Goodbye Valdivia! - and off to the adventure

Where has the time gone??! It's already December and I have finished my last week at work in Valdivia. Looking back, I have to admit that the beginning was difficult, I didn't know anyone and couldn't talk to anyone due to the language barrier. On top of that, there was the unpleasant winter with lots of rain and staying at home. But then, during the festival week, I went on my first trip here in Chile and since then I have to write down what I did when, otherwise I will forget it. So much has happened.

At the beginning, I put a lot of effort into learning Spanish. Now I have some basic knowledge and can communicate with people, I am no longer isolated. I have met many lovely, nice people from all over the world and I hope I can see some of them again somewhere.

After some initial difficulties, I was able to achieve quite good results in the lab. I was able to work independently on my own project, and in the end, even manage my time independently. Before, I could never have imagined how much joy bacteria on an agar plate can bring, or how difficult it can be to document your results scientifically correctly. That's why I spent almost the entire last week writing reports. Boring?! No, because I know that in the end, my own bacterial clones will be there, producing exactly the substance I want. :)

To say goodbye, I baked an apple strudel for the people in the lab and my friend Julia also organized a farewell barbecue at her place.

We went dancing Kumbia, a very typical Latin American music genre. It reminds me a lot of Ska, with many different brass instruments. Yorka asked me to cook pumpkin soup for her again and I tried to train a little for my trail run in January. Another lab colleague was also farewell and there was a huge pizza-sushi-cake-beer lunch because the people in the lab were in the mood for it.

Furthermore, I did some typical touristy things in Valdivia. Because it's actually true: when you have an attraction right on your doorstep, you don't do it. Too close. But a river tour with the sea lions is so beautiful and it's also worth having a gin with a view over the city in our sky-top bar.

In conclusion, I have enjoyed my time in Valdivia above all and can only recommend everyone to come here (but not in winter ;)). I am curious to see what I will experience on my travels and I hope I can see the people from Valdivia again in January.

Now I'm going to Argentina for a week. Bariloche, the capital for hiking enthusiasts and chocolate lovers, perfect for me :). The journey there is already super exciting, we go by bus over the Andes, cookies and juice are included in the price. (what a service!) After that, I'll go back to Chile because Yannik is coming to visit me (I'm looking forward to it so much). I will try to keep up my blog and stay in touch regularly.

Frieda (8.12.)