It's been a week in the DD office now and I'm getting the hang of it. Around 7:30 each morning I do my 20 minute brisk walk to the office. The campus is not so intimidating now and I'm finding my way around. I get there in time to make a quick call to Gary to say good night since it's 11pm phx time. People start to come into the office between 8:30 and 9. At noon we start to gather the troop and walk to the cafeteria which ranges from 5 to 15 minute walk depending on which of the 4 you go to. I love the salad bar but they have other good food as well. During lunch we don't linger over the meal. It's a quick half hour meal or less. Sometimes someone will say, "coffee?" and we all proceed to another section of the cafe where there is a machine that will make you whatever kind of coffee you want. You just scan your card, put a cup under the spout and push a button. You can get expresso, cappucino or regular coffee. I have become addicted to the Latte Mochiano. Part of the fun is watching the process starting with hot milk being foamed out of two spouts and when the glass is full there's final squirt of espresso. I'm told that if it's done right you will see separate layers of milk and espresso. There's a separate section that you hang out to drink your coffees. Very cool. Very few people bring their lunch but instead use the lunch time to network with colleagues either within or outside of their department. Also, I found out the hkl gives each employee $55 a month for meals in the cafes so there's incentive for them to eat there.
Guido is a good office mate. Most of the time we are working but sometimes would take a break to chat. I am learning more about the german culture everyday. Today we talked about the lower level of service and Guido explained that it's only been recent (as in the last 20 years) that Germany has gotten into privatization. There has been little competition so there's little incentive for customer service. Nevertheless, I am so impressed with the germans and their forward thinking. They are so high tech and efficient. Yesterday I learned that when I buy my train ticket on line for destinations within or outside of germany, I can enter my address and the computer will tell me which local tram to take to the main train station at what time, how long it will take to walk from the tram stop to the platform of my train. Damn if I knew about this when Megan & I went to Aachen we wouldn't have missed our tram!
It's funny to see so many people getting around work on their bikes. I no longer do a double take when I see someone riding the bike in their business suit. The other day I saw a girl in a pant suit and heels riding her bike. She had some kind of tape around the ankle to prevent the pants from getting caught in the chains, very strange!
Another strange sight is people walking around with a bottle of beer in their hands. I guess there are no rules around glass bottles. In the Altstaedt (old town) it gets a little rowdy on the weekends so there's broken glass in the street but it's cleaned up by the next day. Today I passed a guy waiting at the bus stop with a big bottle of Becks beer in his hand. So strange!
No comments:
Post a Comment