Internship in France by Bethany Silvestri
I remember a friend once telling me about her internship abroad and how thrilled she sounded just recounting the memories and I remember saying goodbye to another friend as she left for Scotland to study for a year. They both said, "Going abroad will change your life." How could I ever deny myself the opportunity to encounter a life changing experience that will enhance my education and future experiences? Really unsure if it was possible for me to complete my internship abroad, I told my boss that I would be leaving for the summer to go to France, whatever the expense, even my job. With much help from staff members of UAH, the perfect opportunity presented itself. I would be going to France to work for a French company for the month of July. The voices of my friends resonated in my mind and I wondered "is this really going to change my life?"
From the moment I arrived I was impressed but felt a little out of place. It would take a very long first day before I adjusted more comfortably. The day after arrival, I started work at G.I.E Livre Diffusion in Paris. It is a large book distribution warehouse that sells to local clients, such as retail bookstores. The company is located in three different regions in France: one in Paris (where I worked), one closer to the south of France, and another in the West. Clients call or fax their orders that are computed into a system by an upper-level team. The orders are sent via computer into the warehouse and separated into a category according to size and urgency. When I first began working for G.I.E., the company was strictly a warehouse where employees prepared the commands to be shipped or picked up by the clients. Two weeks later, the company decided to open its doors to the customers. This gives them the opportunity to find the books they are looking for and browse for any other interesting books. The warehouse needed some changes to accommodate the new system of serving the clients. Katie Dill, another UAH FLIT/French major, and I were taken to another book distributor to see how they configured their warehouse. The G.I.E would definitely need work to make the transition from just a warehouse to a warehouse- bookstore. That would turn into a project for the interns.
Our duties varied by the week. The first day was a simple introduction to acquaint us with the company, the people and the departments. The second day is when work really began. We started by learning how to prepare commands and get them set up for packaging. That is also the one day we worked on the chain. The chain is when several identical orders are prepared by a few people and sent along on the chain. For the next two weeks, we prepared various orders: large, small, urgent, etc., by using a variety of methods and working with several different people. We also learned how to stock incoming orders and validate the new inventory in the computer system. For the last two weeks of the internship Katie and I were introduced to the task of arranging the warehouse shelves to be more presentable for the clients. We got some ideas about presentation from the other book distribution warehouse that we visited at the end of our second week. The task was time consuming, but the aisles did start looking more appealing. By the end of the internship we had arranged a significant portion of the warehouse. For several days during the last portion of the internship, we also learned how to enter fax orders into the computer. That was probably the most challenging of all of the different departments, but also where I liked working the most. Entering the new orders into the computer involved seeing a lot of different and new French words. Also, because of the importance of the accuracy of entering the commands, the task involved a great deal of communication and question asking. Working with the computer made the biggest difference in improving my French skills. When we worked on the computers, we were also sometimes expected to assist clients in finding their orders in the warehouse after the doors opened to the clientele, making it a challenge for us to explain the functions of the warehouse and answer questions in French.
My observations from working in a French company is that there are many similarities in the way that people work together and a few differences about work in general. I have worked for several years now, and have always found that teamwork can make a company successful. Without it, a company can fail completely. In the United States, I have worked in grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, and daycares, and teamwork made a big difference in the work environment of each of those places. At G.I.E. Livre Diffusion of Paris, France, the same principle applies. There had to be teamwork at all times, especially when more than one person was preparing the same order. Being a foreign intern, I had many questions, and every person in the company was helpful and friendly when I needed assistance. For differences, the employees enjoyed their leisure time but they would not bring that mentality into the workplace. In general, everyone worked hard and efficiently. At G.I.E., the mentality is work.
In general, the experience abroad was absolutely amazing. I think back to my friends going abroad and telling me it is life changing. In the first two weeks, I would have said that statement was barely true. By the end of the internship, I said and say now, it is true. I not only got to work in a French company, I got to live in Paris, France, experience however briefly the Parisian life, meet many interesting people, and spend time with my French relatives I hardly knew. I am more confident in using French and look forward to seeing how the improvement will affect my classroom experience. I learned a lot about people and enjoyed learning about culture, the similarities and differences. I know the cultural and language barriers are thin and in time can be completely eradicated. One day I hope to return to France to visit or work.