222/366 | Fitting In

So, I have been in this new team for a few months now. The team belongs to the finance department of the company. My previous team was in the Development organization of the company, filled with software developers, project managers, testers, and documentation writers.

And I have not felt too comfortable. There are two observations I’ve made so far about my own discomfort.

One. I am no longer with the creators. And I really like being part of the creating force.

The people here, on the other hand, are given the things to process and analyze. And they make reports. Sure they are not creating. They are just generating. And it’s about something other people created. When they celebrate great earnings for the quarter, it’s the developers, the marketers, and the sales people’s achievements. Not theirs.

Two. They chat a lot. I hear chit chatting in the hall way all day long.

The team went out for lunch today for the boss’s birthday. I like my boss. She’s reasonable and tactful. She is well liked and it makes my life easier. She also likes to go out with the team and have a good time, just like we did today. I enjoy those occasions.

What astonishes me, though, at those lunches is how the people who surround the table seem to know everything about each other. For example, one person starts talking about her brother in law. It felt quite abrupt to me. There was no background information given, also. But, looking around, I realized I was the only one who thought it was abrupt. Everybody was up to date on what this guy had been up to, what kind of person he was, and why this story was interesting.

I heard recently that the people in the department were a little worried if I was fitting in well. No wonder they worry, I thought, while sitting there today. I’m supposed to fit into this.

Ever since I graduated from college, my close coworkers were dominantly foreigners, because I am in the translation industry. This is the first time that I am so completely surrounded by American coworkers daily. And it’s a procurement department on top of that.

I always thought the “small-talk” culture in the US is quite unique. I don’t do it well to this day. I feel that culture looming ahead of me as a big obstacle to my fitting in. I remember how comfortable I felt when I visited Germany. Small talks were definitely not prevalent there. When people talked to me, they were truly interested in what I had to say. If not, they would not even come to me. And I was very appreciative of that.

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