EL BLOG DE AMPOWERFLOWER

Aventuras y anécdotas fuera de casa

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Goodbye party. Fiesta de despedida

Uno de nuestros ultimos dias en Evanston organizamos una fiesta de despedida con todos nuestros compañeros, los "Stupps" y los "Grzybowskis". Cada uno preparo y trajo un plato distinto y pasamos una agradable noche de despedida, disfrutando de nuestros amigos y de la comida que tan generosamente prepararon.
Quisimos fotografiarnos con todos por ultima vez, ya que tenemos fotos de muchisimos momentos buenos que hemos pasado con ellos. 
Aunque fue una noche relajada y divertida, nosotros estabamos un poco tristes por cerrar esta etapa y por separarnos de gente con la que nos hemos sentido tan comodos.
Podeis ver algunas fotos de la cena y quiero hacer un pequeño repaso de las fotos con mis queridos colegas.
One of our last days in Evanston we organized a goodbye party with all our colleagues from both groups, the "Stupps" and the "Grzybowskies". The plan was to have a pot luck dinner and everyone brought a different dish.
We took pictures with everyone, even though we have tons of pics with all of them, but now we can also have the official goodbye pictures. We enjoyed a lot our time with them and felt really like at home.
Here you can see some pictures of that dinner and I also want to go through the pictures with all my great colleagues.

Diferentes platos traidos por todos nuestros compañeros: tacos, chilli, polenta, tostadas, tarta tres leches, macarons, falafel, empanada de carne, pates de atun y mejillones, croquetas de lentejas (plato turco), tortilla de patatas...
Different dishes brougth by all our colleagues: tacos, chilli, polenta, tostadas, tres leches cake, macarons, falafel, meat pie, tuna and mossels pate, lentil croquets (Turkish dish), Spanish tortilla...

Aqui estoy con Monica, Victoria y Jared, todos compañeros de Thomas. Jared siempre tiene unas bonitas palabras sobre el vestuarion de Thomas, segun su opinion su ropa es completamente "gay". Ya sabeis chicos, cuellos de pico en USA, son solo para europeos o gays...ayyy!!
Here I am with Monica, Victoria and Jared. They're all Thomas' colleagues. Jared always has some kind words to describe Thomas' outfits. According to his opinion his clothes are for gays. So guys, you should know that "V-neck" t-shirts are only for Europeans or gays in the USA...ay!

Estos son Carson y Annie. Ambos forman una de las parejas mas especiales que conozco. Carson es mi compañero y es el mejor quimico sintetico que conozco. Trabaja siempre muy eficientemente y no para! Es capaz de hacer maravillas con la quimica, es muy inteligente. Le cncanta llevar ropa de colores brillantes, incluso fluorescentes en zapatos, pantalones, lo que sea. Siempre es original. Annie es su mujer y tambien es como un rayo de sol. Son una pareja super divertida.
These are Carson and Annie. They are one of the most special couples I know. Carson is my colleague, he is the best synthetic chemist I've ever met. He is a hard worker, he is able of doing wonderful things with chemistry, he is awesome and very smart. He loves wearing shinny clothes, flashy pants and sweaters, even shoes and he is always original. Annie is his wife and she is also a ray of light. Being with them is a lot of fun.

Aqui estoy con Roman y Jane. Roman es otro de mis compañeros. A pesar de lo joven que es, solo 25, ya esta en su cuarto año de doctorado y no es por nada, pero un Science paper va a ver la luz pronto, estoy segura. Ademas es un fiestero y nosotros hemos ido a su casa a un par de fiestas con gente muy joven, jeje! Pero lo hemos pasado genial. Jane ya es doctora, es interesante hablar con ella de neurociencia. Es una chica genial.
Here I am with Roman and Jane. He is also one of my colleagues. Even though he is only 25, he is already a 4th year grad student and a great Science paper is about to come, I'm sure! He is a party animal and we've been invited to some of the parties in their house. We were the oldest people there, but it was still a lot of fun. Jane is already a doctor and it is very interesting talking to her about neuroscience. She is also great!

