One of my colleagues invited Maarten and I to a 'crossroads' Christmas show. At first I wasn't sure what this was about but after asking a few of my colleagues 2 things became clear:
1) everybody loves that show: it's very well known and respected
2) crossroads is a non denominational church which means they welcome everybody, no matter if you're catholic or protestant. Some people therefore would say it's not a 'real' church, as they wouldn't focus on specific 'catholic' rules for example.
2 colleagues also went and they were very friendly to give us a lift and to take us to a great Thai place beforehand where we found out that in the States people first cut all of their food and then they put down their knife and eat everything with their fork in their right hand! Our colleagues tried it out our way and said it was very very difficult for them to eat with knife and fork. Very funny :) also,we had dinner at 5h15. And that's not even very weird here :)
And then we went to the show. Don't imagine a church like the ones we know in Europe. Picture a huge building, from the outside it looked more like a department store or a hypermarket... And thousands of people (really!), all there to attend this Christmasshow... I started to understand why crossroads is also known as a 'megachurch'.
Introduced by the head priest who turned out to be a cool funny quite young guy in jeans, the show began.
75 minutes of amazing ballet, songs, theatre and acts later we were definitely in the Christmas mood, even standing up to clap and sing... I guess you had to be there to believe it!
A few links to help you to give an idea: a teaser video of the show and the opening song and animation!
Merry Christmas all!
18.12.11
Our American adventure episodes 1 & 2
17.12.11
What will I remember from my first week in Cincinnati?
The people
Are still incredibly friendly. We have received invitations to X-mas parties, a X-mas show, a dinner and a houseparty. On top of that there are the lifts to work, lifts to Kroger and so it goes on.
People here smile. They stop for STOP signs on the road even when there isn't a car in sight. They let pedestrians cross the road. They are not in a hurry, not stressed. They breathe. I love them.
dunnhumby USA
I am proud to work for dunnhumby USA. They are impressive: from the amazing Holiday party to the fully prepared desk, laptop, writing pads, pens on my first day to the HR people who don't show if they are sick of me running over to their desks twice a day with random questions. I have started my induction sessions with my own team and am sure I'll learn a lot from them. In my first week I have attended an 'In the Know' session about price & promotions and a Kroger team meeting with free lunch and an interesting business update. First impressions definitely very positive!
The music
A colleague of mine invited Maarten and I to a party at his place. He said there would be a band that would play Bluegrass music. I said "blue-what"? And so I got introduced to Bluegrass. Wikipedia says it's a form of American roots music, a sub-genre of country music, with mixed roots in Scottish, English and Welsh traditional music and inspired by the music of African-Americans through incorporation of jazz elements. 4 of the 6 members of the band were from dunnhumby and they were really really good. They were playing when we arrived a bit before 8 and were still going when we left a bit before midnight... I hope we get to see them again!
The gym classes + Tina's
dunnhumby USA does not only have a gym, they also offer gym classes, several times a day at really competitive prices. I tried out the zumba, yoga and step classes and loved all 3 of them. Zumba because it was fun and easy, yoga because it was relaxing and challenging and step because it was very hard and the first time I did some weights!
Of course I shouldn't forget Tina's to balance off with the sports I did :-) Ealing had the North Star, Paris the Dido and Cincinnati has Tina's. Cheap prices, jugs of beer, sports on television, meeting new people from dunnhumby... What else do you need?
Maarten Verschuere
The first few days can be quite stressful, because you don't know anyone and literally everything is new (the people, the office, the American accent and words...). It helps so much to know there are 2 of us and to share our disbelief at some of the things that happened to us during the first week (on average, 3 people a day asked one of us if we have kids - just to give an example, whereas this NEVER happened to us in Paris in the almost 2 years we've lived there!).
Maarten now also joined Twitter, so if you want to follow him, follow @maartenforsure and his new blog is http://maartenforsure.blogspot.com. I'm still on Twitter on @louisedejager!
Let me know what you think of my first impressions and if you want to learn about anything else!
Are still incredibly friendly. We have received invitations to X-mas parties, a X-mas show, a dinner and a houseparty. On top of that there are the lifts to work, lifts to Kroger and so it goes on.
