Reflections on month 1 of my fellowship
Two days ago marked a month since I have arrived in Barcelona to start my MSCA fellowship and although it’s not quite been a full month of the postdoc itself, I thought it would be a good opportunity to start off this series of blog posts!
First off, Barcelona - what a wonderful city. Since getting here, it has been a little more rainy than the Spanish experience promised, but when the sun is out it’s REALLY out! It’s been lovely to be able to sit on my balcony for breakfast, and wonder around the city in the warmth of the Iberian sun. As an Italian, I feel very at home in this city. I see neighbourhoods reminiscent of Milan, my hometown, but also of Paris, where I lived for my previous postdoc. The food of course has been great, and it has been lovely to enjoy the variety of activities that Barcelona has to offer - a day at the beach, a day in the green parks of Montjuic, a day immersed in the beautifully contorted houses of Gaudí. I can’t wait to find out more!
Now, let’s talk postdoc. Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN-CSIC), the institute that has taken me in - big shoutout and huge thank you to my new supervisor Encarni Montoya, who believed in me since the moment she examined my PhD and has been incredibly supportive of my plan to pursue the MSCA - is a really fun place to be, full of friendly staff and eager young researchers. The Palaeoecology Laboratory (PALAB), where I am based, is a wonderfully collaborative group and I couldn’t ask for more! The first month has been a whilrwind, mixed between tedious bureaucratic processes to install myself in the Spanish system and admin to kick off the project, but also exciting tasks like contacting collaborators, discussing fieldwork plans, planning the documentary and designing pollen-trapping methods. Our work with the teams in Peru (IIAP) and Ecuador (USFQ/TBS) has also begun, and we are in the process of writing the research permits that will allow our fieldwork this summer to proceed unimpeded and successfully (we can only hope!). As a final news, I’ve been lucky enough to become an ambassador for Craghoppers, now officially our project’s partner - they’re an outdoors clothing brand which does an incredible insect-repellent line of clothing perfect for my trip!
Overall the first month has been very productive and I plan to keep the momentum going. There will much to do in the next couple months before my trip to the Amazon, so stay tuned!
Signing off to go eat some patatas bravas.
-Dael
