Playing Catch-Up...The First Day

I must admit, I was a little late starting this blog, so as the title states, I am playing catch up. Fortunately, I have been regularly keeping a journal, so I will be relaying my records here.

Once I arrived in Aachen, there were some bureaucratic measures to take care of. So after trips to the district office (two visits actually, to register with Aachen, then to get my income card, with which I can get paid-woot woot!), bureau of non-German citizens (to register as a foreign resident), open a bank German bank account (which I did all in German!) and to the bus station to get a monthly bus pass to get to work, I was ready to start makin' da monies!

I woke up promptly at 6:30 am, to give me enough time to get ready and make it to the bus on time. I even had a chance to take a "First Day of Work" picture. So with paperwork and lunch money in hand, I set off. The bus ride went smoothly, but once I arrived at the train station in Herzogenrath, I had no idea how to get to my internship. Asking inside the train station didn't prove helpful at all, so I walked in the direction the train attendant pointed me to. I did not heed her warning that Saint-Gobain had many separate buildings in town...After 10 minutes I arrived at what I presumed to be the building where I was working. I was wrong. It turned out this was a separate branch of Saint-Gobain. The building I was looking for was 15 minutes away-on the other side of the train tracks! I started running, but my heels weren't optimal for long-distance sprinting, so I made it to the train station and hopped a taxi to the building. During the agonizing trip, I kept thinking about punctuality, so valued in the German people and what a terrible first impression I was presenting by my foolishness. Considering there was nothing I could do about my situation, there was nothing else to do but take a deep breath and press on.

Four Euros and a near panic attack later, I arrived at the entrance to the complex. And let me tell you-the complex was complex. After getting my handy-dandy visitors badge, I had to navigate narrow roads lined with cars and cargo. My family can testify how bad my sense of direction is in my own hometown-it was no better at Saint-Gobain Sekurit. Fortunately, I found someone headed for the HR department who I followed to my destination.

An intern working in the HR department greeted me. Although I was 15 minutes late, she assured me it wasn't a problem after my explanation of all that happened and began to lead me through more bureaucratic procedures necessary for the job. Once the paperwork was filled out and signed by the X, I got to meet the personnel in the marketing department-Britta and Birgit, responsible for the communications aspect of marketing-press releases and e-business, and Mr. Offenmann, the boss, along with the other groups that work with auto manufacturers like Audi, Ford and BMW. My supervisor is on a business trip, so I will meet her and get my first assignment on Monday.

The German business world is filled with different rituals, one of which involves the word "you." Such a simple word is quite different in German, which has both formal and informal versions of the pronoun. The trick is, to figure out when to use what. Ready for your German lesson?

Let's begin-Jetzt fangen wir an.

Sie-You, Formal. Normally used with professors, superiors at work and people older than you.

Du-You, Informal. Used with friends, people younger than you or in same age group.

However, if you get to know someone well enough, you can go from "Sie" to "Du." There is a specific ritual involved-namely, the person in question will either introduce themselves with their first name or say "Wir koennen uns duzen," which basically means "We can call each other du." In the Transatlantic Program intercultural seminar, it was emphasized that it may take some time before you can be on "Du" terms with your co-workers. Therefore, I was very surprised when my co-workers jumped to "Du" terms, right off the bat. I gather that the relationship between co-workers is more relaxed at Saint-Gobain, even though I am operating on "Sie" terms with Herr Offenmann, the boss.

The rest of the day was spent learning all I can about Saint-Gobain and struggling with learning names, along with a meeting with Herr Offenmann who explained what the marketing department does, which was surprisingly a low key ordeal.

Saint-Gobain is the main body, separated in different divisions. One Chinese branch deals with abrasives, another in Russia makes glass for groceries, yet another plant is producing solar panels and Saint-Gobain Glasswork in Herzogenrath produces glass for car windshields. This glass is then transported to Saint-Gobain Sekurit in Herzogenrath (across the train tracks), where I work! It is actually this diversity that lessened the impact of the financial situation on Saint-Gobain.

I left at 3:30 so I could catch the bus. This was where my adventure would end...or so I thought. My terrible sense of direction kicked in and sent me in the opposite direction of the train station. I ran into a couple taking their two infants to the train station and said I could accompany them, after they asked if I had a lighter to smoke. We finally arrived at the station, but I had missed my bus by 8 minutes. The next one would arrive in 53 minutes, but I was able to hop a train to the Aachen train station after waiting. After more waiting, I was able to hop a bus to home sweet Haaren. What should have been an hour trip took an hour...and forty-five minutes. I was relieved to be home, settled into some comfy clothes and flopped onto my bed, knowing I sure am getting practice on pressing on!