When you come to a conference as colleagues but you leave as friends
After my summer in Turkey, I went straight (ok more kind of straight with a lot of time at airports and unnecessary switchovers) to Cape Town in South Africa for the International Colloquium for soil zoology. The whole week in a word: wow (ok I think this is no real word but there also is no one for it all). What a place, what incredible fauna and flora. While I did not expect to be able to explore much of the country outside the conference, I got to see so much more than I ever dreamt of. Just hours after arriving, I went straight up Lion’s Head to get a bit an overview over the city.
The colloquium itself brought a lot of constructive discussions and exchanges with it. It was such a small conference that after few hours you kind of met everybody. Conferences are just great places to soak up new inspiration, learn new perspectives and methods. They feel at times like a spare battery that will keep you running for the hard lonely days when you work on your own in the lab and at the computer. Also, as little as you earn as a researcher (at least in Spain), these international conferences are a little nice bonus making up for that. Also, they are a nice way of bringing a country’s culture and ecosystems closer. A lot of presentations from the local researchers, as well as stories and insights from them over lunch and coffee breaks. Also, on the excursion day, a bus full of ecologists/biologists, sharing a love for life, discovered together the Cape. Especially in the Cape’s kelp, life was just buzzing. So many woodlice, lice and cockroaches. A lot of rocks were turned, a lot of kelp was lifted. We even found a dead otter that became the nurishing ground for a whole range of animals.
In the National Park at the most Southern-Western tip, we went up to the lighthouse and spotted huge black lizards, a puff otter and a little gecko on our way. Also some comerants were breeding in the cliffs of the crystals blue sea. And the penguins at boulder beach, aaah so cute. Combined, you just discover so much more. So many interesting conversations, discovering with them was absolute fun. I loved the curiosity and exchanges.
Despite a full conference schedule, we made it to visit the Two Oceans aquarium, the botanical garden and then we took the chance to go out to the ocean to spot the whales. All of this was only possible by accepting the driving on the left challenge. Apart form many wrong set indicators (instead I used the windscreen wiper. But why the hell would you change those, too??) and a little extra challenge because our time of arrival for the whales was already very tightly calculated. On top, our Romanian colleague was 15min late. But somehow, we managed to arrive at 7:29, leaving us a minute to pay and hopping on the boat to set into sea at 7:30. And then after just 5min, an immense whale fin showed up and with it some immense goosebumps. This moment was one for life – what absolutely stunning animals. We found several other whales and in the end, even a grey whale mum and her cup followed our boat for some meters. All the drive there was worth it.
I am sure that what I have seen in this week was only a glimpse of Southern Africa. However, the glimpse was enough to discover my favourite South African food: achars – a spicy, pickled chutney and so so tasty (loved the mango and vegetable versions but am sure there exists many other ones, too). A bit like an Indian mango chutney but still different.
Every journey bringing you a bit closer to yourself
Traveling with my Romanian colleague was full of surprises. I saw her as this very stable, organized scientinst and mum of three, having her life in very tight order. However, on the flight to Cape Town, at 2am, she told me that her husband left her a month ago. This shoke up her life, made her question some fundamenals. She told me that in case she will survive South Africa, she will change her life. To do so, she came prepared. In her checked-in luggage she carried four liters of water because her doctor told her that she cannot wash her face with the water in Cape Town. Also, there were three different kinds of mosquito sprays and antibiotics that she took daily as prevention for malaria. To note, it was winter in SA with no sight of any mosquito. I think she harmed her body more than she helped anything. The first day, after she put the spray, she felt sick after few hours. The only day we went to the forests in the Botanical Garden she forgot to put the spray. At times, it felt she was taking the role of the teenager in the car, braking out a bit the role she normally has to play. Apart from arriving late to our precious whale trip, at one point she drunk too much of that sweet huge coffee and we needed to stop on the side stripe for her to through up.
She also wrote letters to her daughter telling them how their life will change once she survives the trip to South Africa. She also told me that I am like a butterfly going from flower to flower, always happy and smiling. Maybe she unravelled my purpose in life here: taking what I learn and bring it to others, spread inspiration, views and ideas.
I hope she will discover a whole new world out there, find some peace and happiness insider her. She wants to sing and dance more and work less. I totally agree with all of those changes. We should all find inspiration by her. It does not need a 20-year marriage to end to live the life you imagined. It can be at any moment. Life is constant change. She inspired me to also set some changes once back in my daily life. I want to mediate more, want to take more the bus to work (despite the extra time it takes me), want to do some voluntary work for biology conservation or gardining and I want to dive more. Let us try every day to be a better version of ourselves compared to the day before. This is the only comparison we should do. Thank you South African walks of life for having crossed my path.
