Maybe someday I too can be a Eurocrat!

Well, it's been three days, so I figure I can dish a little bit about the new job! First things first ...

Here's my lovely office ... or should I say cubicle? Really, it is just a desk. You can't see it from this picture, but I can see the European Parliament building from my window ... dorky but very cool!

Very few folks in the Brussels office have their own office, and I'm definitely not one of them! I don't mind at all though cause I sit in a section with three other women, all of whom are lovely, funny and have been extremely welcoming to me. Next to me sits Rebecca, who is British (grew up in Hong Kong), and reminds me of Genevieve (if any of you remember her); across from me is Catherine, who is British and is 7 and half months pregnant with her third child; and next to Catherine is Sheila, who is Danish, speaks every language imaginable as far as I can tell, and used to work in our London office before moving to Brussels. All of them make me laugh and it is fun to be able to chit chat with your colleagues while you're getting your work done, especially when you are doing research and writing memos ... which is pretty much all I've done this week. Looking forward to getting into some deeper client work.

Let's see ... what are the biggest differences and similarities in the D.C. and Brussels office?

1. I can wear jeans every day if I like, as long as I don't have client meetings. This of course means I will be spending most of my time in jeans as I believe all of my clients are based in other locations. Yes ... Norway and Russia for right now. Ooh, ooh ... I get to go to Oslo for a client conference in August! Yay ... sure beats Indianapolis!

2. Much of the work in Brussels is straight lobbying work ... meaning people have their issue specialities and spend their time researching, writing about and learning everything possible about how the EU regulatory process impacts this issue. So I'm going to be spending most of my time working with Sheila and Rebecca on broader advocacy campaigns rather than the traditional work done out of Brussels. They are going to try to get me some work on one of the more traditional accounts, but we'll see ...

3. People here actually take lunch breaks.

4. Of course, this means that everyone comes in at about 9:30 and usually stays until 7:30 or 8:00. Don't think they don't work as hard cause it's Europe. It just seems that they don't work at the same frentic pace we tend to in the U.S. It's nice.

So what else? I joined a gym today, which I am very excited about. It is right across the street from the office and there are loads of international people there. I've spent the past two mornings at the city of Brussels' administrative offices trying to register ... something I have to do so I can live here. Next step ... the police will come visit me at my house to ensure I actually live where I told them I do. Whatever Brussels police department. Oh, and my colleague John who works part time in London and part time in Brussels lives in the apartment below me. Hooray ... he's American but has been living in Europe for years so he's a native. Just nice to have someone I know so close. He's cool and has a great big personality, which of course, I love. I'm looking forward to getting to know him.

Biggest lesson learned to date = high heels and cobblestone streets do not mix! My mom knows this after listening to me complain while I hobbled around the city center while I was on the phone with her yesterday. My mission for this weekend ... shop for cute but sensible flats and a classic trench. We've had a nice reprieve from the rain but I know it's just a matter of time before it returns.