Thomas y yo estamos aqui acompañados de Derek y Kalina. Derek era el "undergrad" de Adam y Roman y demostro ser un excelente estudiante trabajando en proyectos de energia. Ambos son unos enamorados de España y aun mas de Barcelona, su español y catalan son bastante buenos. Solo tienen un defecto, son del Barcelona, noooooo!! Lo cierto es que lo pasamos en grande viendo los Real Madrid-Barcelona. Les perdono, jeje!
Thomas and I are here surrounded by Derek and Kalina. Derek used to be Adam and Roman's undergrad and he demonstrated to be a great student working in solar fuel projects. They both love Spain and particularly Barcelona. Their Spanish and Catalan are pretty good. They only have one defect since they are both Barcelona fans, noooo!! The truth is that we had a lot of fun watching the games Real Madrid-Barcelona, so I think I can forgive them :)


Esta cosita que tengo aqui es Dinara, la hija de Ahmet, un compañero de Thomas. He decidido incluir esta foto en homenaje a nuestros compañeros con niños, que vienen desde todos los paises del mundo y afrontan la paternidad con valentia en un mundo que no da tregua, el mundo de la investigacion, que no entiende de horarios, dias, noches o domingos. La vida de un padre investigador es dura y hacen muchos sacrificios para compaginar familia y trabajo. Esto ultimo conlleva, visa, recomendaciones, futuros trabajos y futuro familiar al fin y al cabo.
This little thing in the picture with me is Dinara, Ahmet's daughter. He is a colleague of Thomas. I've decided to include this picture just to express the big effort many of our colleagues do here. They come from all over the world and become parents in a different country. Moreover, having kids and working in science y a country like USA is not an easy thing. This job doesn't respect schedules, days, nights, holidays or Sundays. It is a hard life to be with your family and work at the same time. This work also means having a visa and recommendations for future jobs, which is at the end of the day what can change your life.

Aqui estamos con Yun, uno de nuestros compis chinos mas graciosos. Es un as del ping pong y de vez en cuando nos adiestra en nuestros conocimientos del lenguage chino :)
This is Yun, one of our funniest Chinese colleagues. He is a master of ping pong and from time to time he teaches us some Chinese ;)

Aqui estoy con Taner, es de Turquia y es mi colaborador mas proximo. Durante estos años he trabajado codo con codo con el. Es intelingente, decidido y piensa todo muy bien antes de hacerlo. Somos muy buenos amigos y espero que todo nuestro esfuerzo se vea recompensado con publicaciones cientificas buenas. Le deseo todo lo mejor en su doctorado, aun le quedan un par de años ;)
This is Taner, from Turkey and my closest collaborator and partner in crime. We've been working together during all this time. He is very smart, decided and he thinks everything thoroughly before doing it. We became great friends and I hope all our effort is awarded with nice results published in good quality scientific journals.


Aqui estoy con mis españolas y galleguiñas favoritas: Elena y Paula. Elena llego a Chicago a principios de noviembre y desde entonces hemos hecho muchas cosas juntas, es una pana que hayamos coincidido solo los ultimos meses :(
Paula es la mujer de Ricardo, mi compañero portugues y ella tambien trabaja en Evanston. Me encantan nuestras citas cafetiles un par de dias a la semana. Ella es super divertida :)
Here I am with my Spanish mafia: Elena and Paula. They are both from Galicia, the part of Spain just on top of Porgugal. Elena arrived in Chicago at the beginning of November and we've done a lot of things together. It's a pity we could only be in the group at the same time in the last months :(
Paula is Ricardos's wife (he is my Portuguese colleague) and she also works in Evanston. I love our coffee dates during the week. She is so funny :)

Y aqui estoy con Ricardo, el marido de Paula. Otra de mis parejas favoritas ;) Su siguiente destino es Eindhoven, nuestro antiguo grupo de investigacion con Bert Meijer! Estoy segura de que le ira de lujo.
Here I am with Ricardo, Paula's husband. They are another of my favorite couples :) His next destintion will be Eindhoven. He'll work in our old research group with Bert Meijer. I'm sure he'll have a great time there.

Esta es Allycia, la persona mas dulce de nuestro laboratorio y oficina. Me ha encantado conocerla y le deseo lo mejor terminando su master. Nuestra despedida fue triste, pero gracias a las redes sociales y al telefono, no hay por que perderd contacto!
This is Allycia, the sweetest person in the lab and in the office. Meeting her was great and I wish her all the best to finish her masters. Our goodbye was sad, but now we have the social networks and the phone, we don't really have to say goodbye!

Este es Jose, el mexicano :) porque tambien tenemos al puertorriqueño. Trabaja en el grupo de Chad Mirkin, pero antes nuestras oficinas y laboratorios estaban juntos y ademas, es un buen amigo de Leonel.
This is Jose, "the Mexican". We have another Jose, from Puerto Rico :) He works for Chad Mirkin and we used to have our labs and offices next to each other. He is also a good friend of Leonel and ours.

