Grenoblog no.1! (http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/blogs/entry/special/grenoblog-no-1.html)
2 October 2012, 8:36 pm
I am now four days into my 10 week stint in Grenoble, France and already it feels as though I've been here for considerably longer! I am working for Entre-Prises Climbing Walls France and have had a great first few days getting to know the team and learning a bit more about the company. Anyone who has an interest in indoor climbing will be aware that Entre-Prises is a leading manufacturer of climbing walls and holds - if you head down to your local climbing centre you can be sure of finding at least one hold or maybe even a wall that Entre-Prises can take credit for. When I was younger I was supported by EP-UK and received holds for my home wall in the garage, and Entre-Prises has always been an organisation that I respect and know a fair bit about.
I arrived in Grenoble on Saturday evening after a pleasant journey with no hiccups and was filled with a mix of excitement and a bit of anxiety as to what was awaiting me. One of my colocataires (housemates) Fabrice (a French tutor)came to meet me at the station with his girlfriend and took me to my new home. It was strange being thrown in at the deep end and having to speak solely in French, but after the short car journey (stopping for pizza on the way!) I was starting to feel more at ease. We arrived at the house and it was even nicer than I had imagined, and we settled down to eat our pizza before heading off to watch a film at the cinema.
The next day was a Sunday so there wasn't much to do other than try and get my bearings and of course pay a visit to the local wall! I didn't climb as I felt tired from the day before and wanted to be reasonably fresh for work. I also figured out where I would be meeting my lift the next day, just 15 minutes down the road. In the evening I met my other housemate Yoann, who I sort-of knew beforehand as he is a member of the French speed climbing team! We had been to a few of the same competitions but had never spoken in person before, and it was quite by chance that I managed to find a room in his house. It was great to be able to talk to a climber in French and get some more practice before starting work...
(http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/images/img_0285.jpg)
I got up earlier than necessary as is compulsory when one starts something new or has a big day ahead of them! I walked to the rendez-vous point and met Fred a few minutes later. Luckily we recognised each other from Facebook photos (and also I doubt there would be many people waiting to be picked up from this particular point - I did get some funny looks from people in cars!) It took us half an hour or so to arrive in St Vincent de Mercuze and unfortunately the cloudy weather prevented me from seeing the mountainous Massifs which were all around us. After a good chat about climbing, Scotland, Grenoble and all things Entre-Prises we arrived at the offices. I was welcomed by a donkey and a pony which were outside in the yard!
(http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/images/img_0286.jpg) (http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/images/img_0287.jpg)
Friendly donkey...shy donkey...I think I scared it! :(
It was amazing being at the centre of one of the most influential climbing companies in the world. I walked through the door (which had a hold as a handle) and was given a brief tour of the premises by Fred. There was the workshop complete with a small training board and lots of boxes of holds (although the holds are no longer produced in France) and lots and lots of climbing posters and paraphernalia decorating the walls and desks. The staff members in the small team of 12 people were all really friendly, and I still have to meet one or two! I was immediately offered a cup of tea and was being told all about the company and its history. I sat in the office with two other Natalie B's - that's right, I'm the third Natalie B to arrive at the EP-France offices! I was given nicknames such as "Natalie la jeune", "Natalie sans 'h'", "Natalie la grimpeuse" et "Natalie la troisième" in order to distinguish me from the other NB's! I was starting to feel very at home and was gaining confidence with each word spoken.