People here smile. They stop for STOP signs on the road even when there isn't a car in sight. They let pedestrians cross the road. They are not in a hurry, not stressed. They breathe. I love them.
dunnhumby USA
I am proud to work for dunnhumby USA. They are impressive: from the amazing Holiday party to the fully prepared desk, laptop, writing pads, pens on my first day to the HR people who don't show if they are sick of me running over to their desks twice a day with random questions. I have started my induction sessions with my own team and am sure I'll learn a lot from them. In my first week I have attended an 'In the Know' session about price & promotions and a Kroger team meeting with free lunch and an interesting business update. First impressions definitely very positive!
The music
A colleague of mine invited Maarten and I to a party at his place. He said there would be a band that would play Bluegrass music. I said "blue-what"? And so I got introduced to Bluegrass. Wikipedia says it's a form of American roots music, a sub-genre of country music, with mixed roots in Scottish, English and Welsh traditional music and inspired by the music of African-Americans through incorporation of jazz elements. 4 of the 6 members of the band were from dunnhumby and they were really really good. They were playing when we arrived a bit before 8 and were still going when we left a bit before midnight... I hope we get to see them again!
The gym classes + Tina's
dunnhumby USA does not only have a gym, they also offer gym classes, several times a day at really competitive prices. I tried out the zumba, yoga and step classes and loved all 3 of them. Zumba because it was fun and easy, yoga because it was relaxing and challenging and step because it was very hard and the first time I did some weights!
Of course I shouldn't forget Tina's to balance off with the sports I did :-) Ealing had the North Star, Paris the Dido and Cincinnati has Tina's. Cheap prices, jugs of beer, sports on television, meeting new people from dunnhumby... What else do you need?
Maarten Verschuere
The first few days can be quite stressful, because you don't know anyone and literally everything is new (the people, the office, the American accent and words...). It helps so much to know there are 2 of us and to share our disbelief at some of the things that happened to us during the first week (on average, 3 people a day asked one of us if we have kids - just to give an example, whereas this NEVER happened to us in Paris in the almost 2 years we've lived there!).
Maarten now also joined Twitter, so if you want to follow him, follow @maartenforsure and his new blog is http://maartenforsure.blogspot.com. I'm still on Twitter on @louisedejager!
Let me know what you think of my first impressions and if you want to learn about anything else!
14.12.11
Not at all the Americans I thought they would be
We arrived in Cincinnati on Saturday and a few hours later, we were expected at the dunnhumby USA Holiday party, the equivalent of the English and French X-mas parties.
I admit that I had a picture in mind of how that party would be. I wasn't sure if people would drink alcohol, if there would be a lot of dancing going on, if the food would be nice...
As soon as we walked through the door, it dawned on me that I would get rid of my prejudices very soon. The venue was amazing, and with 'dunnhumby value' specially made cocktails the tone was set. Yes, there was alcohol, and not a little bit. I hardly saw anyone not drinking to be honest! This was going to be like any other dunnhumby party :-) I admit I felt a bit relieved, although I wasn't in for a big night due to the jetlag.
The food was special, first walking dinner with sushi, then a sit down meal with different courses of tapas. People don't agree on whether or not the food was good, but I was definitely impressed!
By the time the dessert was on, the dance floor was filled up. Huge plastic flashy rings were given to the ladies and I just loved that small detail!
So, my first dunnhumby USA party really showed me that any of the prejudices I had were just not true.
And now, after 2 days at work, I realise that my American colleagues are VERY sporty (at least 2 of my female colleagues have run 5 marathons each, and that's in a team of 9 women...), so I'll have to start trying harder... I started with a great Zumba class today!
The cliches that turned out to be true so far are:
- you do need a car in Cincinnati or you miss out on great restaurants, shows, French talking groups, grocery shopping...
- Americans are really friendly. One colleague invited us to several of her X-mas evenings + New Year's Eve. Can you believe that? So on the 22nd of December we're going to a big family party of hers. Very curious and still a bit astonished that we actually got invited.
That's all for now - I'm pretty sure this will be my first and last blog post on American cliches as not a lot of them still hold true in my point of view.
I admit that I had a picture in mind of how that party would be. I wasn't sure if people would drink alcohol, if there would be a lot of dancing going on, if the food would be nice...
