So here I was…standing on a stage in front of the public with my heart beating and shaky hands, talking about emotion regulations… hoping that somehow, I will manage to decrease my own amygdala arousal …

And you know what, I did! But not because I am an emotion regulation expert nor so much because the “labelling affect” emotion regulation strategy that I was describing in my monologue worked perfectly well for me. Instead, I felt supported and hold by the whole FameLab team! Co-regulating together our emotions!

So, I feel super grateful for the incredible team from FECYT-Ciencia and British Council (Cesar, Dani, Fatima, Belen) that made all this possible as well as to all contestants that made this adventure worth it (Jorge, Alicia, Javi, Pablo, Victor, Ramon, Inez, Laura, Alejandro, Dani, y Araceeeeeli)! If you speak Spanish check out our performance here! 

In the end of the day, I learned about sexual behavior of insects, light pollution, democracy, diversity in genetics, gambling, luck, explosive cellular death, gut-brain axis, GPSs, nostrils’ cells, and what is the relationship between hypophysis and the Games of Thrones.

But a part of learning new scientific facts in a fun way I also discovered more about Spanish culture, their sense of humor, and their wholeheartedness, which for me is a perfect framework to diseminate science!