CarolineMethling  Postdoctoral Research Fellow Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic  Institute of Botany -Pr？honice & Institute of Vertebrate Biology - Brno    Department of Fish Ecology  Institute of Vertebrate Biology  Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic  Kvetna 8  603 65 Brno  Czech Republic

My name is Caroline and I am a postdoctoral researcher currently working in the Czech Republic but of Danish nationality. Visiting China has been a big wish for me ever since, as a child, my father told me that my great great grandmother was Chinese and married a Danish maritime merchant. In April and May 2014 that wish came true, when I had the opportunity to come for a working visit at IHB. At the airport my Czech colleagues and I received a very warm welcome from our Chinese colleagues, the first example of the overwhelming hospitality that characterized our entire stay in Wuhan.   

My first impressions of Wuhan was; big, noisy, hot, flashy and I was completely exhausted from all the sensory input the first week. Quickly I discovered that everywhere you could find a little peaceful oasis like a small bench by a tree, where you could take a moment of rest. Exploring further, I found many more beautiful and picturesque places like Donghu lake and surroundings, Yellow Crane Tower and Guiyuan Buddhist Temple.   

Working at IHB was a great experience and such a pleasure, because everyone there were always smiling, friendly and always willing to help solve any problem that came along -big or small.    

You can not talk about China without talking about food, and once again I was completely overwhelmed by the richness of Chinese food culture. I have never in my life seen, nor tasted so many different types of food. Of course not all of them was equally palpable to my European taste buds, but many many thanks to my colleagues at IHB for introducing me to all the wonderful and generally very tasty dishes. When on the subject of food, I have actually adopted the Chinese habit of drinking warm water or tea with my meal, which I can tell raises a lot of curious eyebrows back home in Denmark. 
  

Although my stay at IHB was short, I came back with so many memories of the warmth, friendliness, hospitality and generosity of the people working there, enough to last a lifetime. Thank You all, I hope to return it one day!