A year ago I was on my way to a new life experience in France, and now that I'm about to start my second year in this land, I think it's a good time to make some reflections...
I have to admit that my previous knowledge of this country, and its culture, was rather limited. I did have some background information, mainly from an
old Simpsons' episode and from a couple of weekend getaways. To be fair, I also had some mythical stories from the time my
uncle studied here, back in the late 1980's. But to be really honest, I didn't know much about the country where I was supposed to live for the next three years of my life...
Anyway, I came to Grenoble, and I'm happy to admit that I don't regret it...I don't regret it at all!. I've had the chance to meet great people from all around the world. From
renowned researchers, to humble
PhD students, like me. From people from places as familiar as Puebla, to colleagues from the distant Cameroon and
Brazil. I got the chance to visit one of my favorite countries, the mythical Hungary, and a beautiful nordic country, Danemark. But must of all, during these visits I had the chance to meet great colleagues from the
software maintenance and
model-driven engineering communities.
You know, what I like the most is that you're no longer competing against some colleagues in a classroom, you're really competing against some of the brightest minds from all around the world!. Of course, it's not easy, we've already had some drawbacks (particularly some rejected papers), but that's what makes this new experience so interesting...
One final remark, during this year, both my alcohol tolerance and my love for films has increased dramatically, and I intend to keep it that way...=):.
She said, "I think I remember the film,
and as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it..."
and I said, "Well, that's the one thing we've got!".
