“As the Americans are very open and friendly, I immediately felt at home there.”
A few formalities first
Once we had been accepted, we immediately started to find out about the J1 visa and collect all the documents. Together with the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) (http://www.go-j1.com), we put together our applications so that we could travel to the American consulate in Frankfurt in December to obtain the final visa. When we got our passports back home about two weeks before departure, we were able to breathe a sigh of relief and finally really look forward to it. So here’s a first tip: plan enough time for the visa, as this can take a really long time and you have to do a lot of paperwork.
We are lucky that trainees at BENTELER regularly fly to the plant in the USA, so our partner company organized everything for us. This meant we didn’t have to worry about accommodation or health insurance. Since I knew that I would be working in the HR department, I sent a short email to my contact person to introduce myself, and on New Year’s Eve it was time to pack my bags!
Arrival in Shreveport
After a 12-hour flight from Frankfurt to Houston, we landed in Shreveport after another one-hour flight. We were kindly picked up from the airport by a trainee who had been in the USA since October. We went straight to the apartment complex where we were all accommodated by our company. We each moved into an apartment in pairs, where we had two bathrooms and a large kitchen.
Working in the HR department
We landed on Friday, so we were able to settle in a little at the weekend and explore the area. The contact with the others who had already been in the USA for some time was helpful and provided us with lots of tips and information.
My first working day in the HR department began on Monday. After I was greeted warmly with welcome signs, the first meeting started straight away. Every morning, the department sat together and discussed which important tasks were due in each area that day. I got to know everyone straight away and got an overview of the individual areas.
Apart from my boss, HR was a women-only office, where I was immediately warmly welcomed. As the Americans are very open and friendly, I immediately felt at home there.
I got the chance to get a taste of all areas of HR and ended up working most in Training and Development. There I supported the integration of a new training system and worked in a project team. I also helped to organize a job fair and repeatedly completed smaller tasks from the various areas.
We worked from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day and had a one-hour lunch break. As Americans like to integrate meetings into their working day, the eight hours always went by very quickly.
Lots to do at the weekend
Our company provided us with a rental car, because you can’t get very far in the USA without a car. Unfortunately, the public transport network there is very poorly developed. However, fuel prices are much cheaper than in Germany. As a result, we always did a lot at the weekend and went to Dallas, New Orleans and Houston, for example.
Especially at the weekend, you should also use the time to explore nearby towns and villages. However, you should budget more money for food, which is comparatively expensive. That’s why most Americans also prefer fast food chains for lunch. These are really on every corner and are a dime a dozen. Supermarkets are also always nearby and, like all other stores, are also open on Sundays.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed my months in the USA because I learned a lot and was able to gain a lot of experience. Not only did I learn a lot about cultural differences such as language, living together and dealing with each other, I also think a stay abroad like this helps you a lot personally and I can only recommend everyone to take advantage of this opportunity. Unfortunately, we had to end our stay early due to the corona crisis, otherwise we would have gone on vacation to California and New York at the end of our stay, as we would have been able to get cheap domestic flights.