Aqui estoy con Leonel. El estudiante del que tuve el honor de ser mentora. He cogido tal confianza con el que soy capaz de pasar del odio al amor en un minuto. Reconozco que le he metido mucha caña, pero es que tiene que aprender, jeje! Espero que su doctorado sea un exito y que le vaya todo como se merece.
This is Leonel and I had the pleasure of mentoring him when he joined the group. We've spent a lot of time together and we can go from love to hate in just a couple of minutes. I've been hard to him but it was only in his benefit :) I hope he finishes his PhD with lots of success and results happen as he deserves.

Here I am with Adam Weingarte. He is my favorite person in the lab. We've become very good friends and we have shared many interesting conversation. He is very loyal, he takes care of friends and he is a great scientist. I was very sad when I had to say goodbye to him, but we've been already talking during these days so I hope it continues like this.
Este es Adam Weingarten, mi persona favorita en el laboratorio. Nos hemos hecho muy buenos amigos y hemos compartido muchisimas conversaciones interesantes. Es una persona muy leal, se preocupa por los demas y sobre todo es un estupendo cientifico. Me dio mucha tristeza despedirme de el, pero hemos seguido teniendo contacto durante estos dias, asi que espero que continue asi.

Esta pareja son Tarik y Bilge, de Turquia tambien. Dos maravillosos compañeros de Thomas. Cientificamente no tienen igual, la calidad de sus publicaciones es altisima y ellos son dos de las mejores personas que hemos encontrado.
This couple are Tarik and Bilge, from Turkey also. They are great colleagues of Thomas. They are incredible scientists and the quality of their projects is very hight. Furthermore, they are two of the best persons we've ever met.

Aqui estoy con Adam Preslar, mas conocido como "Pepito". Yo le bautice con ese nombre y desde enconces, su nombre autentico ha desaparecido. Divertirse con el es muy facil, su mesa en la oficina es un desastre y siempre nos reimos de el por su acento sureño :)
Here I am with Adam Preslar, aka "Pepito". I gave him that name and since then his original name disappeared. It is very easy to have fun with him, his desk in the office is a huge mess, but we still survived :) He is so funny, especially for his Southern accent.

Esta belleza que esta entre nosotros es Jiwon :) Una guapa koreana compañera de Thomas. Hemos compartido muchos momentos con ella y fue tan amable de dejarnos celebrar la fiesta de despedida en su edificio.
This Korean beauty is Jiwon :) a great colleague of Thomas and friend of mine. We've shared many nice moments with her and she was very kind to let us celebrate the goodbye party in the building where she lives.

Aqui estoy con DJ, uno de los mas jovenes estudiantes del grupo. Tiene mucho camino por delante, asi que le deseo lo mejor!
This is DJ, one of the youngest students in the group. He still has many years ahead so I wish him all the best in this long way!

Esta es Helen. Ella trabaja en Chicago y yo en Evanston, por lo que no hemos compartido mucho tiempo juntas, pero es divertida y tiene un caracter bastante fuerte, como debe ser!
This is Hellen. She works in Chicago and I work in the Evanston campus so I couldn't share too many moments with her but she is full of life and has a strong temper, as it should be!

Aqui estoy con Olga, nuestra hija adoptiva holandesa. Cuando llego a Chicago tuvo algunos problemas para encontrar apartamento y se quedo con nosotros varios dias en casa. Ella estaba muy estresada y lloraba de puro estres, pero nosotros estabamos encantados de que se quedase con nosotros. Solo va a estar unos meses en Chicago visitando el grupo de Chad Mirkin antes de volver a Holanda.
Here I am with Olga, our Dutch adopted daughter. She had a hard time trying to find an apartment so she stayed with us in our place. She was pretty stressed about finding a place, but we were pleased to have her with us. She is only visiting Chad Mirkin's lab for some months before going back to NL.



Esta parejita son Christina y Lyle, nuestros mejores amigos en Chicago. Hemos compartido infinidad de cenas, dias de "Accion de gracias", restaurantes buenos, bebidas ricas y mucho tiempo juntos. Les voy a echar tanto de menos!!!!
This cute couple are Christina and Lyle, our best friends in Chicago. We've shared hundreds of great moments with them, like Thanksigiving dinners, good restaurants, good drinks and a lot of time together. I'll miss them sooooo much!!!

Para terminar, la foto de Super Tomate, uno de mis chistes favoritos y con los que bombardeo a todos mis compañeros en diferentes idiomas :) Todos habeis sido increibles y nos costara mucho encontrar compañeros como vosotros. Os echaremos de menos!!
I'm leaving the "Super Tomato" picture for the end. The joke of super tomato is one of my favorite ones and everyone is fed up of hearing it hundreds of times in different languages :) You guys have all been great colleagues and it will be difficult to find people like you again. We'll miss you!!

