Chapter 24: ‘Auf Wiedersehen’

‘Hate’ is a strong word and I do not use it very often. Regardless of my stance, I have to make use of it now, for I hate saying ‘Good bye!’

Melodramatic

As a matter of fact, I try to avoid saying it to people I like a lot, since I am convinced that you see each other at least twice in life if you sense a special bond. Without wanting to sound too corny or melodramatic, I may convey the fact that such a bond exists between some of the people I met in the last six months during my internship. And although it is a silly and almost pathetic thing to admit, but I am certain that I will miss each and every one of them!

The funny thing is; this missing will not only be about the people I work closely together with like Simon, Jeff, Bernadette, Sally, Ellen, Lina, Ami, Joost, Alex, Foxy, Robin, Laura, Mia and Preston. No, it will be also about the ones I only see occasionally like big boss Rick, Tim, Rick G., Marion, Jonathan, Michael, Antoinette and many more and especially the ones that others may not even take into account. What do I mean with that?

Ciabatta: THE German breakfast!

Well, I am talking about the thoughtful red-maned security lady and her older colleague, the security (gentle)man, who both know our group so well, that they always open the electronic glass door for us, so we do not have to fiddle with our security batches. I am talking about the wonderfully considerate cafeteria lady, that knows that I, as a German, eat normal (= hard) bread for breakfast and therefore makes sure that the ‘Ciabattas’ are in the bread box by 8:40. I am talking about the caring cleaning lady that always shows interest and wants to know why I am still in the office ‘so late’ when I (rare) occasionally stay a bit longer.

I will be back. I have a meeting with Truus.

The missing will not only be about my nice office 2.04 with the big windows, the two computer stations and the white ‘board of quotes’. No, it will also be the fact that our toilettes have names (Truus and Guus), the delicious free coffee and the “Birthday-cake-at-ten”.

Looking back I must say that these six months were the most rewarding six months I can remember. Not only did I learn so incredibly much about business in general, procurement in particular and working in a big international company. No, I learned much more about myself (my strengths and more important my ‘room for improvement’ areas) and with all this ‘learning’ I simply can not believe how much fun we all had.

Fishy, fishy, fishy!

Oh yes, and fun we certainly had, especially us interns. Most of the stories are known. But there are so many more: For example, I am thinking about the story where we first played squash/tennis all together, went out to dinner after that and due to a ‘train storing’ (where Alex and I had to travel with Lina all the way to N. in order to get to T.) had to take a detour of three hours to go home! I remember the awesome time when we all went bowling, then dinner, then a nice drink(sss) and stayed at Ellen’s place in U. so we would be on time in the office the next morning (We still managed to be late). I will keep on swarming about the dinners with colleagues from my department but also from the other ones. I certainly will remember the Intern United’ ‘borrels’ and board meetings, when we organized trips and fun activities. I will never forget the time when Foxy and I organized a ‘Sallyklaas’ (something like Sinterklaas, just that the poems where all about Sally with hints about her gift) as her Good-bye activity, which resulted in us being stranded in DB at 2 o’clock in the morning and taking a cab to T.. Nor will I forget the time when we organized an aquarium with two little fish for Mr. Simon’s Visser’s Birthday surprise! That was quite a train travel! My arms still hurt!

Jeff, you rock!!

But also my senior colleagues where a lot of fun. Bernadette’s heart-melting laugh will be hard to forget and the many awesome conversations with Jeff about the good old days when he was playing in 5 different rock bands will be unforgettable (can you imagine that one of his base players played with deep purple?!?! Wooow). The time when Rick G. and I found a cell phone and investigated so long till we found the owner (we called the last number in the memory, which was a British one and asked around till we had our answer) will be something to remember. The same goes for the many meeting with Preston, who always remained patient and sooo friendly, giving comprehensible feedback and great advice. Haha, or the short time when Marion was my room mate and it felt more like laughing with and talking to a friend than a colleague. And of course all the goofing around with Simon (One of the funniest bets involved a grape, a spoon, a restaurant and 5 bags of drops, hihihi!!) will be something difficult to forget!

I remember all big ‘outjes’ (Golf, Amsterdam trend tour, Tea factory tour, Horecava 2010, the Procurement Meeting in a five star hotel, Sinterklaas and New Years Drinks) and little borrels like they happened only yesterday.

The story of my nightmares...

I remember how surprised and amazed I constantly was when I found out new things about computer programs, e-sourcing systems and cultural diversity. I look back to the time when Outlook and Excel where just the names of fancy programs, so no necessity, and shake my head with slight embarrassment (And again, there is still a lot of room for improvement but now at least I am consciously aware of that!).  I remember a time when regular phone calls to Spain or other European countries with clients or great colleagues (right, Elonora?!) were not as common. The times when the mere presence of numbers made me panic are history and so is my discontent of calling a supervisor by his first name. All these little things add up to the great and amazing experience this internship has been for me.

Therefore, taking it all into account I think I can formulate my last rule in regard of an internship and the life around it.

Rule 24: It’s the little things that matter and make the big things so much more worthwhile!

Thank you all so much!!

In conclusion, I want to thank absolutely everybody who made my life so radiant in the last six months. This goes for this great company with all employees, my team, my colleagues, my travel buddies, my friends, my family and especially my charming chap, who never got tired of all these stories!

I want to thank you, dear reader, for checking in on me every once in a while and share your thoughts, likes and dislikes.

I will miss you all, but won’t say ‘Good-Bye’! Instead, allow me to say ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ (= till we see each other again), because I am sure that we certainly will! Sooner as you might like, ehe, ehe (hint, hint)… .

Till then, I wish you all a great day!

Sincerely yours,

San