Blog: Hello California!

California, United States. This will be my new home for the next four months.

Recently, I’ve been faced with a lot of “firsts”. First time at university. First time living on residence. First job. First flight alone. First time living in the US. Everything happened in such rapid succession, and it’s all flying by so quickly. I feel uneasy at times, finding it difficult to grasp the entirety of my situation, but at the same time I’m also excited, knowing there’s always something new to explore.

The first few days have been the hardest. It takes a while adjusting to a new lifestyle, a new setting, and a new culture. Having to get everything set up took some time and effort, but now that the preparation is mostly finished, life should return to what it used to be.

Since last Monday, I started the first work term at none other than Yahoo. At first, I was worried and anxious about working at a company. I had thousands of questions on my mind such as

• How will I commute?
• What are my coworkers like?
• What is my manager like?
• How difficult will the work be?
• Will I come to work on time?

But after just a few days, most of my worries were resolved. The work culture is casual and very inviting, with help always around the corner (quite literally, my manager’s desk is across from mine). I felt like I was part of my team, and not some outsider that works on the same project. One of the employees in my team is tasked to provide on-hand advice and instructions (like a mini-manager), and has been extremely helpful for me to understand the existing codebase. The cafeteria on campus is huge and loaded daily with free food for all meals of the day. This makes it extremely convenient to grab a bite while working. All in all, I’m able to focus on my work without having to worry about other concerns.

So here I am. One week has passed since I arrived here. There have been ups and downs, but it’s an exciting adventure that I’m looking forward to. And it’s just the beginning.