I have a new job. And, the best commute. Four days a week I take the ferry across the Rhein…a total of 9 minutes. There is no road rage or traffic jams, no deer or moose jumping out on the road, no snowstorms or freezing rain to worry about, and no parking fees or packed C-trains to negotiate. All there is are freighters slowly moving along, the peaceful sounds of water sloshing, coolish river breezes messing my hair and the gentle bumping of the ferry slipping in and out of the dock. Quite relaxing.
This entire region is populated by tourists from May until October, and luckily for me, almost all of them speak English, at least as a second language. So, because of that, and my event management experience, I landed a pretty great hotel job. I’m excited. And, surprised.
The hotel lays right on the Rhein, with four floors of beautiful river views out front and rolling weinbergs out the back. Large groups of Americans, Japanese and Belgiums regularly visit, keeping the place hopping. It is quite fun for me to greet fellow North Americans in English, an English which they right away recognize as very familiar. ‘Hey, you sound like an English person!’, and I respond with, ‘Ya, I sound like a Canadian!’ Canada has such a lovely reputation around the world, especially in Europe, and that makes these interactions so much fun.
The challenge, for me, will be to get used to switching back and forth, quickly and professionally, between English and German, in a way which doesn’t make me sound like I have a brain injury.
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