Well, today was my first day at work. My first day at work here in Germany. It does feel special. It is this feeling you have, nervous, when you meet your colleagues. Plus the fact that all speak a language that you do not understand 100%. And sometimes when they make a joke, you have to pretend to laugh, even though you did not understand a word of what they said. But it is a nice feeling after all. Everybody was nice.
And then they show you where to get some coffee (a cheap machine where you pay 10 euro cents for a cup), where to order good food to be brought to work (I ordered Chinese food and for tomorrow I am taking some food from here, which I have not prepared yet by the way). When they prepare your computer for you, you download the software you like (Firefox, Skype, etc). But this time, it has to be in German, which makes it three times as difficult if you have problems.
I rode my bike to work this morning, and it was very nice. I tried to dress nice, but perhaps was a bit too nice. Still, I think I gave a good impression, and first impressions always count. In some days I am going to be doing contact with some potential customers already, the people at the company are expecting a lot from me. That makes me nervous a little bit.
At the moment, with the people I have to the most, I speak in English mostly. I try to speak in German, but then there is important stuff that needs to be spoken in English. With the other colleagues however, is only in German.
On the other hand, my wife is giving me great help with all the paperwork. If it wouldn't be because of her, I would be lost. The card for taxes, the insurance, the banks, etc. Calculations for the taxes (which are huge in Germany by the way, half of your salary goes to taxes, and changes according to your civil status), reading and understanding the work contract, etc. She also helped me when we went to the Government offices, etc. I hug her each time I can. =)
The photos above and under, are at the Alster. And loads of ducks.
Monday, August 11, 2008
First day at work in Germany
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1 comments:
Hallo...
Te escribe una compatriota informándose de la vida por allá... Como mi experiencia de judía errante por Europa no ha sido fácil, me gustaría saber en qué trabajas tú? Hamburgo es una de mis opciones, pero claro... mi alemán es negativo todavía y no sé qué tan complicado sea moverse en temas de medios de comunicación y demás.
Saludos!
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