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I never ever thought I would get so far in life…I think I’ve explained several times my motto in life: never give up. Think big.

This post is more personal than the ones I’ve written before. Just saying J

I’m in love with Amsterdam. To this day, this place is where I want to live. The general idea of this city has nothing to do with what it offers when you live here. No traffic jams or delays. Just bike. A sunny day? Then, it’s time for a bbq in the park, going to the beach or swim in the canals/rivers, wherever it’s allowed. And yes: been there, done that. So, is it June but the weather insists on being stuck in October? No worries, the culture offer is such that you can’t get bored.

I’m living here for 10 months now and I can honestly say this has been the best decision in my life. You can’t imagine how much this experience has changed me. Meeting friends from all over the world has made me think that the barriers that limit countries are just in our minds because the way you support each other knows no boundaries. Interests, concerns and lust for life are common. Every day I’m learning, not only with respect to research but also personality wise. OK, now I can analyse ultrasound pictures, data in R and well, I’m still trying to figure out how Matlab works. However, what I appreciate the most is knowing that people are willing to support you no matter what.

My University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is amazing. I came here because of my dual PhD but I hadn’t heard much about it before. Research labs in almost every hallway, technicians (this is the biggest discovery ever: people that develop/build what you need for your research), professors, teachers… There’s always someone willing to help you, without asking anything in return. Let me highlight this last part…

Poor Spain. It is a completely eye-opening experience realising how bad your country is doing in research. My heart sank. I’m experiencing the mixed feeling. Should I go back to Spain to ‘help her out’ or should I stay here and keep on learning? Better stay. It’s not only an economic issue, it’s also about being kind hearted, without interests. I have my own office, shared with the best colleague ever, with my name on the door, and my own mailbox! I show it proudly to my friends and family visiting me. And, at the end, you always say:” Don’t come back, stay here. It’s reasonable”. It’s hard to hear those words but comforting in a way.

Yes, I am happy. I’m not going to lie saying it was easy. It was hard, but that is why this experience became a great one. Anyway, as I said, I’m still thinking big. And thanks to prof Coppieters, one of my supervisors, I keep on thinking big. I bet and I won. At first, without expecting so…

Ladies and gentlemen, my dream came true. I’m moving to Australia. I got what I think is the opportunity of a lifetime: a grant to carry out my PhD there. It’s not easy to get a grant, I guess. So, in a way, I feel supported with the project I presented. People who know me know how many years I’ve been talking about going to Australia for research purposes…It will be 3 years, in Gold Coast. And you, physios, will understand the relevance of this step. It’s scary. It wasn’t an easy decision because lots of things will be left behind. But I trust in you to support me as always in this new opportunity in a city well known for its beaches and good climate! Well, and poisonous fauna as well…

I will move to another city but to this day, Amsterdam is mijn stad.

PD: this song is played by Lifehouse. This is how I feel regarding Australia :)