My first visit to America was over three years ago. At the time, I was almost three months pregnant, so we decided that my husband should go with me. We went to California, where I was to attend two great conferences (I’ll write about each of them later), and spent three unforgettable weeks there. The first and the last week I was busy at the conferences presenting my posters, but the second week we spent travelling.

The day before the first conference we woke up extremely early, having the notorious jetlag, and went to the Pacific coast. I had never seen an ocean before and the sight of the Pacific was overwhelming! The power and the energy of this huge body of water made me feel small and vulnerable, and though intimidated, I just couldn’t take my eyes off it. Even with the eyes closed, it was just as amazing! The wind, the salty air – every cell of my body was absorbing the freshness of it, filling my whole self with calmness. Looking at my husband, I saw the reflection of all of my emotions in his face: “When we are retired, let’s buy a beach h…ut?” – “Yeah, let’s do that!”