First Day at Work

Like my very first day at real work. Okay, so today I woke up at seven after waking up about five times because I was worried about waking up late on my first day at work. I got dressed and has some toast then headed out with Hayley to the bus stop which is about seven minutes away. She got off for school and I proceeded towards the city center where I was to meet Natalie. I got there a little early and waited for her and then we were off. Since the site where the hotel I'm going to be working at is not finished yet, we met at one of the already existing Premier Inns. I'm not going to lie I was scared, but not as much as I'd thought I'd be. We walked in and I met James, my boss boss; Krishna and Amie, who are the receptions managers; John and John who are the restaurant and bar managers and a couple of more higher up managers. Naturally, I looked around for more people, you know, lower class and what not but there were none. It was just me and all these high up, well educated and experienced people. What? So we started by filling out this sheet about who we are, our favorite food and what not. It was really casual and comfortable, but still I was weirded out that I, an unexperienced, 19 year old intern, was included in such an important group. I still have no idea why I'm placed where I am so I'll let you know if I ever find out.

After meeting everybody we went over the plans and strategies of the company and were sent off to fill out surveys about the competition around the area as well as gain ideas of how we think the company should be run. And then we were supposed to present! I hate presenting, it makes me beyond nervous and that's without being surrounded by people who are a good three intelligence levels above me. I was so nervous. So we went out and I contributed zero. I just followed John, John, Krishna and Amie around like a lost dog(which I pretty much am) and said next to nothing. We were out for about three or four hours and I learned buttloads(they would use a more explicit word over here but I will be discrete). We visited a lot of the other hotels, restaurants and bars in the area undercover to see how well, or not well, they handled their customers. It was great fun pretending we were planning a massive party and we needed ten bedrooms and a conference room. The hotels here are very similar to ours in the US except the outsides. All the buildings are meshed together here and so the only sign of a hotel is a board or a flag with the hotel name jutting out into the street. They're quite hard to find. We played that part for three hotels and then met up with the boys for lunch. They talked forever about marketing plans and what they thought needed to happen for this hotel to succeed. I did the normal thing and stayed quiet the whole time unless addressed or asked to pass the mustard. It was outrageous and the whole time I'm just wondering why they put me with this lot!

After lunch we did some more hunting for car parks a.k.a. parking lots and then returned to the Premier Inn. There we sat for another two hours discussing what we've learned and then presenting it to James and crew. Fortunately, I was only addressed once or twice in good humor and I was quite comfortable even though this was a big deal. After that we planned a team bonding day for Friday where we're going to lead the rest of the staff in some bonding, interactive activities and more. I don't know how I am going to lead twenty to forty people that are probably older than me but it should be an interesting experience. This is a very concise version of the story but it will do. At about half five, which is how they would say half past five or five thirty, we called it a day and went out for drinks.

I now have another experience to add to things I never thought I'd have in my life. I attended a bar with eight Brits and Scotsman who are all at least six years older than me and they drank beer and cocktails and smoked and I enjoyed the conversation while having a nice cup of orange juice. Great fun. I really wish I had taken a picture, it would be one to put in the scrapbook. I still can't believe I survived the day. The whole time I felt like a baby because of my complete lack of knowledge in the particular area as well as in the English culture as well. Not only did I have no idea where we were going, I couldn't understand what they were saying half the time because of their lingo and strong accents. Ha ha it's really just quite humorous. Who would have thought?

I also rode the double decker top floor of the bus for the first time yesterday and today I didn't get lost at all finding my way back home on the bus. It is quite a feat so I feel incredibly good all in all with what I have miraculously accomplished today. Phewf! I think I shall relax and read a book now or perhaps watch a film. Thank you for reading my story today. I love you all and miss you!

Love, the Birmingham Baby

Oh, there's more I wanted to tell you. I had asparagus for the first time yesterday, Clay will appreciate. I also wanted to say how crazy the streets are here! They cannot be described, but I shall attempt. They are extremely skinny, like I said before, thus all the cars have to be teeny. I wouldn't say that the English are good drivers so much, rather they are far more courteous than we are in the states. They just let each other get away with outrageous, crazy, dangerous driving and in turn, others allow them to as well. You would all laugh if you saw what goes on here in the streets. Anyway, that's just an FYI. I have loads of them so I have to write them down any time I think of them.