Thursday, January 16, 2014

Hello!  Ahoj!

I have decided to start a blog to document my time as a human factors intern at Honeywell in Brno, Czech Republic.  Hopefully this blog will be something I can use to look back fondly on my time in Brno, as well as a way to digest my experiences as they happen.

It seems like everything is still up in the air and not set in stone right now, but I will try to list everything that I DO know.  I am due to depart Florida February 1st and arrive in Vienna on February 2nd where I intend to spend at least 1 night with my friend and "brother from another mother", Tobias.  I plan to take the bus into Brno the next day and begin paperwork for my visa.  On Tuesday I will travel to Bratislava, Slovakia to file the visa with the lawyer hired by Honeywell to navigate the bureaucracy.  About a week later I expect to have  the visa completed at which point I will start work.  As a graduate intern I am expected to log 600 work hours to earn 3 credits, putting my stay in the Czech republic at 3 months and 3 weeks.

Right now I am trying to decide where to live.  My options are a dorm room near the center of town, or a flat within walking distance to work.  The dorm is about $200USD cheaper than the flat and includes internet, something I could use for the distance class I am taking and skyping with home.  The flat is nice but does not include internet.  I think my hesitation with the dorm is figuring out the public transport system.  I'll probably make the decision tomorrow.

Overall this seems daunting; I've traveled abroad before, and I've traveled abroad alone before, but I've never done anything like this.  I will need to manage life as an expat while simultaneously proving I have the chops to work professionally as a human factors practitioner.  I'd like to think I am a resourceful person, but I think its what I don't know about what I am about to do that keeps me humble.

My next entry will detail some of my preparations, but for now how about some tunes to convey my state of mind?





1 comment:

  1. This is a great idea! I'm proud of you and excited for you...very confident that you will accomplish everything you set out to do.

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