Working In EUROPE

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by Shay Gilmore

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Cheryl Matherly is the assistant director of the Career Services center at the Rice Memorial Center. She has been responsible for getting many Rice students involved in the work abroad program in the past.

Matherly points out that recent research has shown that employers today are increasingly looking for students with some kind of international background or experience. "Other than language skills and things of that sort, businesses today want to see that prospective employees have been able to develop and assert their independence and that they possess keen decision-making skills. This is precisely what the work abroad program is designed to promote."

Each year, Career Services helps Rice students find jobs in the country where they would like to live and work. "What we're seeing is that more companies are getting interested in hiring students at the Rice level ... these kinds of positions come with some great benefits," Matherly said.

According to Matherly, the latest statistics have shown that Rice students had an easier time finding jobs and higher salaries on average than students from other universities.

"We at the Career Services center focus a lot of attention on pre-departure prep. ... Most of the feedback that I've gotten from the various organizations and businesses abroad has been that the Rice students tend to be some of the best-prepared participants around," Matherly said.

Mentioned recently in the New York Times , the Rice Work Abroad program is being highlighted nationally as a model program for other universities to follow.

Matherly said, "What we've been able to do in our partnerships abroad, especially in Paris and Berlin, is to create a solid system of partnerships that other American institutions are now recognizing as a pretty darn good way of going about things."

Matherly adds that the most important thing is that people understand how to adapt to new challenges and expectations.

"The work abroad program helps to provide this and a whole lot more," Matherly said.

_B rown College senior Quenton Nixon traveled to Berlin this past summer to participate in the Council on International Educational Exchange's work abroad program. He worked as a translator and computational assistant.

"I worked for a power plant-building company, and they really needed someone with good English skills to translate a lot of documents with some pretty heavy scientific jargon. I also did some thermodynamic calculations for them," he said.

"Basically, I really improved my German while in Berlin," Nixon said. "When I wanted to eat, I found that practicing my language skills was a huge priority."

Living in the heart of the city, Nixon had to adjust to some German idiosyncrasies.

"I lived in a real touristy area near the Zoologischergarten , so I was constantly surrounded by reminders of where I'm from. Also, the house where I lived didn't have hot water, just heaters to heat up my bath and such. However, I wouldn't say that these conditions detracted from my work abroad experience. If anything, they probably just gave me a little more perspective about the whole thing," he said.

Nixon also found other, more unsettling surprises lurking in Berlin. "They're still finding undet-onated bombs left over from World War II. While I was there, they found three in some children's playgrounds. It is a rare occurrence, but still a little disconcerting."

Nixon was chosen to appear as a featured participant in the CIEE's yearly brochure. "The CIEE was revising their Germany brochure as their offices were moving, and they just asked me if I was interested in appearing in the new publication," Nixon said.

"It was definitely [a] fantastic summer for me; I would recommend this program to anyone."

_I t had been my dream to go to Paris since I began to study French in sixth grade. Thinking of Paris brought images of baguettes, Camembert cheese and Mediterranean men to mind. As a French major, I thought it was about time to get myself to the city that I had fantasized about for so long.

So last fall when I heard about the Student Work Abroad Program, I was one of the first to sign my name on the participant list. I thought that it was the best opportunity for me to go to Paris since I wasn't sure if I would be able to afford a semester abroad.

After finals, I couldn't believe that I was a week away from my dream city. I kept telling myself that I should keep my expectations low since the Paris of my fantasies was undoubtedly better than the real thing. I was also a bit worried that I hadn't gotten a job yet. The other six people in the Paris program also hadn't found jobs before leaving, though, so I felt a little better.

I arrived in Paris without luggage (thanks, Continental Airlines) and without an inkling of how to get to my prearranged accomodations. About one hour later, after much stress (and some harassment from a drunk in the Metro, the Parisian subway system) I made it to my hotel. My room was a closet by American standards, but quite normal by European standards.

My first goal for the afternoon was to get a baguette, that long, crusty, delicious loaf of French bread. I purchased my first baguette with that colorful money that could have been Monopoly money for all I knew. That was my meal for the afternoon, and it was the best baguette I had ever tasted.

My goals for the next two weeks were to find housing and a job. I found housing listings at the American Church and visited a couple of truly decrepit places in the lively, chic parts of Paris, and a couple of nice places that were completely out of my price range.

I then found this apartment in an area that is more residential than "Parisian." I was willing to forego the "Parisian" atmosphere for an affordable apartment with furniture, my own bedroom, a washing machine and a view of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacred Heart Basilica from the kitchen window.

To find a job I looked through the listings at the CIEE office in Paris. I found a listing for an English teacher in a business language school, which I accepted. It was challenging work, but I learned much about teaching (I have a new respect for teachers), and I met many interesting people from many different fields. I taught them English skills in the working world, and they told me about the Hermes sales going on and the best ice cream store in Paris.

My biggest fear was that Parisians would be terribly rude to me since I had heard that Parisians were infamous for that. Let me dispel that myth right now. Not one single Parisian was rude to me. If you attempt to speak French, they give you heaps of respect. Paris is a large city where everyone does not feel obligated to smile at you when they make eye contact and they have a different definition of customer service there. So if the man across from me in the Metro didn't smile at me, or the cashier at the grocery store didn't chirp, "Thank you. Have a nice day. Please come again," I didn't automatically assume they were being rude.

Paris is also the world's fashion capital. I had to apply makeup and wear heels every day to work in order to be more professional. I found myself getting dressed up to go to the store on the weekend. In a city with that many people walking around, people are inevitably looking around at others. The Parisians love to sit in cafes and people-watch.

I stayed in Paris for two and a half months. Like the other Parisians, I took the extremely crowded Metro to work during the rush hour, worked, came home and watched the news. I made some Parisian friends, went to dinner parties and drank coffee, as if I were one of them. I greatly improved my French.

Going out in Paris is unlike anything in Houston. People don't emerge to go out until midnight, and they stay out until dawn, or more precisely until the first Metro of the morning begins running. Of course there are many bars and cafes where people sit and talk with their friends. There is something going on every night of the week, and the Parisians love to party heartily, especially at festivals which feature music and dancing all over the streets until the early hours of the morning and free concerts to enjoy all over the city.

The SWAP program allowed me to have the best experience of my life. I was able to discover so much, not only in Paris, but in myself. I had survived in a country where I had never been, in a city that surpassed even my best expectations.

-- Aleksandra Pimenides, Jones '98

This item appeared in the Features section of the September 20, 1996 issue.

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