Dear AutoCom-People!

Christmas is just around the corner so I want to wish you a very merry Xmas through this blog! Many exciting things happened to me since I left AutoCom: I finished college, moved from Hannover to Frankfurt and started a new job.
In November 2006 I began to work as an assistant account executive at Edelman PR in Frankfurt. As you can imagine I was very(!) happy when I got the news that I could become part of the Edelman team. The job is really nice, the team is excellent. In the last couple of weeks I realized how much I learned at AutoCom so I want to thank you for your help and all the support you provided me with during my AutoCom time!

Here in Frankfurt everybody is in a hurry to finish the final cristmas shopping and so the city and the shops are full with people. Those lucky people who are already done with shopping you can find at the christmas market, drinking hot wine. I´love that - standing in the cold, holding a cup of hot wine and just enjoy the German christmas time. However - I wouldn't mind seeing all the christmas decoration in Michigan again. And of course I wouldn't mind meeting all of you again! Hopefully this will happen in 2007.
Until then I wish you wonderful christmas holidays with your families and a happy new year 2007.
All the best from Frankfurt,
Ilka

Hasselhoff on tour

Since Hans Hassel the Hoff was on Tour in the United States he's back in the country his father was responsible for tearing down the wall.

Hey AutoComers, I promised you to write a little post how I'm doing...here we go!!!

After my arrival where my friends organized a little party in a bar which ended in club at 6 am next morning I had to care about my niece.

Since I'm back she thinks I leave again every time I leave the house and I have to explain that I'm back in a couple hours.



In my first week we went to watch a movie, visited a playdome, played a lot games...

What else am I doing?

Right now I'm still searching for a company where I can write my dissertation for and it's not that easy...

When I ain't searching for a company I care about our monsters: Ben, a four months old St. Bernard and German Shepard mix and Tommy a Golden Retriever.




Next Wednesday I will visit the first AutoCom Intern Alumni meeting which is hosted by Linda in Münster. This meeting will include deep discussions about German and American "clubbing":-)
But beyond that we will talk about our memories of a great American time we had in the U.S...

It's time to finish that little report...

I need to go to Mc Donalds and tell them what refills are. Afterwards I'll try to drive my car through our cemetries and will drink alcohol in public:-)

What are you guys doing? What about the AutoCom reconstruction?

Hope to hear from you and wish you all a great x-mas time with great food!!!

Markus

Imaginary packing list

As my farewell is coming closer a lot of you guys keep asking me about my main U.S. -impressions and the differences I’ll be confronted with when I am back in Germany…
Well, in my opinion, though Europeans and Americans are not totally like fire and water they can’t pass off as twins… Therefore, let’s see… How do I have to prepare for my homeward journey to be welcomed back into the fold and the German community?

Insider-rules:

1) Use (also) the person’s last name if you are not close to him/her!
2) Get out of you car! (If you like to draw cash from your account, get food, have to buy medicine etc.)!
3) When you are driving, don’t take it easy anymore: Time is money and you have to pretend to be in a hurry! Accelerate, rail against the traffic and the other drivers, honk your horn!
4) Don’t get a heart attack the first time you see gas prices…!
5) Enjoy drinking alcohol (f. e. Gluehwein on a Christmas market) in the public!
6) Don’t waste your time to look for Christmas decoration on the house walls!
7) Pay cash!
8) Find the (supermarket) caddy by yourself!
9) Don’t ask how somebody is doing you don’t know!
10) Get used to manual driving!
11) Party public till the next morning (not only till 2 a.m.)!
12) Be happy about the variety of healthy and fresh fruit!
13) Don’t complain about the small portion if you are eating out!
14) Pay your drinking water!
15) Don’t expect refills!
16) Be ashamed if you don’t know who Heino is, but don’t ask people about the last Anderson/Kid Rock news!
17) Be a Fan of “the Hoff” and be proud of it!
18) Go to soccer-games not in baseball-stadiums!
19) Finish your (grocery) shopping before 8 p.m. and don’t be surprised if you find yourself standing in front of closed stores on a Sunday!
20) Celebrate Christmas on the 24th!
21) Be content with only 20 TV channels!
22) Wake up with the help of (strong) coffee!
23) Recall the numbers 13-24 if someone asks the time!
24) Use Ä, Ö, and Ü!
25) Be prepared of jokes about G.W. Bush!

Linda

Bianca says hi again

Hi "AutoComers"!

It's me again! :o) I still miss you and wanted to give you a short report about my life back in Germany.

So far everything is alright, I'm really busy with writing my paper and study and work and so on. I'm working now for the Festo AG & Co. KG (www.festo.com if you are interested). I assist my boss working on an international website relaunch, which is pretty interesting and I can learn a lot from him. The salary is also not too bad to be honest! :o)

Although the weather is far too warm in Germany all the Christmasmarkets started. So I already had some "Glühwein" :o). Too bad you don't have that, it's my favorite drink in winter. It is hot wine with some spices and fruits in it. Here you can see a picture of the Stuttgart one.

I hope you're all having a good time without me and will have a nice Christmas day.

Bianca