As soon as we walked through the door, it dawned on me that I would get rid of my prejudices very soon. The venue was amazing, and with 'dunnhumby value' specially made cocktails the tone was set. Yes, there was alcohol, and not a little bit. I hardly saw anyone not drinking to be honest! This was going to be like any other dunnhumby party :-) I admit I felt a bit relieved, although I wasn't in for a big night due to the jetlag.
The food was special, first walking dinner with sushi, then a sit down meal with different courses of tapas. People don't agree on whether or not the food was good, but I was definitely impressed!
By the time the dessert was on, the dance floor was filled up. Huge plastic flashy rings were given to the ladies and I just loved that small detail!
So, my first dunnhumby USA party really showed me that any of the prejudices I had were just not true.
And now, after 2 days at work, I realise that my American colleagues are VERY sporty (at least 2 of my female colleagues have run 5 marathons each, and that's in a team of 9 women...), so I'll have to start trying harder... I started with a great Zumba class today!
The cliches that turned out to be true so far are:
- you do need a car in Cincinnati or you miss out on great restaurants, shows, French talking groups, grocery shopping...
- Americans are really friendly. One colleague invited us to several of her X-mas evenings + New Year's Eve. Can you believe that? So on the 22nd of December we're going to a big family party of hers. Very curious and still a bit astonished that we actually got invited.
That's all for now - I'm pretty sure this will be my first and last blog post on American cliches as not a lot of them still hold true in my point of view.
11.12.11
Breathtakingly heartwarming
For dunnhumby France and Aude, Aurélia, Caroline, Cécile, Chloé, Elsa, Emma and Lucia in particular.
My last day in the office.
Team meeting.
My 8 closest colleagues, friends, do a presentation on how much I will be missed.
I'm touched.
Then follow tons of pictures of my time at dunnhumby France
All those amazing memories!
I'm getting emotional.
The song "Louise" from Clouseau is launched.
I feel like crying.
Time to speech.
Unprepared.
In French.
I think I can cope and start to speak.
My voice breaks.
I pull myself together and tell the team how I've made friendships for life in dunnhumby France and how they were sometimes more like a family to me.
I briefly look at a few of those close friends who stand on the side and see one of them crying.
But instead of harder it actually becomes easier to talk because all of a sudden I realise what a lucky girl I am to have made such friends.
Merci pour tout, les filles. Je vous adore x
My last day in the office.
Team meeting.
My 8 closest colleagues, friends, do a presentation on how much I will be missed.
I'm touched.
Then follow tons of pictures of my time at dunnhumby France
All those amazing memories!
I'm getting emotional.
The song "Louise" from Clouseau is launched.
I feel like crying.
Time to speech.
Unprepared.
In French.
I think I can cope and start to speak.
My voice breaks.
I pull myself together and tell the team how I've made friendships for life in dunnhumby France and how they were sometimes more like a family to me.
I briefly look at a few of those close friends who stand on the side and see one of them crying.
But instead of harder it actually becomes easier to talk because all of a sudden I realise what a lucky girl I am to have made such friends.
Merci pour tout, les filles. Je vous adore x
7.12.11
Parisian arrogance
This weekend was my last weekend in Paris.
In my blog I haven’t hidden the fact that sometimes over the past months I have been very annoyed with the Parisian arrogance. But this weekend, I was all zen. It was my last weekend in wonderful Paris. Because for all my complaints, I still love this city, the amazing buildings, the unique sky, the light…
So this weekend I decided not to get annoyed or frustrated, I was just going to enjoy it. Until… 2 Parisians just couldn’t help it and gave me 2 perfect examples of exactly that what had annoyed me so much in the previous months... A bit like when you would ask to see the fish you want to order in a restaurant and they bring it to you on a platter. That kind of examples.
The first one was on the tube. I should have known that taking the tube in my last weekend was a risk but I had become overconfident in my positive vibe. A very thin lady thought she didn’t have enough space because of the not so thin guy next to her and rather than an “excuse me sir, would you mind giving me a little bit more space” she shouted at him as if he had personally caused the hunger in Somalia. Poor guy. And poor lady, for actually being that aggressive for something that insignificant. To a simple soul like me that just means that she must be truly unhappy.
