It is now nearing the end of my first week working within Wood groups, Business Systems Team based out in Houston, Texas.  Looking back at what has already happened; it’s hard to know where to begin.

On arrival at the airport in Houston last Saturday I approached the customs desk with some trepidation.  I had an expectation that I was going to be subjected to an intense interrogation by a marine that had spent every day in the gym since his 5^th Birthday.  If I am being honest I was perhaps slightly disappointed to find that the Officer was very friendly and was more interested in offering me advice on where to visit, more like a tourist information representative rather than a guard holding the keys to the countries gate.  From this point on I have received nothing but exceptional hospitality wherever I have gone.

Simon and Jim met up with us on Sunday and acquainted us with the Texan style Brunch, which has already turned out to be the first of many.   The size of portions and the bottomless mimosa’s were enough to make my eye’s bulge never mind my stomach.  The Duo have given us some excellent advice on travelling, as they pointed out there is far too much to see and do in just eight weeks, and with Las Vegas And Mexico only a stones throw away I will have to make the most of my time here! 

Houston is around 10 times the size of Glasgow with about 5 times as many people living in it.  This is fantastic as it means that things are very much more spacious, from the building layouts to the size of the office spaces.  However as we have found out, this has created transport issues in that there is no effective form of public transport.  As a result every person our here owns a car, one work college has even said that they keep a spare car just in case one breaks down.  This seems surreal when we consider that the average car is comparable in size to a Mitsubishi warrior.

I have no doubt that I have merely scratched the surface of what Houston has to offer and look forward to keeping you posted!