Hello everybody!
My name is Martin and
I am the new intern at AutoCom for the next six months. I joined AutoCom’s team
on Wednesday, October 15th and I am totally excited about all my new
colleagues, tasks and the office at its own/itself. Since I arrived from
Germany on Monday, October 20th, every single day was new and fascinating.
I will mention some happenings later.
Originally I live in a
small village a couple of minutes away from Kassel, right in the middle of
Germany. But now, compared to the American places I was already driving through,
everything seems to be so small where I come from.
At the University of
Kassel, I studied political science and finished my master thesis last week –
just in time before my departure to Detroit.
After I successfully passed
the visa application and finishing up all my travel plans I was absolutely relieved,
sitting on the plane - grinning broadly. I have to add that I have never been
before to the USA.
Nine hours later we
were descending through the clouds – the first things catching my attention
looking out of the window, were all these huge cars, trucks and yellow angular
school busses driving along the freeway (later I noticed it was a normal sized
street, not a freeway – I had still German standards in my mind). This was the
point where I knew: the screen, which was in front of me for nine hours, was
not just a simulation of an airplane flying across the Atlantic Ocean. This was
the moment I realized: USA – Here I am.
Following I had to
learn how to handle an American cell phone and minutes later Emily, one of my
colleagues at AutoCom, arrived and picked me up at the airport. She was so nice
to drive me to the house in Royal Oak, where I live now with my four housemates
for the next six months.
In the next morning I
was awake at 4 a.m. – you might think it’s the perfect time for a Knoppers in
Germany, but I didn’t feel so ;). Getting up at 7 a.m., to get an almost normal
daily rhythm, I organized all the things that should be done on Tuesday for my internship
start the following day.
On Wednesday Merle,
another colleague at AutoCom, picked me up in the morning to go to AutoCom’s
office, based in Bloomfield. Arriving there it was absolutely exciting for me finally
got to know the office and meet the faces to all the names, which were
mentioned before. After a couple of days and several meetings, right now I am
trying to get into the automotive business of AutoCom and the daily work
processes.
On my first weekend in Royal Oak I tried to get a bit around the
area where I live - by foot and by car. I enjoyed the autumn sun in a park
among the many lakes around Bloomfield Hills. Furthermore I took the chance to
get an impression of one of these huge shopping malls. One funny thing I
noticed there, were loud speaker announcements on the parking decks, which were
telling you about your parking level, aside from all the big signs. Very
constantly you couldn’t miss hearing: “You are parking in parking area three,
north… You are parking in parking area… “ 
By now, all in all it was totally fascinating to get such an insight into the American everyday life. Even if it has been a bit like a jump into the (very) cold water, know I am feeling comfortable being a part of AutoCom and a part of the everyday life.