January

01/01/2022: After a long night we rested today and went for a boat cruise through the harbor and surrounding islands of Miami. There are some incredible expensive mansions there. Some sell for 75 million dollar 💸$💸
Some owners even have up to 4 different villas here. It’s the 5th expensive zip code in the whole US 💰
We even saw a Manatee in the harbor of Miami, where I would never thought to see one, because of all the ships around 🧜

01/02/22: Today I visited the Alligator Farm in the Everglades National Park. So many alligators are there, bathing in the sun and just relaxing. I also made a airboat tour and got a bit wet, but the weather was so great and warm. During a walk in the official national park there was a big gator laying right besides the trail. Never was I ever so close to a wild and dangerous animal #floridalife
The evening ended in a district of Miami, called Little Havana, where you can find lots of latino influence: food, music, houses and bars 🎶

01/03/21: Finally doing something that I know very well: working with microscopes and microbes 😂 We stopped by the Biscayne National Park and observed some plankton that was captured in the harbor of the park. There are also some bigger animals, as you can see on the picture. The skull on the next picture comes from the colorful fish called Mahi-Mahi, which can weigh upto 22kg and is local in Florida. It looks more like a dinosaur skull from Jurassic Park 🦖
On the last two pictures you can see some more impressions from Little Havana from today. Some really fancy cars 🤑

01/04/22: Key West is the southernmost city in continental USA. We drove there yesterday and enjoyed the day on a Dolphin-watching and Snorkeling tour. It was such an amazing and beautiful day walking through the city and exploring the wildlife of Key West. The last picture marks the most Southern Spot in the US 🌎

01/05/22: Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream 🛶 took the last day in Miami for a canoe trip in front of the Skyline in the hot sun. Miami hast the third highest Skyline in the US, after New York City and Chicago 🏙️Then we headed of to Orlando, to stay there for some days 🐭

01/06/22: Today was the launch of the 49 new satellites for the Starlink Satellite Mission of SpaceX. We came in early to reserve a spot, then we waited…
Another iconic SpaceX thing passed by: (i think it is) the Dragon Capsule that was used in the manned Crew-2 mission as shuttle to the ISS. It dropped down on November 8th and is on its way to its refurbishment here in Cape Canaveral.

It was great to witness this event 🚀

01/07/22: Disney Magical Kingdom was an awesome place to stay for a long day. We walked around the park, met some Disney Princesses and rode some Rollercoasters. I’m really happy that I saw this place 😍 the fireworks at the end of the day, where the most stunning ones I have ever seen. Just epic 🎆

01/08/22: When you go into an antique store you can find really strange but interesting things 😂 for example these hemp bags. Of the old school telephone switchboard, where you would call and someone switches the plug into another place and then you reach the person you tried to call. Also some old dollars and coffee cups from a meeting with President Kennedy. But nothing beats the Deluxe Home cutting kit ✂️

01/09/22: Today I moved to my next chapter of my time in the US: Athens in Georgia. Here I will work in a Biology Laboratory at the University of Georgia (UGA). I’m excited about what will happen in the next months 😍

01/10/22: Almost every city I visited has one of these beautiful graffiti walls. They always represent local places and landmarks. I would love to have those also in Germany 🇩🇪

01/11/22: In case of a nuclear fallout I now know where to go 😂 some local government buildings have these types of shelters in their basement

01/12/22: Before I left Tallahassee I did a big campfire at one of my new friends places. It was really great to get to know all the different people and also really sad to leave them. But life goes on and I will stay in touch with them, to keep up the good spirit 😀

01/13/22: This is where I am gonna work soon. I can’t wait to start standing in a laboratory again after the long time studying. I missed the lab, since I finished my apprenticeship as a biological laboratory technician in Heidelberg, Germany in the year before I was first nominated for the 37.th CBYX Program in 2020. Now in the 38th Program I will finally work in an American lab and enjoy all the new experiences 🧑‍🔬🧪

01/14/22: I went to the DMV here in Athens to apply for a new ID and get a new Car Tag. Driving a car is cheap, as long as you don’t need to pay new tax for new tags and the insurance. Fueling is cheap but the secret costs are coming in too 💸💸

01/15/22: It was a great day as it snowed here in Athens. I’m actually not used to cold temperatures like this anymore, because of all the time I stayed in warm Florida 😀

01/16/22: The University of Georgia was founded in 1785 and is one of the oldest public universities in the United States of America and my new workplace. I’m excited to start working there soon 🧑‍🔬 The building in the second picture is my workplace, the Biological Science Building 🏢🧪

01/18/22: There is only one day difference between these two pictures 😂 one day it was cold and snowy, the next it’s kinda warm and sunny again ❄️🌞 The rest of the week will be mild (up to 15 °C) but on Friday it may snow again as it goes down to 1°C 🌨️

01/19/22: Today I had my first day at my new workplace. It’s in the Entomology Department of the University of Georgia. I’m pretty excited to finally be back in a laboratory and currently I’m reading through the literature to get up to date with the research 📖

01/20/22: This is what I saw when I got out of the bus today. I stood up early to try riding the bus to work. It was going well until somehow the bus just skipped my stop, where I needed to exit, despite the fact that there was an audio message, saying that the bus will hold where it should. So I needed to walk a bit further and suddenly stood „in the middle“ of a Stadium. I was surprised to see that there is a road build through the stadium 😂 🏟️ I guess that can only happen in the US

01/22/22: This weekend I’m back to Tallahassee in Florida. As I left Georgia it was starting to snow and I thought maybe here it will be a bit warmer, but nope. 6°C or 42°F is cold even while walking this very active dachshund again 🐶🚶❄️

01/23/22: Today I packed almost all of my stuff at the home of my host family and moved it into my new apartment. The toaster is really essential, as my host family never used it, so I borrowed it 😂 so I can finally eat crunchy bread instead of the untoasted version. The big black box is my „new“ tenor saxophone, that I also got lend from the brother of my host dad 🎷

01/24/22: Today on the way to the HR office I saw these buildings with the big football stadium behind it. It looked really futuristic somehow, to see these older buildings with the modern stadium. The campus of UGA is really beautiful. I’ll post some more pictures soon 🏛️🏟️

01/25/22: This is my workplace or better, that’s my personal office space for reading through the literature I need for my project. I will use my lab space in the next few days, because now I’m getting started with some Gibson Assembly and Primer Design 🤓 🧬

01/29/22: Today I made myself some really great burgers. The patty was with roasted onions and bacon. And I added some mushrooms, lettuce and more onions. Really delicious 🍔

I’m also stepping back from posting every day. I will post when something exciting happens 😀

I am not allowed to share any details and pictures regarding my working project, but you will definitely see a picture of the lab soon 🙂

Look out for the next post 😊