My December was filled with anticipation and, towards the end, somewhat loaded with relief. I was coming to terms with the end of my third semester and its requirements. On top of that I was stressing to make the last points on my to-do list in Paris. One of these has become the most memorable of my life so far. A friend of mine from Berlin told me to seek out this French guy called J and hit the catacombs with him.
Looking at the what the Google search showed on the catacombs I became somewhat amazed and thrilled. The exams had just finished the day before I met up with J and went into the catacombs. To top it off I was going out of Paris the following morning at 9am with the train towards Denmark. We met up in the south of Paris just next to one of the metro stops. It was a cold and snowy night, but since we where going underground I was not too concerned about the snow. We had a short chat and started walking until we came to a bench, some five minutes away from the metro. Our entrance to the catacombs was right next to the bench in the form of a manhole cover. J pulled out a crowbar and flipped open the manhole. I knew from him that it was some twenty-odd meters deep, but my fear of heights kept me from looking down with my flashlight. So off I went down the ladder into the dark abyss of the manhole. It was completely dark at the bottom and I was happy I brought my flashlight and that J had offered me a headlight for further illumination. It was rather temperate compared to what I had expected and especially in comparison with the snowy surface we left behind us. What I experienced hereafter was almost 8 kilometers of walking, crawling, worming and wriggling myself forward. We met many people who spent their Friday night walking around in the depths of the catacombs. We came across some of the six million people buried down there. We met people who looked like they had been trapped for days. We met photographers in the progress of setting up a shoot. We walked through an old air-cover bunker from the second world war. We saw a room where the floor had been flooded and the mud used to decorate the walls with faces and much more. We came out somewhere in the south of Paris and resembling someone that had been buried only to rise again. I came home in the morning covered in mud, dirt and probably even bone-dust. This trip left a great impression and a longing for more.
Less then twenty-four-hours later I was back in Denmark enjoying the commotion around the table as my family is about to enjoy their dinner. As tradition proscribes, the initial days demanded a lot of family reunions, eating and seasonal festivities. In the intermediate time I was lucky enough for a freelance job to land in my inbox. The job finished just short of New Years and once again I was caught up in happy reunions and festivities. Happy times for me and for all of you I hope…!
My last and final semester is about to commence and this time I am not required to attend any lectures or exams. I am about to commence my thesis and, like many students with their thesis coming up, I’m anxious and scared about the outcome. To add to the distress I am required to complete an internship or acquire a job position in this period as well. So I currently find much of my time spend on job hunting and reading articles for my thesis. I have had some success with the standard way of contacting companies and people based on ads. The most successful way so far, however, is the concept of Charlie Hoehn. His idea is to seek out companies you would love to work for and do it for free, but as a remote job. This way you can do what you want and be where you want.
If you have the time and will you should try it out, even if you already have a job or are studying. There is no bigger pat on the back or praise you can give yourself then a job offer, even if it is for free. You can always say no, but what if your dream company suddenly offers you your dream job, task or position? So far I have not accepted any of the offers I got through this approach, but they have given me much confidence. I have found some very good offers and have not accepted them on the pure reason that something better might be around the corner.
Other new changes has been a change in my wardrobe. I am now coming to closure with my term as a full-time student and switching to a full-time businessman. To say it short – ”I suited up”.
I hope you have had a great start to the new year and have many experiences from your last year to remember.
Christian Petersen – “New Year, Ends And Beginnings”
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My December was filled with anticipation and, towards the end, somewhat loaded with relief. I was coming to terms with the end of my third semester and its requirements. On top of that I was stressing to make the last points on my to-do list in Paris. One of these has become the most memorable of my life so far. A friend of mine from Berlin told me to seek out this French guy called J and hit the catacombs with him.
Looking at the what the Google search showed on the catacombs I became somewhat amazed and thrilled. The exams had just finished the day before I met up with J and went into the catacombs. To top it off I was going out of Paris the following morning at 9am with the train towards Denmark. We met up in the south of Paris just next to one of the metro stops. It was a cold and snowy night, but since we where going underground I was not too concerned about the snow. We had a short chat and started walking until we came to a bench, some five minutes away from the metro. Our entrance to the catacombs was right next to the bench in the form of a manhole cover. J pulled out a crowbar and flipped open the manhole. I knew from him that it was some twenty-odd meters deep, but my fear of heights kept me from looking down with my flashlight. So off I went down the ladder into the dark abyss of the manhole. It was completely dark at the bottom and I was happy I brought my flashlight and that J had offered me a headlight for further illumination. It was rather temperate compared to what I had expected and especially in comparison with the snowy surface we left behind us. What I experienced hereafter was almost 8 kilometers of walking, crawling, worming and wriggling myself forward. We met many people who spent their Friday night walking around in the depths of the catacombs. We came across some of the six million people buried down there. We met people who looked like they had been trapped for days. We met photographers in the progress of setting up a shoot. We walked through an old air-cover bunker from the second world war. We saw a room where the floor had been flooded and the mud used to decorate the walls with faces and much more. We came out somewhere in the south of Paris and resembling someone that had been buried only to rise again. I came home in the morning covered in mud, dirt and probably even bone-dust. This trip left a great impression and a longing for more.
Less then twenty-four-hours later I was back in Denmark enjoying the commotion around the table as my family is about to enjoy their dinner. As tradition proscribes, the initial days demanded a lot of family reunions, eating and seasonal festivities. In the intermediate time I was lucky enough for a freelance job to land in my inbox. The job finished just short of New Years and once again I was caught up in happy reunions and festivities. Happy times for me and for all of you I hope…!
My last and final semester is about to commence and this time I am not required to attend any lectures or exams. I am about to commence my thesis and, like many students with their thesis coming up, I’m anxious and scared about the outcome. To add to the distress I am required to complete an internship or acquire a job position in this period as well. So I currently find much of my time spend on job hunting and reading articles for my thesis. I have had some success with the standard way of contacting companies and people based on ads. The most successful way so far, however, is the concept of Charlie Hoehn. His idea is to seek out companies you would love to work for and do it for free, but as a remote job. This way you can do what you want and be where you want.
If you have the time and will you should try it out, even if you already have a job or are studying. There is no bigger pat on the back or praise you can give yourself then a job offer, even if it is for free. You can always say no, but what if your dream company suddenly offers you your dream job, task or position? So far I have not accepted any of the offers I got through this approach, but they have given me much confidence. I have found some very good offers and have not accepted them on the pure reason that something better might be around the corner.
Other new changes has been a change in my wardrobe. I am now coming to closure with my term as a full-time student and switching to a full-time businessman. To say it short – ”I suited up”.
I hope you have had a great start to the new year and have many experiences from your last year to remember.