3 weeks in Germany…
In these weeks people asked me how everything is going here. Officially - it goes ok!
Unfortunately, I’m not super excited; my cultural shock doesn’t follow the curve. I just missed the first step of excitement and complete happiness. But on the other hand, maybe it helps me to maintain objective opinion about things happening around.
My life now is all about:
My work. To make it very clear, I work in the Human Resource Marketing & Graduate Development Department of Corporate Center of Deutsche Post World Net. Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) is a group of companies that unites 3 brands: Deutsche Post, DHL and Postbank and I work in headquarters of the group. DPWN is the biggest logistical company in the world and one of the leading employers globally. If you are still interested reading more about the company, read it here www.dpwn.de My office looks impressive and cool. But working there somehow puts pressure on you in a lot of meanings – from the way you dress to the way you treat your work. Overall, I feel myself like I felt when I went to the school first time and got lost on the first official ceremony ( Первый звонок). Not everything is going good – I am trying to adjust, do my best, be attentive, and deliver what is expected. It feels like business world, where you are responsible for your work and all achievements and failures are explicit.
Nobody is really waiting for you to learn, you need to actually work right here and right now. Failures are not welcomed, it’s just a standard to do your job well and achieve what is expected.
Everything is as it’s supposed to be. I just need to adjust. I like and dislike the job at the same time. I like it because it opens doors for amazing network building. I need to learn how to leverage on that.
My home. Is going to be very good soon! I live in the very good location in the middle between center and my work, so it only takes me 3 stops to go to work and 3 stops to the center or just 15 minutes walking which is nice and as it seems quite safe in Bonn. I finally live in a clean flat, I have my personal space, a lot of food in the fridge, no line to the bathroom. And no talks with tea in the kitchen, nobody coming to my room to ask how am I or to wish me good night, nobody coming with a pillow saying that he/she will sleep in my bed tonight. And a lot of small things that made my life in the last couple of years, that I didn’t appreciate before. Though my flat mates are nice! Good news is that today my new wardrobe arrived! Now I only need to make sure somebody helps me to assembly this 1,9m giantJ I promise to post pictures as soon as my room looks the way I imagine it!
My personal life is a big question here. I don’t have friends here. Yet, I hope it’s temporary. I meet a lot of people, but they all seem to be so distant. There are quite a lot of interns here, I’m still to integrate into community. There are some people that I get connected to more, unfortunately all of them are leaving soon. Overall, life here is a big challenge for my social skills. Other good things: I have signed a contract with gym and have attended already it onceJ
I’m going to start my German classes soon and I’m trying to find other ways to keep myself busy after work. But of course I definitely still feel very connected to all people back in Ukraine and Italy (or other parts of the world) and I do appreciate receiving smses and chats in skype! I do miss craziness of my last months in Italy with its permesso di soggiorno issues, 20 people in the house, crazy trips to different places, doing things that I have never done before and staying with people that I love. But this is also part of the game, right? You have to lose it to start appreciating it.
Other: It’s not an easy time, but I’m glad that I’m able to face it and I will try to grow through it. Today at work I wrote myself a message, saying one of my favorite quotes, almost forgotten though: “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits”. So this is what I’m trying to do now!
In these weeks people asked me how everything is going here. Officially - it goes ok!
Unfortunately, I’m not super excited; my cultural shock doesn’t follow the curve. I just missed the first step of excitement and complete happiness. But on the other hand, maybe it helps me to maintain objective opinion about things happening around.
My life now is all about:
My work. To make it very clear, I work in the Human Resource Marketing & Graduate Development Department of Corporate Center of Deutsche Post World Net. Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) is a group of companies that unites 3 brands: Deutsche Post, DHL and Postbank and I work in headquarters of the group. DPWN is the biggest logistical company in the world and one of the leading employers globally. If you are still interested reading more about the company, read it here www.dpwn.de My office looks impressive and cool. But working there somehow puts pressure on you in a lot of meanings – from the way you dress to the way you treat your work. Overall, I feel myself like I felt when I went to the school first time and got lost on the first official ceremony ( Первый звонок). Not everything is going good – I am trying to adjust, do my best, be attentive, and deliver what is expected. It feels like business world, where you are responsible for your work and all achievements and failures are explicit.
Nobody is really waiting for you to learn, you need to actually work right here and right now. Failures are not welcomed, it’s just a standard to do your job well and achieve what is expected.
Everything is as it’s supposed to be. I just need to adjust. I like and dislike the job at the same time. I like it because it opens doors for amazing network building. I need to learn how to leverage on that.
My home. Is going to be very good soon! I live in the very good location in the middle between center and my work, so it only takes me 3 stops to go to work and 3 stops to the center or just 15 minutes walking which is nice and as it seems quite safe in Bonn. I finally live in a clean flat, I have my personal space, a lot of food in the fridge, no line to the bathroom. And no talks with tea in the kitchen, nobody coming to my room to ask how am I or to wish me good night, nobody coming with a pillow saying that he/she will sleep in my bed tonight. And a lot of small things that made my life in the last couple of years, that I didn’t appreciate before. Though my flat mates are nice! Good news is that today my new wardrobe arrived! Now I only need to make sure somebody helps me to assembly this 1,9m giantJ I promise to post pictures as soon as my room looks the way I imagine it!
My personal life is a big question here. I don’t have friends here. Yet, I hope it’s temporary. I meet a lot of people, but they all seem to be so distant. There are quite a lot of interns here, I’m still to integrate into community. There are some people that I get connected to more, unfortunately all of them are leaving soon. Overall, life here is a big challenge for my social skills. Other good things: I have signed a contract with gym and have attended already it onceJ
I’m going to start my German classes soon and I’m trying to find other ways to keep myself busy after work. But of course I definitely still feel very connected to all people back in Ukraine and Italy (or other parts of the world) and I do appreciate receiving smses and chats in skype! I do miss craziness of my last months in Italy with its permesso di soggiorno issues, 20 people in the house, crazy trips to different places, doing things that I have never done before and staying with people that I love. But this is also part of the game, right? You have to lose it to start appreciating it.
Other: It’s not an easy time, but I’m glad that I’m able to face it and I will try to grow through it. Today at work I wrote myself a message, saying one of my favorite quotes, almost forgotten though: “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits”. So this is what I’m trying to do now!
2 comments:
hmmmm... I'm wondering if I will feel the same when I get to Brussels. My last year in Morocco can be compared to your year in Italy... I'll see soon if there is an analogy in our next years in Western Europe:)
take care there :)
cheers
True Germany, I have to say.
Keep fingers crossed for your succes!
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