I know, it’s not over yet. Though I’ve got quite a lot to tell you and I’m afraid I won’t if don’t do it right away.

#1 The most important one

I did it! I submitted my doctoral thesis! It took me almost 5 years to run those 11 EEG experiments, to write them up, and in the meantime to have a child. This thesis is thus a summary of my recent professional life. It’s a  milestone and the end of an era. I am excited and, at the same time, scared like hell to move on.

This thesis was possible only because two wonderful people decided to put their trust in me. Dear Carsten Eulitz and Aditi Lahiri, you are the BEST scientific supervisors and mentors one could wish for! I am grateful for your time and advice. It’s been an honor to work with you! And we still have three papers to publish together 🙂

#2 The scientific one

I sent an abstract (co-authored with my first supervisor) to a great conference – SNL (Society for the Neurobiology of Language) – and I really hope it gets accepted. First of all, I looove this conference! It provides you with a great opportunity to keep up with the trends in the neurobiology of language. You can present your own work and receive feedback from the best neuroscientists, linguists and psychologists of the world. My best regards go to professors Kara Federmeier, Robert Kluender, William Marslen-Wilson, David Poeppel, and many others for their questions, advice and critique. Thank you so much! Second, this time around, the conference is going to be in Chicago. I would love to see the Jelly Bean 🙂 And last, I am so looking forward to seeing my friends and colleagues!

#3 The long overdue one

We went on a family vacation to Turkey! Finally! It was an all-inclusive package that I booked with the DER (Deutsches Reisebüro) travel agency. First of all, thank you, Frau Helmle! The service you provided was impeccable. The hotel and the package met all the requirements of a family travellying with a three-year-old and with a senior.

We took a trip on a Pirate ship to Alanya:

We saw a “Flintstones’ Village”:

We went to a bazaar and my mother-in-law turned out to be quite a bargain hunter. Me… not so much:

We also went to Side, an antique city. And to an antique city of Aspendos with a great amphitheater and a basilica:

And we had a lot of great food!