Now it is time for my journey through Munich.....
I was really excited to come to Germany and start an internship with Océ. Océ is located in Poing, Germany just outside of Munich. Océ was founded in the Netherlands and makes printers, copies and scanners for office use.
So now I'm here!
I was really excited to be in Munich when I first arrived! The city is beautiful (all that I have seen so far).
And as for coming to Munich alone it has been very very schwierig (schweirig means difficult in German). BUT it is getting better, day by day.
It was difficult to get all that I need before my job began such as getting a bus pass for a month. None of the people I spoke to spoke English and it took me three tries....but I did get my transportation pass in the end!
At my job everyone speaks English, but it is still difficult to understand at times because it is their second language. At meeting, I have no idea what is going on because it is in German, but it is okay because some of the other interns fill me in.
I really like my job. The people I work with are very helpful. For the first couple of days, different people showed me around and showed me what they were researching so I could get a feel for the company. I just started on my own project and it is very interesting. This is the first time that I have been responsible for a project in a company, but I am up for the challenge. And believe me, it IS a challenge. I have to ask alot of questions now that I have started my project because I want to be sure I am doing everything accurately. Also, it the instructions for instruments I use, the computers and the excel spreadsheets are all in German. I translate the instructions as best as I can, but direct translations are still sometimes hard to understand. I really enjoy it, it helps me to explore my German vocabulary. I am not sure if my advisers enjoy me asking so many questions. I learned quickly that the German culture is very focused and hard working. I feel bad when I have to disturb them. They are all very self driven individuals and I am learning alot from them such as how to be more independent.
I have enjoyed getting to know the interns at my job. When I first met them I had the impression that they just did not like me. It was not until I began bringing my Worterbuch (German-English dictionary) to lunch that they really began to talk to me. I now try to have conversation with them in German and it seems like the more I try to German, the more they speak English....so it is a win-win situation.
I also attend an International Baptist Church in Munich. The pastor and his wife are from Texas. The congregation is made up of people from South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Germany, Malaysia and the Philippians. Everyone is very nice and I enjoy the worship service. I began playing saxophone with the church praise team! There is a tenor sax player on the praise team and he just so happened to have an extra alto sax! I played only one Sunday and it is different playing with a choir as opposed to playing in the marching band. The songs are in English and I enjoy playing the saxophone again!
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