Beginning of my secondment

Many things have happened since my last blog entry. We went to the Francesco’s Legacy, Star Formation in Space and Time conference in Florence, where both Alice and myself presented a poster and Rene gave a talk. The conference itself was very instructive and we had a great time in Florence.

Short after that, I left Leeds to start my secondment in Madrid. It was sad to leave Leeds after 10 months working there, say goodbye to my peers and colleagues and move to another town. However, the people at the ISDEFE & European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) welcomed me very nicely and I am extremely pleased in my new office. Nonetheless, it was not so long until I had to go back to the UK, at the beginning of July we went to the National Astronomy Meeting in Hull and by the end of the month I had to go back to Leeds University for my first year viva, which I successfully passed.

After summer holidays, we had the chance to know Liverpool as the Northern Star Formation meeting was hold there. The meeting was very cosy and enjoyed by all the assistants, so we agreed it will be repeated next year in Manchester.

That was not the last trip, the first week of October we went to observe to the William Herschel Telescope at La Palma. It was a fantastic experience; we learnt and enjoyed a lot in the three nights we stayed on top of the mountain. I am really looking forward to go observing again soon. It is easy to forget that stars are really above us to be observed after so many days looking at numbers on the screen.

Between trips and trips I keep working in my new office in Madrid, learning the most out of the new environment of astronomers, engineers and archive people. I truly think I am going to have a productive and enjoyable time in this secondment in Madrid.