Then I went into the Fnac. I wanted to check if they had the first book of “Game of Thrones” (loved the DVD!) series in English. 2 ladies in front of me. The second one doesn’t wait for her turn and just asks the Fnac lady a question, but really quickly (“doyouhavethisbookinpaperback?” “No”). You would think that losing 30 seconds doesn’t really matter, but apparently it does, because the first lady then spent at least 2 full minutes shouting at the other lady. I just stood there smiling, keeping calm and waiting until lady 1 would finally ask her question. It goes without saying I didn’t try to ask the Fnac lady my question during their rant ;) (and btw, when I asked later there wasn’t an English version, you need to order it – bugger).
These 2 examples made me realise that when in a big crowd in Paris, I had started to adopt a “Paris-face”. Whenever I’d be in a public place, especially on the tube, or queuing in a shop, I’d look very serious, slightly annoyed with a pfffffffffffffff attitude – the thing I breathed was: “do not dare to shout at me”. And no one ever did. But at what cost…
So, I’ll stop complaining (sooo Parisian…) and will just admit that I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED about moving to the country of the most friendly people ever, the United States of America. I’ll keep you posted on how “real” that friendliness is, as a big European cliché about Americans is that they are friendly but that it is very superficial (read: they don’t réally mean it). For now, I much prefer the idea of someone being “fake friendly” over “really arrogant, aggressive and angry”!
3 more days to go and 3 more nights – with one evening with my girlfriends and 2 work X-mas parties (one of my work, one of my husband), the final days seem to be very promising! Also because my French friends and colleagues really are not at all like the people described above – just in case they read this ;)
xoxo (Gossip girl mood – yep, it happens)
Louise
In my blog I haven’t hidden the fact that sometimes over the past months I have been very annoyed with the Parisian arrogance. But this weekend, I was all zen. It was my last weekend in wonderful Paris. Because for all my complaints, I still love this city, the amazing buildings, the unique sky, the light…
So this weekend I decided not to get annoyed or frustrated, I was just going to enjoy it. Until… 2 Parisians just couldn’t help it and gave me 2 perfect examples of exactly that what had annoyed me so much in the previous months... A bit like when you would ask to see the fish you want to order in a restaurant and they bring it to you on a platter. That kind of examples.
The first one was on the tube. I should have known that taking the tube in my last weekend was a risk but I had become overconfident in my positive vibe. A very thin lady thought she didn’t have enough space because of the not so thin guy next to her and rather than an “excuse me sir, would you mind giving me a little bit more space” she shouted at him as if he had personally caused the hunger in Somalia. Poor guy. And poor lady, for actually being that aggressive for something that insignificant. To a simple soul like me that just means that she must be truly unhappy.
Then I went into the Fnac. I wanted to check if they had the first book of “Game of Thrones” (loved the DVD!) series in English. 2 ladies in front of me. The second one doesn’t wait for her turn and just asks the Fnac lady a question, but really quickly (“doyouhavethisbookinpaperback?” “No”). You would think that losing 30 seconds doesn’t really matter, but apparently it does, because the first lady then spent at least 2 full minutes shouting at the other lady. I just stood there smiling, keeping calm and waiting until lady 1 would finally ask her question. It goes without saying I didn’t try to ask the Fnac lady my question during their rant ;) (and btw, when I asked later there wasn’t an English version, you need to order it – bugger).
These 2 examples made me realise that when in a big crowd in Paris, I had started to adopt a “Paris-face”. Whenever I’d be in a public place, especially on the tube, or queuing in a shop, I’d look very serious, slightly annoyed with a pfffffffffffffff attitude – the thing I breathed was: “do not dare to shout at me”. And no one ever did. But at what cost…
So, I’ll stop complaining (sooo Parisian…) and will just admit that I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED about moving to the country of the most friendly people ever, the United States of America. I’ll keep you posted on how “real” that friendliness is, as a big European cliché about Americans is that they are friendly but that it is very superficial (read: they don’t réally mean it). For now, I much prefer the idea of someone being “fake friendly” over “really arrogant, aggressive and angry”!
3 more days to go and 3 more nights – with one evening with my girlfriends and 2 work X-mas parties (one of my work, one of my husband), the final days seem to be very promising! Also because my French friends and colleagues really are not at all like the people described above – just in case they read this ;)
xoxo (Gossip girl mood – yep, it happens)
Louise
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