities. He
glows with enthusiasm as he relives those times. The company
provided four airline tickets annually for rest and recreation.
He used one each year to go home and visit his family, then used
the other three to go further and further East. He met his
future wife on one of his trips to Thailand.
He is a voracious reader, and he devoured
travel books. Many Dutch writers had traveled extensively in
Asia because of the Dutch East Indies. Many of them had been
sent to provide colonial services, and wrote of their
experiences when they returned to Holland.
After six years in Saudi Arabia, he realized
that he knew more about foreign cultures than his own. He took a
sabbatical and studied philosophy in Holland for a year. Then
his old company called him, and he went back to Saudi Arabia.
He says that he had many opportunities within
the company, and the one he most enjoyed was working as the
personnel director. As such, he had the opportunity to recruit
personnel from all over the Middle East, and he was also
responsible for government relations. As he ended his fourth
year back in Saudi Arabia, his tenth year altogether, business
slumped. His last job with the company was to fire himself.
He and his wife now had a daughter and a son,
and they moved to Chiang Mai. They had purchased a home here the
year before, knowing that eventually they would live in
Thailand. Carool entered the Thai studies program at Payap
University, completed it and began teaching history in the
program. Then he branched out and began teaching other courses
in history at Payap, and finally was recruited to lecture in the
Faculty of Theology.
In September he will leave Payap and enter
the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies in London
to work on a Ph.D. He will not be required to complete
repetitious academic course work, and that’s part of the
reason he will be studying there. Instead he will be able to
focus on research, and he loves research. He says with a smile
that he has developed a bit of an attitude. He’s an academic,
a teacher, a researcher and a published author. He doesn’t
want to spend precious time duplicating what he has already
done. I understand.
Carool and his family are working out the
logistics. His wife is presently also studying at university,
and the children are settled into international school here. So
they will join those families all over the world who are
temporarily separated by educational or professional needs. A
distance marriage doesn’t appeal to him, but they’re making
the necessary plans. He has no plans for future jobs. As in the
past, “something will pop up”. With his credentials and
experience, I think he’s right.
Our conversation strayed to his students. He says it’s not
uncommon for him to run into students from past years who are
back in Chiang Mai vacationing or working for NGOs. It’s as
though they’ve been “bitten by some bug”, and we’ve both
heard that many times. He and his family may live and work in
Europe after he completes his doctorate program, or they may go
to a university in a neighboring country. But they’re not
selling their home in Chiang Mai. Obviously, the same bug bit
them.
