Detroit Downtown and Henry Ford Museum

Last weekend I had my first "trip" to Detroit Downtown. We didn't take the interstate to get there but the Woodward Avenue, which goes through the suburbs of Detroit. That was amazing. My friends told me that we drove through the area where Eminem was growing up. And to be honest, I wouldn't like to get out of my car there. But it was good to see that so you know that there's not only the beautiful side of Detroit. And if you have crossed that area there's DOWNTWON! ;) And that looks great. And there are some really nice bars, as well as the Hard Rock Cafe. We took the people mover (www.thepeoplemover.com), which is driving in a circle through downtown. After that we were in the GM towers and walked along at the Detroit River and had a great few to the skyline of Windsor. And in the evening we had dinner in Greek Town. So I like Detroit Downtown, although or maybe just because, it's not like the other downtowns I've visited before. It has it's on flair. And I don't think that Detroit is a dangerous place. So you don't have to be worry about that.

And I also visited the Henry Ford Museum. And I recommend it to every future intern. There are all the cars of former presidents and a lot of other old cars and the history of the automtive branch. But there are also old planes (like the Fokker), machines, furniture and so on.

By Bianca

Future intern Linda

Hi guys,
My name is Linda (24 years old) and I´ll (yippie!) be joining you as an intern from mid june till december.
I´m very excited because I´ve never been in the United States up to now. All the more I´m anxious to AutoCom and the american way of life (myfriends cautioned me about the tasty fast-food-offer yet ;)!
It´s nice to learn about all the great field reports from ex-interns which I found on this blog. They confirm my positive impression which I already have from AutoCom and I get an idea of the varied experiences which I can gain within the internship. So I can´t wait to know the AutoCom team!!
But first of all there are some annoying things which have to becompleted. I´ve to finish my master thesis (about 'seniors andadvertising'), must find an interim tenant for my flat-share-room inmuenster. Furthermore I´ve to look for a U.S.-housing and I´m due to say hello to the consulat . (Thanks a lot for your help concerning all the organizational things around my internship!!)
But yesterday springtime "arrived" in muenster and everybody is in good spirits (me included) and I may complete my thesis with ice cream on our balkony; Hope the weather in Detroit is comparable to ours and you also enjoy thefirst actinism of the summer! I look forward beeing with you at AutoCom!
See you soon
By Linda

Greetings from United Arab Emirates!

It’s been years since I worked at AutoCom!! I remember it clearly… I had just graduated from U of M and decided to look into the field of Public Relations. I was fortunate enough to land an entry level position with AutoCom. It was a wonderful introduction to the world of PR within the auto industry. I had the opportunity to work with true experts in the field and I will never forget the experience.

My life has definitely changed since. I got married over three years ago, and moved to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I’m currently teaching English at a women’s college. I’ve had two kids along the way. I’ve changed careers but will always remember and appreciate my days at AutoCom. I wish all the current interns the best of luck and encourage all of you to use the resources available to you while you have them.

Dolores

How to post and/or write a comment

If it’s your first time you visit our blog (or maybe you visited it for several times) and don’t know how to write a post or comment here is a short instruction.

If you would like to write a new post you have to contact Lei lxu@usautocom.com or me bbischoff@usautocom.com, because we are the only one who can edit/create posts.

To write a comment to an existing post just click on “comments “ at the bottom of each posting, then you have to choose an identity where you just take “Other”. Write your name and your comment…done.

I hope there will be lots of comments soon

Thanks,

Bianca

Visa process and other preparations for a successful internship

Dear future interns,

As it’s not too long ago that I had to do all the paper stuff for my visa, I think I can give you some advice from my experience.

The visa application
First, make sure that you have a valid passport for your whole internship. I don’t know it exactly, but I think you need that new biometric one, now.

The best and easiest way to apply for the visa is to use the service of the German American Chamber of Commerce California (GACCCA), they can also tell you which passport you need. The AutoCom interns always use the branch in Leipzig. The website is: http://www.j1-visum.de/. If you are not a student anymore I don’t know which visa you need, but I think the GACCCA will help you in this case and tell you what to do. If you subscribe there, you will get all the forms you have to fill out. And they also tell you what else you have to do and give you some tips for the consulate. I think it is no waste of money doing this. Because there were such a lot of things I never thought I need them. And you have a pretty good insurance, which you need for the visa application as well. I think it would be the wrong way to save money at this point, if you really want to get your visa. Because they know how to get it and support you whenever needed. They also make sure that you have all forms which you need for the consulate and also that they are filled out in the right way. So using the Chamber of Commerce is the best thing to do. When I applied for my visa I also had to study for my exams and I was really glad that they have supported me. And if you won’t get your visa you will get the money back, so don’t worry about that.

