Newbie

As a consultant, the beginning of every new project is like the first day of a new job. I always have to spend some time getting to know the client, their industry, and the people I will rely on to help me complete my work.

This week, I kicked off a new project for a repeat client, a university, so I already know a little bit about the department, but I am meeting most of the people I will be working with for the first time.

Remember the first day of a new job? Those early days/weeks/months kinda suck. Not sure of exactly what you are supposed to be doing, you feel awkward and helpless. You need to ask for help. You feel the need to look busy even if you're not. If only you can fast forward to the day when you know what to do and are finally confident that you can do it.

When I graduated from college in 1990, the economy was much the same as it is today. Jobs were few and far between, so I had to get creative, and landed my first "real job" as an English teacher in Japan. If you know anything about Japan, you might remember that the land mass is spare, the population is dense, and the terrain consists of crowded cities and towns connected by very, very narrow roads wedged between and up the sides of mountain ranges.

Week one of the new job consisted of accompanying the departing teachers to every class in order to build navigation skills for the minimum two-hour round-trip drive to each class. I took copious notes and wrote things like, "turn left at the McDonald's, and then turn right at the yellow vegetable stand." Road signs in English were sparse.

During my free time that first week, I was tossed two sets of car keys and instructed to learn how to drive on the left side of the road.

Car choice #1 looked like this:

As if sucking in my breath to squeeze through narrow alleys studded with telephone poles wasn't stressful enough, trying to navigate the rear-view mirrors without shaving those babies right off the front of the car nearly sucked the wind right out of me. What kind of maniac would design such a car in a country with no room to spare?

Car choice #2 was a stick shift. Of course. So, Emily, please learn how to drive on the left, sitting on the right, while shifting with your left hand and trying not to turn the wrong way. Excellent.

Week two, it was time to man up because the old teachers jetted back to America, leaving me to get myself to class without getting lost or crashing the car, all the while figuring out how to teach English to my eager new students in the noodle factory, chemical company, and barber shop.

Somehow I lived to tell the tale.

This week, week one of my new project? It was a piece of cake.