Travel Log 1-22 / 1-24, 2007

Well, it was my first week at work, if you can call it that. We are being toured everywhere to become familiar with our new work location in Marne-la-Vallee. The first two days we had late dinners with the team and the Disney executives that invited over to help out. So we finish dinner around 2130 and then the hour long train ride home, get settled in as best we can, and get back up to start all over at 0500.

The weather has been cold, and we even had snow yesterday (1-24-07) for a couple of hours in the morning. We all shiver when our French partners announce with great joy that it is now -5 degrees Celsius. I am teaching everyone how to quickly calculate it to Fahrenheit so it doesn't sound so bad, double the number then add 32, so -5 becomes -10 and add 32 equals 22 degrees bad enough but not as bad as -5. We are already strategizing to do indoor museums when the weather is cold, and save the outdoor gardens and parks for warmer weather.

Some of the team have not had as smooth an experience as I have, and only 3 of us out of the 8 were satisfied with our apartments. There is one of the team who is traveling out of the country for the first time and the shell shock was very noticeable on the first morning. She confided in me that had it not been for a sister team member who is guiding her, she would have left already. This is when quick friendships are formed, or should I say forged. The visiting line of business leaders (the Americans) have formed a very supportive group already, having common issues like;
-How to do laundry and have it come out softer than a cinder block.
-Finding where the server won't laugh at you, or worse, throw angry words in your general direction, as they ignore you and go to get someone else's croissant.
-How to trick the system so you can access your email and tie into Wi-Fi or jumper into a hard line. ( you didn't hear any of this from me).

It really is like living in Kissimmee, where the locals don't realize how important the "stupid tourists" are for them, and you can't understand most of what is being said to or around you. Just so you understand, not all we encounter are rude. As a matter of fact most of the French have been fabulous. I had a great experience just this afternoon when I went to find out about my French Language Lessons. The clerk at the desk spoke kindly and answered a bevy of questions and as I relaxed and shared more information than I had with any one outside of the Lumiere team so far, I found out that she had worked for Disney at Epcot in 94 in the France Pavilion. The phone rang a few times, and she quickly, but nicely excused herself and went on with her work, leaving me with more information than I needed.

By the way, I will start on March 5, 2007, due to traveling to California and Florida in February to benchmark best practices at both U.S. sites. It sounds funny, but It will be nice to be home for a week, and have another week where I don't have to concentrate, just to buy milk. However, I must say, even with the cold weather, and missing Betty and everyone else, I am having a great time.

The French partners here have been great about helping us learn what we can and I think they are really excited to have us here helping out. Next week we get in the trenches, oh let me rephrase that, we were told not to talk about the war by our partners (inside joke, that is what they say whenever they have German guests). Next week we begin our in field experiences here to learn what difficulties they are having and what ideas for improvements that the Cast have. We have been heavily reminded that we need to maintain confidentiality, so I won't be sharing details, but will continue with learning's and discoveries of the country and cultures I encounter.

Robert