I don’t know how to do the visa application when you are a resident of another country. But I think there are also Chamber of Commerce in your country which work together with the American (as long as you are European I think it is always the same).

My last advice for the application is that you should start with it as soon as possible so that there is no hurry. And take a book with you when you have to go to the consulate, because it takes about 3 hours there.


What else do you have to do…
Housing
You need to look for a room here in Detroit. There are two possibilities for you:
1. Oakland University (www.oakland.edu): Oakland University offers different
housing options (double room, single room, apartments…) just have a look on the website. It is a bit hard to find, just click on “future students” then “All about OU”, “Campus Housing&Dining” and “Hostel Program”.
2. Look for roommates (www.roommates.com): Make sure that the rooms are furnished.When I looked for roommates the problem was that I didn’t know which area of Motown is good and which not. Especially the way you have to drive to work every morning. So here are some areas which are really good. Rochester (48306), Troy (48085), Auburn Hills (48326), Royal Oak (48067) and I heard about Ferndale and Novi, but I’ve never been there. If you need a good map, visit http://www.mapquest.com/. But please don’t go to Pontiac! I’ve been there to get my social security number, and it didn’t seem to me to be a really safe place.

Car
To look for a car you can visit http://detroit.craigslist.org/car/. Although you will find cars for 500$ or less, if possible bring a little bit more so that you can spend about 1000$. As far as you want to drive your car longer than 3 months. J

Well I think that’s enough for the first time. If you have any questions or comments don’t hesitate to write a comment or contact us (Xu Lei lxu@usautocom.com or Bianca Bischoff bbischoff@usautocom.com).

Regards,

Bianca

March 17, St. Patrick's Day

Last Friday on the 17th of march 2006 the Irish people had their huge celebrating day. It was St. Patrick's Day. I went to a bar with some of my friends just to see how it is celebrated, because we don't have that in Germany (or maybe in Berlin) but I have never seen that. It was great. Nearly everybody was wearing a green shirt, hat, pants or something else. And they offered green beer in the bars. So if you are in the US during that event you don't have to miss that. It's really fun. And if you have the possibility go to a city like New York, they have a big parade on that day, then go there. For example in Chicago they color their river in green (as you can see on the picture).

Have fun watching that celebration!

Bianca

Hi autocom-blog readers,

another german intern is going to support the AutoCom team.

So far you only read about female german students working for autocom, am I the first male student?
Anyway I´m really excited to get to know the AutoCom team!!!

I'm 26 years old and live in Bocholt, which is about 70km away from Cologne. I did my last class exercises last monday and have no other university tests to take - lucky me!

Now I´m truly looking forward to travel to Detroit in order to start my internship. After my time with autocom I will start my diploma thesis to finish my studies successfully.
My preparations are running and I´m learning much about the U.S immigration system at the moment. Sometimes it is a little bit complicated to get all the papers and forms together. It’s quite a challenge for a European since we are used to travel without passport in Europe. But my internship is also about experiencing a new country and it’s culture, thus it’s thrilling to cope with these issues.

Fortunately the AutoCom team supports me outstandingly. Especially Bianca shows a lot of nerves to navigate me through all the barriers. Thus I’m sure, there will be no problem which we cannot solve - USA: I’m coming!

So far I´ve learned much about vacationing in the U.S but from May I´ll get in contact with the „real american way of life“. Should I be scared :-)?????

The time with AutoCom will be a great and valuable time. I am very looking forward to learn so many things and cannot wait to finally start my internship!

Sixty-one days left, sixty, fifty-nine...

by, Markus

My first days in Detroit

Hi!

Nearly two weeks ago I arrived in Detroit. It's amazing how fast time goes by.
So I just want to tell you some of my experiences I had during my first days.

First there was buying a car and get my social security number. Ilka was driving me to all that offices. Thanks a lot for doing that, it was really kind of you! My car is nice and drives well, and I hope it will do so for the next six months.



What else did I do? I went shopping (it's great), were going out with friends and I went to a park at the lake. Although it was really freezing it was amazing (as you can see on the picture). I hope it will get warmer soon, so that it is more comfortable to do something outside.

So far I think it will be a great time here.

Bianca