26 The
Aftermovie

And then suddenly, a very sweet blonde girl in that bachata club in Madrid started talking to me. I could hardly believe she wanted to dance with me for not just one or two songs, but four or five songs in a row. I practice a lot at home, but as soon as I'm on the dance floor, compared to all those ladies who've been dancing for years, I feel like a complete idiot. Her name is Harley, and her life situation was the complete opposite of mine. She had just bought a house on the outskirts of Madrid and was a well-established elementary school teacher. When we started meeting up, she often asked, "Where are you taking me?", which made me enjoy finding new places every time. It was mostly coffee shops where we drank hot chocolate and took romantic walks in the famous Retiro Park.

Of course, it couldn't be hidden that my life was a bit chaotic at the time. Lots of different places to stay and little income. As soon as the drink bill arrived, I was already stressed, especially if we'd ordered a croissant. Given the constant struggle to find a stable income on Bittensor, Harley and I discussed looking for another job. Preferably one I could work remotely from Madrid so we could stay together. Where should I start looking for a job? LinkedIn? I didn't really care what kind of job it was anymore, even if it was IT management in a dated company. I was tired of life as a digital nomad, and I just wanted some income and stability.

A logical start would have been to at least update my CV and career website, because you can, of course, show that business card to any employer. And so, quite by chance, I rediscovered the PhD positions I'd struggled with four years ago, when I'd been unable to secure an AI position with a Forest and Nature Management background. With all the documents I still had from that time, and of course all the contacts, it was relatively easy to approach these people again. Of course, I had nothing to lose. It happened to be January, which is always the time when PhD candidates starting later in the year are selected. The dream of one day pursuing such a PhD never completely disappeared, but honestly, I hadn't expected it at all. However, I did realize that all that dedication to Bittensor and those four years of intensive programming had, of course, changed my profile considerably compared to three years ago.

To my great surprise, Harley was resolute from the very first minute and said: "Of course, I'd prefer you to stay here in Madrid, but if you find something abroad, I'll go with you." Thirty emails went out to various professors around the world, asking them to give it one more try. If it didn't work out, it would at least be a good opening for a potential research position at a university. Less than a day later, I received an email from Professor Brunsch in Germany. It said I could give a presentation to his entire computer vision team to convince them of my qualities. I rushed to Germany. The entire town, which reminded me of the coziness of Wageningen in mid-January, was covered in a blanket of snow. A day later, when I barely had any nails left, I received a positive message. I felt such a release, I can't describe it here. It was so hard right up until the very end, and then, completely unexpectedly, the thing I'd been dreaming of all this time finally materialized. In four years, I went from not being able to program to a PhD in object recognition for insects. I'm becoming a moth detection specialist.

I always kept the goal of growing in mind, with so many people in South America urging me to enjoy life more. While I always kept in mind that there would be life after this wonderful journey, and I'd love to have a great job in AI in the future where I could further develop myself. That motivation and perseverance gave me the push that got me here today. I'm incredibly proud that I succeeded! I just can't believe it; it really worked. I've told you a lot of stories, of course, but not everything, because during my travels I also wrote in a little diary. It was my best friend; I could always express my emotions there. I'm flipping back to the beginning of 2022. It says, "Keep practicing bachata, and at the end, you'll find the prettiest girl in the room." I jokingly wrote that down once. A PhD in AI and the prettiest girl in the room who is also willing to turn her whole life upside down and embark on this new adventure with me. I have no words for it.

Even though the PhD will be a huge challenge, life will be much more structured. Adult life is about to begin. I absolutely didn't expect this anymore. I couldn't have wished for a better ending to the blogs. So now I'm going to bid you farewell for good. But not before I take you on a journey through time with the video footage, through the six countries I had the privilege of visiting from 2022 to 2025: Spain, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Mexico, and the USA. Enjoy, and thank you so much for visiting ExpatExperience!