San Francisco first professional experience

Thursday morning, everyone was very excited, to visit a great company as Oracle.

I tried to be as formal as possible, and got in the bus , the great adventure was going to start.

On the way I've seen the salesforce.com big buildings on San Mateo, and I felt impressed, I knew it was a big company but did not realized this big.

Anyway, we arrived to Oracle it was a shiny day, we found programs and breakfast ready for everyone, the meeting room was just amazing.

Heather Ramsey, gave the welcome speech, and officially welcomed us into the TechWomen program, explained how 78 ladies has been chosen over 1800 applicants. And in a minute everyone felt proud to be here.

Then we had an exercise and this was the most amazing moment. It was the icebreaker, everyone of us had to get a partner , ask them some personal question to learn about their life and experience.

I heard stories, I heard feelings, and I just loved it, in every techwomen around my table I felt inspired, I felt passion and a great confidence.

We continued with the logistics overview, we understood that on Monday, Algeria is going to be the first country to be presented, I felt like I was going to the Olympic Games and I will represent my country, it s an amazing feeling, yaaaaaaay

Then there was a man in the room, Eric is a safety specialist, he explained to us that some places are less safe then others, that the way we behave in the street is just te way people can see us so be confident and avoid eye contact with people you don't know.

Then, Barbara Williams came, she was full of confidence, her voice was loud , clear, and persuasive, she introduced the barb list, my favorite one was life begins outside of your comfort zone, am in SF because I wanted to take the challenge to try something new.

Next speaker, was Lynn witham, she introduced the cultural insights , she gave us some information about USA and life there, being a trainer, and looking for some opportunities to go for soft skills training, I enjoyed the way she presented, she was very calm and quiet but clear.

I for you're want to give a try for cross cultural training experience.

Then we had the world cafe facilitated, different groups going through different tables to share and discuss differents topics.

Discuss the country situation and its impact on you, discuss what do you want to bring in your country, and how do you feel in USA?, it was the perfect moment to share experiences with the ladies, to realize that we are all going through same situations, same feelings.

Finally, she arrived, Nandini ramani, a beautiful lady, with a great presence on stage, she told us about her life and how's he arrived at Oracle, how her grandmother, her role model influenced her and helped her to be who she is now.

I loved when she said, someone told me, you must speak up, since then I've never shut up. She used easy words, and made us believe that anyone of us can be in her shoes.

It was a great day, it was overwhelming feelings, it was an AWESOME experience.

I gained confidence, I gained new friends , and for sure a lof of memories.

Thanks TW2013

San Francisco Day 1

7am...the night did not leave totally and the sun is getting up very slowly, San Francisco is getting ready for a new day, and I'm getting ready for a morning walk.

Surprisingly, San Francisco is not a city with skyscrapers or fancy buildings, so when you roam around the city, you might feel disappointed a little.

We officially started our Techwomen experience this morning, with the hosting meeting, finally we got a phone number, we could activate our cards, and get an idea about the transportation system, it was cozy, and friendly discussion.

We've been devided to several groups, so we could run some errands and visit the city.

We've met an amazing lady from Iran, who took us to Union Square, and showed us the main places and streets where we might do some shoppings.

In San Francisco you can hear many languages, you can find people singing, or even sharing their music with an external speaker.

You will find long queues to get in the cable car, and people running to catch a bus or a tram.

San Francisco is also about happiness, tonight there was a live band in union square, singing mainly Spanish songs, giving the opportunity for a salsa dance, it was little cold around, the rhythm was sweet and soft, and the people were giving a great energy.

So even if you don't know how to dance, you will start moving, you will start to show some steps, and if you are lucky enough, somebody from Cuba May ask you for a dance, at that moment get ready to swing.

After a long day of meeting people, and walking around , I came back a 10pm, with the mind full of pictures, and heart full of emotions.

It was just day 1, expecting more for the coming days.

OTW to San Francisco

What if you wake up a morning, and you find an email saying you've been selected to go to San Francisco? How would you react ? What would you feel?

This is a real story, my story, after few months of preparation, after few days of packing optimization, it's time to get in the airplane, it's time to live this amazing experience.

I have met the Algerian Techwomen, for the first time all 5 together, we had our first official picture,and we felt the excitement of everyone of us.

I will be at salesforce.com, I've been impressed by the achievement of this company, my two mentors are from salesforce, let's say it's going to be a great experience.

Professionally I will work with learning path and mobile app, culturally I want to discover new countries, cultures and traditions, I want to visit the city and enjoy my time as much as I can.

First step, Algiers - Frankfurt, light food, buena fe music , and no sleep yet!!

Trying to document this trip as much as possible.