My hobbies are somewhat related to my research:
- Cactae and other succulent plants: I feel overwhelmed by the enormous richness of shapes and delicate structures that succulent plants exhibit, very especially given the extremely stressful conditions in which they have evolved. During my undergraduate years I had a collection of over 200 species of succulent plants, and every time I had a chance, I carried out undergraduate projects on various topics around their ecology and evolution. Although the environmental conditions of Rostock (Germany) are not the best for the culture of succulent plants, I do what I can with my -much smaller- collection.
- Traveling, learning new cultures and meeting new people: I have lived in five countries (Spain, England, Austria, US and now Germany) and have visited over other 20 (e.g., Morocco, Costa Rica, The Netherlands, etc).
| Los Alcornocales N.P (Spain) | Cactus garden, Canary Islands | Ear-tagged, in Costa Rica | Rafting-swimming in the Green River, UT-CO (USA) |
- Swimming: although I did not have formal training as a swimmer before my graduate studies, I have always been attached to water sports - I practiced kayaking at professional level for over 10 years as a child. I was a member of the UPenn Swim Club for five years and I was also their graduate recruiting officer. Soon I'll join the Rostock swim club.
| UPenn swim club 2008 | Maryland swim meet | UPenn swim club meet | Green river, UT (USA) |
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