On Monday, February 6th, I started my day by waking up at 6:30. I then got ready and headed to the bus stop at 7:20 and got the train at 7:46. I arrived in Paris and took the metro and got to work around 9:05. The HR person "greeted" me and told me to fill out these three papers and to bring this, this, and this in for Thursday. Then she brought me upstairs to my boss's office who was nowhere to be found. So she left me with someone in the hallway, Norbert. He brought me around to meet some of the other people who work there. He then didn’t know what to do with me, handed me off to another guy who brought me on his coffee break with him. A coffee break that consisted of him and two other guys getting instant coffee from the vending machine downstairs. Then he didn't know what to do with me, so he brought me to another guy's office where there was a desk I could sit at. There was a computer, but I wasn't allowed to use it. Don't know why. Then my boss finally showed up to tell me that he has a doctor's appointment and will see me later. I was like just dandy. So then the guy whose office I was sitting in, Florent, starting talking to me in English, which was really nice. He wanted to practice. Anyways, he gave me a quick company presentation and then said well you are going to have to read this book on rubber. So for four hours, I kid you not, I stared blankly at this stupid book on rubber. In the middle, I went to lunch with some of the guys at work. As noon came around, everyone headed out to lunch and I went with them. We walked a couple blocks from my building and entered a cafeteria type place with a bunch of other people from other workplaces. This is apparently where they eat everyday. It was so weird to see so many people dressed in suits and nice attire, picking up a tray and getting a plate for lunch and eating at cafeteria tables. A little before 4:30, Florent said I could pack up and head home. I had never been so happy to leave anywhere before. I caught the train back to Compiegne at 5:20, and didn’t get back to my room until about 6:40ish. It was quite a long day. I was so tired when I got home that I ate something quick, and was in bed by 9pm!
Round two was a little better than round one. My boss was there when I got there and he made some time to sit down with me and give me an overview of the next six months and how the company operated. He discussed my project with me as well. The company makes anti-vibratory and anti-acoustic parts for everything from trains, planes, and automobiles to offshore oil platforms all made from rubber. Some of their parts consist of bike tires, sealings, car suspensions, and insulation. I am going to be working on a project dealing with the vibra/acoustic problems of the electric vehicle. I will be researching how the electric vehicle works, and where the noise and vibration sources are, and working with noise, vibration, and hardness (NHV) regulations. My main project is producing a catalogue of how the company’s electric vehicle works and how their parts prevent vibrations and acoustics in the car. This will be used to send out to potential buyers and clients.
My boss gave me lots of books and articles to read and said to start researching! For the rest of the week and this past week, I have been researching and reading all about acoustics, vibrations, and the electric vehicle. At times it is pretty boring, but I will be learning a lot. Florent says that my desk looks more like that of a PhD student rather than an intern. Everyone at work has asked how it is going so far and I said it’s a lot of research and they have all said, “well that’s Laurent (my boss) for you.”
On Thursday, Florent took me to lunch with another guy at work to this little, quaint Italian restaurant. Florent is originally from Italy, but grew up speaking Italian and French. He knew the owners of the restaurant. A husband and wife, from Naples, ran the restaurant. I ordered an olive, caper, and oregano pizza. It was delicious. They paid for me and everything! The husband gave us lollipops on the way out too!! It was set up with mismatch plates and cups and silverware. Also, everyone sat together. It was a really cute place.
On Friday, yesterday, I went with Laurent to the Research Center site where I met the rest of my “team.” There is a whole team set up within the company that is working on this electric vehicle project. I got to see the prototype of the car and how it was being assembled. It was awesome, and it was green, so I loved it that much more. We had a “board meeting” type of thing and a lunch too. It was a three course meal and it was all fantastic. They ordered a bottle of wine with lunch, but I felt weird drinking at lunch so I politely declined. One of the guys said that it was all part of being in France. After a tiring day, my boss drove me back to the train station and I headed home. I thought it was going to be weird driving in the car with my boss for roughly 3 hours round trip, but it wasn’t too bad. We talked half in French and then he would randomly start talking in English.
Two weeks down, a little less than 6 months to go!
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