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Cellar, last time...The Cellar, la ultima vez

Nuestro ultimo dia antes de dejar Chicago fuimos a nuestro restaurante favorito: "The Cellar", en Evanston: http://www.thecellarevanston.com/
Desde que lo descubrimos al principio de llegar alli, hemos pasado momentos inolvidables disfrutando de su fabulosa cocina, cosa que, con todos mis respetos, no es facil encontrar en USA, aunque por suerte hemos disfrutado en sitios maravillosos.
Este lugar, merece un post exclusivo para ellos, pero por ahora, dejare mis ultimos recuerdos del lugar. El viernes, disfrutamos de nuestros platos favoritos con nuestros amigos y como despedida, nos invitaron a este exquisito postre, una seleccion de casi todos los postres de la carta. Gracias!! Si pasais por Evanston, vais al campus de Northwestern en Evanston o visitais la zona, os recomiendo pasar por alli. De momento, dejo aqui nuestras ultimas fotos, pero pronto le dedicare un texto con fotos de nuestros platos favoritos.
To say goodbye to Chicago and Evanston we went to our favorite restaurant in town: "The Cellar": http://www.thecellarevanston.com/
We've been there many times enjoying their delicious food since we discovered it at the beginning of our time in Chicago. Their cuisine is exquisite and to be honest, this is not an easy thing to find in USA, even though we have found many wonderful places.
This place deserves an exclusive post, but for now I'll just leave here my last memories in the restaurant. Last Friday we enjoyed our favorite dishes with our friends and we were invited to a great selection of their desserts. Thanks!! If you guys are in Evanston, visiting, working in campus or just around, I highly recommend this place. For us, the best place to eat, with no doubt.
Here you can see some of our last pictures, but a full post is in process.


Seleccion de postres. El antes... Dessert selection. Before...


 Y despues...And after...


 The girls: Elena, Christina and myself.
Las chicas: Elena, Christina y yo.


 The boys: Thomas and Lyle
Los chicos: Thomas y Lyle


Finalmente, la foto con nuestro barman favorito, Richard. Nos hizo entrar a la barra para fotografiarnos con el vaso de "Kwaak", la cerveza favorita de Thomas y la que el siempre bebe alli. Terminamos la noche brindando con cerveza :)
Finally the picture with our favorite barman, Richard. He made us enter the bar to take a picture. Thomas has a "Kwaak glass". That's his favorite beer and the one he drinks always there. We ended up the night toasting with beer :)


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Chicago Bulls 2

Hoy subo algunos videos del maravilloso partido del martes pasado. Estamos como locos, empaquetando cajas, vaciando la casa, desmontando muebles, guardando ropa, pero al menos, podemos recordar los maravillosos momentos del partido. Si me ois diciendo en los videos: "voy a llorar de emocion", es cierto, jeje! No estaba exagerando, me emocione con el espectaculo! Espero que os guste!
Today you can see some videos we took during the great game last Tuesday. These days are crazy with packing boxes, emptying the house, disassembling furniture, packing clothes, etc. At least we can remind some of the great moments of last Tuesday game. You can hear me saying "I'm going to cry of excitement", hehe! I wasn't exagerating, I almost did! Hope you like it!!


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Chicago Bulls

No tengo palabras. Me gusto tanto el partido!!! Los Bulls perdieron frente a LA Clippers, pero yo lo disfrute igualmente. Dejo las fotos de la maravillosa noche de martes que pasamos en el United Center. Un espectaculo maravilloso que recomiendo a todo aquel que pase por Chicago alguna vez. Videos y comentarios en siguientes posts :)
I'm speechless. I absolutely loved the game!! The Bulls lost vs LA Clippers, but I enjoyed it anyway. Here you can see some pictures we took last Tuesday at the United Center. Really great show that I highly recommend to everyone who comes ever to Chicago. 
Movies and more comments are coming in next posts ;)










Friday, December 14, 2012

Heating while waiting for the metro. Calefaccion en el anden.

Otra de las cosas que tiene el fresquito que hace por estas tierras es la calefaccion en los andenes del metro-tren. Funcionan desde noviembre hasta marzo y cuando hay que hacer transbordo se agradece :) Aunque a veces no es facil encontrar un huequecito en el que meterse, jeje!
Aqui dejo la foto de mis compis el pasado domingo, fuimos a Chicago a ver un espectaculo flamenco y tuvimos que esperar el tren, refugiandonos en las cabinas de calefaccion. Otra curiosidad mas de las ciudades frias!

