In coaching myself for the interview, I contacted my Mom, Angela, and Elena for advice on what to say and to think of some possible questions they might ask. I also went through a series of breathing exercises, no I am just kidding! On the day of the interview, Wednesday, I left with my folder, pen, and lined paper. I was definitely ready for this interview. The only thing was that I had to take a train to Paris, the metro to another gare (train station), wait two hours for the TGV (a super fast train) to Vendome, and then a taxi to Montoire where Romer, a division of Hexagon Metrology, is located. Oh and to start off the day, the bus was super late, completely unlike Compiègne, so another woman waiting and I walked to the gare de Compiègne together. She was really nice and talked for the half hour walk to the gare. I made it just in time to buy my billet (ticket) and board the train. Turns out she is originally from Russia, but has lived in France for 12 years so speaks fluently. I understand everything we talked about and held a constant conversation for about a half hour. It was great. I had a good feeling that today was going to be a good day.
I brought a book with me to keep me occupied for the long journey ahead. Good thing I had because by the end of the day, I had already read 120 plus pages of the book! For all you who know how fast of a reader I am, that was remarkable.
The part of the trip that I was most nervous for was meeting the taxi that Hexagon had reserved for me. Luckily, a woman with a sign saying Hexagon was waiting right outside the gare de Vendome for me. We took a 25 or so minute car ride to Montoire. On the way, I saw vaches, vaches, and more vaches (cows). I felt as if I were in Foster/Glocester - no school! I am pretty sure there are all of five houses in Montoire and Hexagon. Although, it was very pretty, it was not much of a social area. Upon entering Hexagon, the rush of nerves paralyzed me, but I was fine once the lady behind the desk smiled at me (the first person in France to smile at me). I met with the head of research and development as well as one of the heads in the engineering department. They presented a short presentation about the company, asked me questions, I asked some, discussed the living arrangements and transportation, and toured the facility. Overall the whole thing took two hours and while the company seems great, there were a few bumps in the road. One being the transportation to and from work. I would have to live in Vendome which is about 25 min away as I mentioned earlier and there is no public transportation, unless you consider the cows! I would have to buy a car and/or rent one if that is possible and I am not sure how attainable that may be. I was also not entirely gung-ho for the projects that I would be doing during my internship. They are more of a design based company and the facility in France only works on robotic arms, which is not one of my ideal internships, but hey, who ever finds one that is perfect.
The whole experience was great. As I was reflecting on the whole interview, I am proud that I went to the interview and did everything in another language and all on my own. You learn to do a lot of things that you never imagined doing when you live in another country. Before I make my final decision, I am going to look into some other options. I think there may be something more suitable for me. If not, I guess I am going to buy a cow!
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