So far, things are going really well at work. While I like the flexibility of working from home, I do miss the office environment, so it's nice to get a little taste of that every so often. Not to mention the after-work happy hours, lol! I'm starting to wonder though how my co-workers actually get anything done. I've been back three days now, and I honestly haven't accomplished that much. Which isn't a big deal, because I'm mainly here to put in some face time and "connect" with my co-workers, not to actually accomplish anything major. So far, my basic day has been:
8:00 - arrive, drop off my stuff, stop in by everyone's cubicle to say hello
8:30 - go downstairs to get some coffee. run into random people from other departments and stop to chat
9:00 - call a few of my customers before it's the end of the day in France
10:00 - go on break
11:00 - get a bit of work done
11:30 - go to lunch (they eat early here). end up with a really long lunch break because whenever one person leaves, there's always someone else who's on their way down
1:30 - go back upstairs, chat some more with co-workers
2:00 - get a bit more work done
3:00 - go on break again
4:00 - everyone gets ready to go, spend half an hour chatting again
4:30 - finally able to get some real work done since the office is empty

So on one hand, I think the open-space office is nice because it's so conducive to sharing (which is important in our line of work), but on the other hand, it also means that it's super easy to get distracted. But my co-workers travel just as much as I do, if not more, and work 60hr+ weeks, so they deserve a bit of down time when they are actually in the office.

Either way, I'm really enjoying myself. I mainly hang out with girls in France, and while I love my girls, one of the things my trip to Tunisia made me realize was how much I miss having guy friends. Though I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule, it's not really common to see boy-girl friendships in France - it's like the word "platonic" doesn't exist. So it's kinda nice to be back in that atmosphere again - besides one of my managers and the secretary, all the rest of my co-workers are men, and they're a great bunch. The atmosphere is so relaxed and laid-back, and there are always jokes flying left and right. And I think they like having me around too, it mixes things up a bit in such a testosterone-filled office!

PS. I don't really like to talk about the specifics on my blog, but for those of you who are wondering, I work for an engineering company with clients all over the world. It's a really bizarre and precise science, but they really are on the cutting-edge of technology and it's been exciting to see first-hand some of the new products they are working on.