1. Wanting to see the broad world

Forests, horse riding, reading, and music

Eric Lambin was born in 1962 in Brussel, Belgium. His father was a professor of economics, and his mother was a historian and teacher. He spent a happy childhood in a loving and intellectually stimulating home.

childhood

When he was 10 years old, the family moved out of the city into the country. There was a large forest near the house, and they had horses. Eric spent lots of time outdoors exploring nature in the woods, riding his horse, and much more.

childhood

At home, he was into reading and playing music. He read lots of books. He liked literature and traveled around the world in his imagination through literature from abroad. He learned the clarinet and saxophone and played jazz music. The freedom of Jazz matched Eric's tastes.
His interest in the world, respect for freedom, and love of nature significantly influenced the path he chose.

Traveled around the world

During his high school days, he was not such a good student. Prof. Lambin said, "No one who knew me at that time thought that I would become a researcher." He did not like to be told what to do. He wanted to pursue his own interests and make his own decisions.
Rather than study, Eric wanted to travel and see the world. When he finished high school, he hitchhiked his way to Ireland. From there, he traveled for a few months through Canada, Romania, Africa, and Asia only with a backpack.

When it got closer to September, he realized that universities would start soon. He thought that he should go to a university, so he returned to Belgium and entered Université catholique de Louvain. He studied hard because it was what he decided to do by himself. It was 1981.

school days

Geography and philosophy

Eric chose geography as his major at university because he thought it would be useful for travel.
He also studied geography in graduate school. At the same time, he enrolled in an undergraduate program in philosophy. Studying two majors at the same time was a challenge, and there are only few people who attempt it. Eric was interested in both, however, so he set his mind to taking both. He enjoyed the challenge.

After that, he chose to become a geographer. However, studying philosophy was extremely helpful because it gave him a broad perspective about his studies, and helped him to think logically about what is important for society.

Road to geographer

2. Seen from the space, and seen from the ground

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Prof. Eric Lambin

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