Aknowledgements
First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dick, for his amazing support,
encouragement, ideas and challenges throughout these last four years. I learned from
you that science is not only my work but also my hobby and passion. Our brain storms
taught me to approach research with an open and critic mind and made possible the
completion of my thesis. My other supervisor, Leo, it was a daily pleasure to work with
you. Without your guidance I am sure the course of my PhD would not be as smooth.
The fact that you would critically challenge my work not only prepared me to discuss
my subject but pushed me to go further than I would. I would like to thank my
colleagues at PRI. The Biointeractions cluster is a working environment that I will miss
for the rest of my career. Your help, friendship, teachings, coffee and lunch breaks side
by side with our scientific discussions and relaxed working environment made PRI a
happy place to work. I would like also to thank my colleagues at the Microbial Ecology
department of RUG for the friendly working discussions and advises. The work of my
thesis did not happen only at PRI and RUG, it embraced bench and field work in other
places. Therefore, I direct grateful thanks for my colleagues from Vredepeel
experimental field (WUR) that helped me with part of my field experiments, Caroline
Plugge from the Microbiology Department of WUR and Isabelle George from the
Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). Your help improved the quality of my thesis.
I would like to thank the Ecogenomics program for support with my scholarship and for
financing my research.
During my PhD I met other students and researchers that became my friends. Your
advices, company, friendship and support helped during all the work I performed on my
thesis. Thank you Rady, Cauca, Sarrah, Sara, Marhmood, Ronald, Barbara, Rahim,
Fernando, Fedor, Ilya, Manoel, Rodrigo Costa, Katia, Goes, Vladmir, Oscar, Odette,
Joeke, Els, Carin, Mirjam, Pieter, Lia, Vilma, Jan and many others. My paranimfen
Isabela and Saulo thanks for our friendship during the past 4 years. In Wageningen, one
learns that we don’t know as much about the world as we thought. We are so many from
so many different nationalities, this teach us that cultural differences exist and must be
respected. I made so many good friends that it would be unfair to name some and leave
the others out. But I must say that meeting you all showed me that we live in an
amazing and diverse world. Everyone should explore this diversity. During the period I
lived in Wageningen I participated in different extracurricular activities that made my
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life complete. I love to thank the International Club of Wageningen for offering me a
place where I could meet many of the great friends I made in Wageninen and feel at
home. I own the places where I practiced judo to keep my body healthy and my mind in
peace, thank you. Many thanks for the friends I made while I was dancing salsa,
especially in the International Student Organization of Wageningen, you are just
amazing. I hope you perpetuate teaching newcomers that dancing relax the mind and
free our souls. I also give thanks for all my dear friends that I met by chance during my
life in the Netherlands. Concerning this aspect, I believe the Netherlands is a special
place, where one learns to live, to the best of my knowledge, in the most tolerant place
in the world. I learned and respect the Dutch way, I define it as the special way the
Dutch are raised that create a common sense of unit, respect and friendly environment
that I hope to find everywhere I will be in my life time. I thank the Netherlands for
allowing me to have probably the best period of my life.
Obrigado a todos os meus amigos brasileiros que eu fiz em Wageningen. Eu não
consegui por o nome de nenhum de vocês em meus agradecimentos porque quando
cheguei a este paragráfo não resisti e chorei. Chorei por todos os bons momentos que
vivi com vocês. Chorei porque sei que vou sentir saudades arrebatadoras. Chorei porque
apesar de saber que nossa amizade vai estar sempre impressa na minha alma,
provavelmente não vou passar tanto tempo com vocês novamente. Acredito que
somente aqueles que nasceram brasileiros poderiam me entender. Nosso país, nossa
cultura, nossa energia corre não somente numa raça, cor ou etnia, mas na simples, bela e
forte energia que nos une sobre uma mesma nacionalidade. Agradeço a todos vocês e do
fundo do meu coração digo que só consegui começar, sobreviver durante o percurso,
terminar meu doutorado e seguir em frente para um novo início porque vocês estavam
na minha vida. Tia De e Zé, amo vocês, sua figura maternal e paternal me ajudaram
concluir mais esta etapa da minha vida. Agradecimentos e saudades incomensuráveis
daqueles que eu gostaria que estivessem comigo nesse momento mas infelizmente não
se encontram entre nós.
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