Catch-Up...The First Week or "A day in the life"

My day normally begins at 6:15 with a bowl of yogurt and muesli, a granola cereal. I have to be out the door by 7:25 to make the number 21 bus at 7:33. On the bus, I have to fight with a bunch of school children for a seat, because instead of a big yellow bus, most kids take public transportation to school. However, they normally exit in one big herd about a quarter through my commute, and then I can settle into a seat. The commute lasts about forty-five minutes, during which time I listen to "pump up" music-typically auf Deutsch, to a.) wake up and b.) get ready to start speaking German. After the bus ride to Herzogenrath Train Station, it takes about fifteen minutes to walk to the office, but I can normally shave about two minutes off the trek with comfy shoes and a faster pace. The commute lasts a full hour from my apartment to the office.

Once I arrive, I put the nose to the proverbial grindstone. I work with three other women in one large office and have a desk for myself. There is Simone, my supervisor, who is a Marketing Director, and Birgit and Britta are both responsible for more of the communications side of marketing and managing the Intranet. Dr. Offermann is our boss, and Mr. Gambhir (who actually doesn't speak German) is the head of Marketing here in Herogenrath.

Saint-Gobain is a French company and at one time, it was impossible to get a job here if you didn’t know French. Lucky for me, this is no longer the case, however, even at the site in Herzogenrath there is a very international feel, with workers from all over the world. Still, it appears that I am the sole representative of America.

My responsibilities here mostly involve updating information on Saint-Gobain’s competition. I also have been translating and correcting numerous articles for the Intranet site, being a native speaker of English. One day was particularly interesting. Last Wednesday, Saint-Gobain Sekurit did an experiment in cooperation with the public TV station WGR testing the performance of their anti-heat glazing. I got to tag along and take pictures for the Intranet site and wrote an article in German and English presenting the results. Did I mention I might be on TV? I was in a few scenes when the results were reported on camera! The program airs on June 30, so I’ll have to check it out.

Lunch normally happens around noon and I eat in the cafeteria with the department. I normally by my lunch here, because they can cook better than I can and are not limited to two burners and a tiny fridge. This actually works well, because the prices are low and the food is much better than the caf at Eau Claire, even though my co-workers often complain about the food. How can I complain, I ask you, when every Wednesday is Schnitzel day at Saint-Gobain??? The main meal for most Germans is lunch, so don’t worry Mom and Dad-I am getting enough to eat and also get a salad when I can. Now you might be thinking that my clothes might be a bit tight with all this eating. On the contrary, I’ve lost about five pounds since I arrived in Aachen! Must be all that walking to and from work!

I normally work until 3 or 4, and then head back to my apartment either by bus, or train and bus, depending on whether or not I miss the number 21 bus. Once back at the apartment, I spend my time writing in my journal, planning trips or updating my blog site. About once a week I go grocery shopping at the supermarket located next to my apartment building. For dinner I normally have fruit, cherry tomatoes, a sandwich and soup (the fruit and cherry tomatoes are easy to prepare and sometimes I’m pretty lazy when it comes to my meals…). Then to bed around 9-10, rinse and repeat!