It took a while to get my office set up and my computer accounts ready, but I was too busy being distracted by the collection of random objects around me. I had my own hold on my desk (from the Club 3 set, by the way!), as everyone in the office does. I decided to use it as a pen holder or Stoats bar holder! I also had a pop-up model of a climbing wall on my desk and my own box of green tea (how did they know I love green tea? :P) Eventually I started working on translating the Sales Texts for the database of holds ready to be put into the next brochure. This involved translation from French-English and vice-versa and also some text production in both French and English. I am fortunate in that I happen to know a lot of the EP holds very well, but I was also able to make good use of the latest brochure and the EP website to help me in writing the descriptions. I had worked fairly efficiently and managed to finish the French-English translation by lunchtime. I got to know the rest of the team a bit better as a group of us sat around the table eating lunch and I was offered apples, yoghurts and all sorts of edible things as I had only eaten a small pasta dish that I had bought in the UK - the shops weren't open on Sunday I wasn't able to do any shopping! :P I wasn't bothered but it showed me how friendly and welcoming everyone was. After lunch it was back to work, and my climbing hold vocabulary was expanding already, as was my knowledge of the entire EP range! With over 100 holds/sets to work my way through I was kept busy for the rest of the day, feeling quite tired by the end of my shift through so much concentrated effort in two languages! I already had offers to go climbing on rock and indoors and I felt very warmly welcomed into the team. I got a lift home from Léo this time at about 6:30pm and once again it was good to be able to get to know a different team member and talk about climbing and non-work related topics. After a brief visit to the supermarket (I now have a quilt and more importantly - FOOD!) I went back to the house and chatted with Yoann and Fabrice for a while before heading to bed. All in all a great first day in the office!
(http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/images/img_0291.jpg)
Casual climbing stuff on my desk...as you do!(http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/images/img_0296.jpg)
Stoats Hold-er!
Today was a slightly shorter day and a beautiful one at that. The views this morning were spectacular as we passed through the Chartreuse and the Belledonne Massifs. I had met Fred once again at the crossroads (in the little Entre-Prises van!) and settled into my desk upon arrival. I found out that I now have my own company email address (not giving it to any of you as I know you will spam me! ;)) and my own phone. After a mini panic due to the Excel file having been saved in a weird location (we had problems with my account the day before and things were a bit mixed up) and me thinking I had lost all of yesterday's work, luckily everything was safe and tucked away in a different folder and I continued my work on the database. Fred and Leo went off to climb in the afternoon and I stayed and worked until 4:30pm after having a picnic in the sun with Meta, Jean-Charles and Christophe (on a really cool table with Entre-Prises carved into it!). I got a lift home from Francois and decided to check out the local wall properly and go bouldering. After making what could possibly be the worst omelette in the world - Robbie would be very disappointed, for he is the King of Omelettes! - I headed off to Espace Vertical 2. 20 seconds or so later I was there, and luckily for me now that I am in the Entre-Prises team I get free entry to the wall, as EP are associated with the centre and all staff are entitled to free entry. I found this out yesterday and am very grateful for the fact that working for a company I really admire also helps me to continue training whilst I'm abroad. The bouldering wall was better than I thought it would be and I enjoyed moving on the wall after not having climbed for over a week (quelle catastrophe!) Tired and now with less skin on my hands, I made the awfully long journey of 100m or so back to the house and chatted to Fabrice for a bit. It's good to have so many different people of different ages, occupations and nationalities to practice speaking with. I now have omelette-envy after Yoann made himself a much better one than I created/destroyed earlier, and am looking forward to my 3rd day at work tomorrow, a meet-up with Alice later in the week (fellow Edinburgh University student on year abroad) and a climbing session on rock at some point over the weekend with Meta and maybe some others from Team-EP.
(http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/images/img_0293.jpg)
L'Equipe EP-France: Florelle, François, Fred, ?(not met yet! :P), Jean-Charles, Meta, Nathalie B (1), Mickaël, Nathalie B (2), Yves, Claude and Léo! (and Christophe who is missing...)
It is amazing how quickly you can adapt to new surroundings if you are somewhere with friendly people who share a common interest. Maybe it's because I'm used to going abroad a lot and constantly meeting new people through climbing, but I also know that I'm very lucky to have been able to come here in the first place. As I was told before I left for Grenoble, I certainly have "landed on my feet" after all the changes and confusion that occurred when my initial placement fell through! J'ai de la chance…à plus!
You can't get rid of the guy below...he even speaks French?! :P
(http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/images/img_0297.jpg)
Source: Blogs from Natalie Berry (http://www.robbiephillips.co.uk/blogs/natalie-s/blogger/listings/nat.html)