Day 1 of Work - Oct. 10 2011

Today was my first day of work.  I slept pretty well considering the time difference.  I woke up at 5:45a.m., and stayed in bed for a little while.  I talked to mom, dad and Koz on the phone.  It took me about 35 minutes in a cab to get from my apartment to Rockwell. 

I met with my team today, as well as many different people in the Rockwell office.  We have a decent amount of expats in our office, so it's not that unusual for me to be there.  My hard drive crashed upon my arrival so I have already become good friends with the IT people!  The hard drive needs to be replaced, and my replacement should show up to Rockwell on Tuesday. 

I went out for lunch with Steven (SSO APAC Director), and Martin (SSO Manager) for Japanese.  It was really good.  We all ordered our own meals, and then Steven ordered a few dishes for us to all share.  Sharing is very common here.  We were all given chopsticks, and I was very grateful that I eat sushi often enough, so I am somewhat decent with them!  An interesting fact when sharing food:  When you are sharing with a group, there is no serving spoon, so you use your chopsticks to get whatever food is being shared.  You also aren't given a napkin.  Many people bring their own "handkerchief" with them.  I had terriyaki chicken, rice, soup (no spoon, you drink it from the bowl like you would milk from a cereal bowl), as well as a noodle salad.  All eaten with chopsticks!  Steven also ordered sushi for the table to share as well as spinach.  Everything was really good. 

We walked back to work, and I continued walking around the office meeting people.  Everyone is so nice, and so friendly.  No one seems to be in a hurry like we are in America!  They were so genuine. 

After work, Steven and I went to the Marriott for happy hour and appetizers on the 27th floor looking over the shopping district (Orchard Rd.), which is close to where I live.

I left the Marriott, and Steven was confidant I would be able to find my way home.  He clearly doesn't know I have my Mom's sense of direction and get lost in people's houses.  I of course got lost, and after walking around for 30 minutes, called a cab. It was actually a very nice night for a walk, it would have been nice if I wasn't carrying around my lap top with 80% humidity. 

Once I was home, I made my rounds on the phone to let everyone know I was still alive, and then went to bed. I was extremly tired.  Day 1 at the office is down!  Now I just need my computer back :)