4 - Week 1: New Kid on the Block 2ieme - Geneva
Tuesday, February 25
Day two in the office required me to get up a bit earlier than the day before, but in reality I actually slept more through the night. Still, I was a bit tired but pressed on, there was an 8:30 meeting to make and the only train to arrive on time would require me to leave home at 7:15 (the commute is about 45 minutes if I manage my trains right). I have more sympathy for people who commute by rail than before: you can relax on the train but you also have to adhere to the schedule. I spotted my colleague I'd spoken on the return commute with the yesterday and sat down just next to her, but she was so zombified in the morning that she didn't notice me and fell asleep 😆 Her commute must be closer to 1.5 hours or so; I get it now, I really do.
The meeting was chemistry related so much of it went right over my head but it did inspire some interesting questions that I jotted down for myself. After a while, drowsiness caught up and my sleep-brain questions weren't worth jotting down 😂 To be clear, I think it was the subject matter and hour that inhibited my comprehension rather simply the language barrier, so I'll take that as a win.
I had my first plant tour today, which was interesting. So much and so little have changed since I visited in 2019, I don't think I'll have much interaction with the distillation workshop we toured today but it was interesting to be shown around by someone who's put some real blood, sweat, and tears into the place.
The afternoon featured some new faces and introductions. The announcement of my arrival on site went out late yesterday and my faces started featuring on little display boards around the site saying "bienvenue"; it was surreal to have unknown colleagues greeting me by name but I'm glad to have it. Someone joined our table at lunch, I remembered his face but couldn't place a name. About two hours later I realized I'd met him at a R&D gathering in the US a few years back. Désolé 😅
Oh, funny story: I agreed to do a lunchtime jog (les français dit "un footing") later this week and he spoke with the facility manager about getting me a locker on site for my stuff. The facility manager came into my shared office just as someone started on a call; the manager used an exceptionally powerful voice in greeting me that we stepped out into the hallway to discuss. He said he'd find me tomorrow to assign a locker and give me the key. Upon returning to the office, I asked another coworker if the facility manager always talked with such force. She said "no" and we hypothesized that speaking loudly was his method of ensuring I could understand his French 😆
I also touched base with the folks back at home base before heading back home. Based on conversations I've had, I'm beginning to pick up on some cultural differences between my US site, the French site, and this facility. I don't yet have the words to describe it but I know a data log is growing.
Tonight, I need to start making decisions about my weekend activities. If I can make a list of interests or activities, I'm sure the folks at work can advise who to talk with for optimizing what/where/and how. So it'll be a quiet night eating in and trying out some cheeses I found at the grocery stores in the train station.
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