Another curiosity of the cold weather in this side of the ocean is the heating shelters at the train stations. They work from November to March and they are very convenient whenever you have to wait for the next train, even though it isn't easy to find a spot to warm up :)
Here you can see a picture with some colleagues. We went downtown last Sunday to watch a flamenco show. We could warm up ourselves in the heating shelters. One more curiosity of cold cities!

Las luces en la parte superior dan mucho calorcito!!
The lights above provide heat!!


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Bat17

El estres me tiene apartada del blog, pero a pesar de solucionar cosas para la mudanza y sobre todo terminar todo lo que me queda en el trabajo, siempre hay algun momento como este que ayuda a recargar energia para lo que aun nos queda...La cuenta atras ha comenzado, solo dos semanas mas en Chicago :(
El sabado fue un dia largo, pero despues del trabajo nos reunimos para cenar algo en nuestro bar de cabecera: Bat17. Alli como siempre pasamos un buen rato, risas y desconexion para seguir trabajando el domingo. Si! El domingo tambien, para terminar ademas sin buenos resultados...Me quedo con el buen rato pasado el sabado y con mis estupendos colegas!
Stress is keeping me away from the blog, but despite arranging things for the moving and finishing all the work in the lab, there are still some nice moments that give me energy enough to continue :) The countdown is here, only two more weeks in Chicago. That's so sad :(
Saturday was a long day of work. Once we were done we met for dinner in our bar: Bat17. We had a great time as always, we laughed and kept our minds more or less away from work (which is not always possible) to get energy to work on Sunday. Yes! Sunday! Another day of work, this time we didn't even get good results...I'll stick to the nice time we spent and to my great colleagues!


After dinner in Bat17. From left to right: me, Ashwin, Jessica, Andrew, Tyson, Taner, Adam, Dennis, Alok and Elena.
Despues de cenar en Bat17. De izquierda a derecha: yo, Ashwin, Jessica, Andrew, Tyson, Taner, Adam, Dennis, Alok and Elena.


Friday, November 23, 2012

Our last Thanksgiving. Nuestro ultimo dia de Accion de Gracias

Una de las cosas que mas nos han gustado en estos dos años y medio en Chicago ha sido la celebracion de "Accion de Gracias". Es una fiesta en la que las familias y amigos se reunen, se prepara comida realmente casera y en mucha abundancia y se comparten buenos momentos. Por suerte, nuestros amigos Christina y Lyle nos han invitado todos estos años que hemos estado aqui y ha sido un verdadero placer poder compartirlo con ellos. Gracias!!
El pavo siempre delicioso, jugoso y fresco. El resto de platos de acompañamiento son otro manjar: stuffing, jamon asado, toda clase de tuberculos, patatas, judias verdes, pudding de maiz, salsa de arandanos, tarta de calabaza y batata, maravilloso!!
Como siempre disfrutamos mucho de la comida y lo pasamos genial en una agradable noche. Aunque es nuestro ultimo año viviendo aqui, espero que podamos volar de vuelta en el futuro y compartir este dia con nuestros amigos.
Thanksgiving day is one of our favorite things since we arrived in the US two and a half years ago. It is a very traditional and familiar feast where people reunite with their families and friends to prepare and eat real home-made food and have a good time. Luckily, our friends Christina and Lyle were so kind to host us for three years in a row. It was a real pleasure for us sharing this day with you guys and the rest of your guests! Thanks!!
The turkey is always delicious and juicy. The rest of the side dishes are also amazing: stuffing, baked ham, roots vegetables, beans, corn pudding, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, gorgeous!!
We enjoyed dinner and company very much! We had a great time with our friends. Even though it is our last year living here, we hope we can fly back one day in the future to share this day with our friends.

El pavo. The turkey!

With Christina, Lyle and the turkey. Con Christina, Lyle y el pavo.

Pavo trinchado, salsa de arandanos, jamon, tuberculos, stuffing, patatas, ensalada, pudding...
Carved turkey, cranberry sauce, ham, roots, stuffing, potatoes, salad, pudding...

Gravy was served with the turkey! 
Tambien habia gravy para salsear el pavo!

Mi plato con un poco de todo :)
My plate with a bit of everything :)

Pumpkin pie. Tarta de calabaza


Christina cortando la tarta. Chritina slicing the pie.

FELIZ DIA DE ACCION DE GRACIAS!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!