Canberra, first impressions

It's been one week and a half since I arrived to Canberra, and I think it's about time I speak about the city. I know these ideas might change once I got used to the city, but I think it is worth writing them... I know how my brain works and it could be funny reading these thoughts again in a few months, once I had changed my mind ;)

When I first step on this city (literally, when I jumped off the bus), I thought it was a normal city roads, pavements, high buildings... but soon after that I realised how wrong I was ;) The administrative centre of the city is as you might think, i.e. a normal city. However, as you move towards the part of the city where everybody live, that ''organization'' changes drastically. Every building is a house, with a garden around it, generally no fences, shoes at the doors, plenty of space to park, not a lot of traffic (just one car every now and then)... So, in general, Canberra is a very quiet city, a city to enjoy life and especially to enjoy nature, you can breath fresh air wherever you go, trees are always around you and the mountain at a walking distance (a quite pleasant walk, BTW).

A typical house in Canberra

But what really impresses me are the noises, weird noises everywhere coming from strange birds and colourful parrots. Last Saturday I thought a sheep was coming flying towards me!! It turned out to be a (I think it was a pied currawong, it was black, so either number 3, 6, 8 or 10 in the image). I am not so sure which noise corresponds to which bird, but here you have some of the birds that (I think) I have seen so far and that have caught my attention.

These are the kind of birds that you can easily find in Canberra gardens, amazing, isn't it??

Imagine, you are walking in the street, surrounded by all these crazy sounds, you look towards where the sound comes from... and you find parrots (number 7 and 9), cockatoos (number 1and 2)... These are the kind of birds I am used to seeing in zoos, pet shops... It is great admiring them in their natural habitat!!

Of course driving on the left (especially to me that I am not a very skilled driver) and working in the mountain in an observatory is another interesting point to discuss... but I will let that for another entry ;)

I hope you are all well,

Cheers from 'down under' ;)

Safe and Sound: The story of an endless trip

Although it seemed it was never going to happen, here I am, in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Last year I had the opportunity to come, but finally because of the economical situation in Spain it was not feasible. However, last February I received the confirmation from the Spanish government: I was going to spend three months in Australia!!

Every now and then the same question, "When are you going to Australia?" or even "Have you enjoyed your stay in Australia?".  People lose track of time, and even to me it seemed like a future experience... but time flies and that future experience is part of what I am now.

So far everything is great, the people, the city, the weather, my great flatmates... everything is amazing!! But I have just arrived, so let's postpone my opinion about all that for some time.

About the trip... well... you can imagine, exhausted, even 40 hours after arriving I still feel a bit jet-lagged and confused. In the last 72 hours I have taken 4 different planes, 2 buses, 1 car, around 19200 km, stepped on 4 different countries (Spain, England, Singapore, and Australia) and three different continents (Europe, Asia, and Australia). By the way, with this trip I have been to the five continents!! I know Antarctica is another continent... but it is scarcely populated and the chances of going there on a scientific expedition are quite small.

Fortunately no turbulences, neither weird landings nor taking off's, no delays, no lost baggage, so a very smooth trip. Things to highlight... I have lost (although I think someone has stolen from my hand luggage while in the lavatory) the camera, something you really need in such a exotic place as Australia. But especially interesting was the conversations with Jason, the man by my side during the last stage (Singapore-Sydney). Really interesting person who is travelling next week to Spain!! So I suggestted a couple of places to visit, Granada and Úbeda included, of course! Really nice information, so a good example of what I have found so far in Canberra, great people always looking forward to helping you, especially if you are a stranger and you feel a bit lost (as it is my case ;)

Once in Australia, the 4-hour bus trip to Canberra was really nice, I couldn't sleep because I didn't want to miss a thing. Everything is new here, the landscapes, the trees, the birds, literally EVERYTHING! Something that really got my attention was the sporadic explanations from the bus driver about where to eat, the population of the cities we drove by, interesting landscapes, etc....

And in Canberra... let's say it is an interesting city. You need a car for everything (shopping, going to work, etc), as everything is far from where you are... well, a 20 minute-drive ;). However that makes the city a very quiet one, with green parks, and trees, and residential areas well spread around the city.

Little by little I will get used to it, so I'll be able to speak properly about the city and how is life ''down under''.

Why...

Everything in this life has a reason of being, even life. And this blog is not going to be an exception. Of course this blog has a reason, whether this reason is a convincing one or just an excuse to expend some time pretending I am working... it's for you (and especially me) to discover.

The first why:

Why does this blog exist? Well... good question. It is not because I know YOU are interested in my life (although I have had some requests about starting a blog). In fact I am not just going to write about me, science will also be an important part of this blog. The real reason of this blog is to share life experiences, to share the things that I consider interesting and worth spreading, to share the things I enjoy most. Sometimes I will speak about what is going on with me. Sometimes I will express my thoughts or opinions on different topics. In some occasions I will write about my research or about science in general (outreach is one of my passions)... and sometimes I will just tell you a bunch of nonsense ideas. Anyhow, I will write and it is up to you to read it or not.

The second why:

Why are you writing in English? First of all, my apologies about that. I apologise for the incorrect use of any expression I might use (I am just a student of English as a second language). And I apologise to those of you who might think "well, I won't be able to follow what this guy has to tell me"... although that's not true, I assure you, anyone with a basic background in the English language could follow this blog and if this is not your case, any decent online translator could do the trick!  Once my apologies are accepted, I shall focus on answering the second why. English is the global language, if you want to reach as many people as possible, English is the language you should use. Apart from that, I am a scientist, I am a PhD. student at the University of Granada. As you might know, English is the language of science. Every paper you read, it is written in English. Every meeting you have, it is held in English. That's why I've been struggling with my use of English since I started my research, and now that I feel more confident using it, this blog could be a great opportunity to practise (and why not, improve) my writing skills.

The third why:

Why now? Although I have been thinking for quite a long time about the idea of starting a blog, I have never had a good reason to start it. I know you do not need a good reason to do something, apart from the fact that you enjoy doing it, but I am a busy guy and it is not easy for me to find 1 hour a week to write about me. However, I am about to start a 3-month stay in Australia, somehow, when I think of Australia I imagine it as a country located so far away, almost unreachable, so different regarding every aspect (people, culture, animals, nature, etc.)... that I have decided it is worth spending some time to write about my experiences and my impressions about this vast country.


I cannot promise I will keep this blog up to date, but I will do my best. During the upcoming three months I'll be quite busy, although I cannot complain! I know I am a very fortunate person. Since I started my PhD I have had the opportunity of travelling all around the world, and in every place I've been to, I have had great experiences and known very interesting people. However, as time passes, all those memories are buried deep inside our minds and it is hard to recall all those great moments... and this is the real WHY of this blog... this is a blog for me to remember all those moments... for all those memories to not be forgotten forever and ever.

So, dear reader, if you want to read and follow this humble blog you are more than welcome to be part of this story, but be aware of one thing, do not expect great stories or amazing experiences... just the day-to-day anecdotes of a Spanish guy in Australia.