Well I am currently half way through my first week in Houston, Texas with the Wood Group. My adventure so far has already allowed me to meet some incredible people and visit some amazing places!

The flight across the pond went really smoothly and I was very surprised by the ease in which I got through immigration. The whole hype that is associated with it is really blown out of proportion! So once I was officially legally in the country a driver took myself and the other Saltire Interns to the apartment…they say its an apartment…but Americans really know how to live…I would describe it more as a house with pool, hottub, gym and putting green! Not a bad place to live for the next 8 weeks!

The rest of the weekend was spent with Simon and Jim from the Saltire fellowship program. Two really genuine guys who right from the first drink (true Scottish style) were friendly, great chat and were happy to answer any of our questions…no matter how silly we thought they might have been!

My role for the Wood Group is to reverse engineer parts for gas turbine engines. The basic idea is to discover how certain parts are made from a manufacturer, create our own drawings, which WG can then send to a vendor to be produced for 1/10th of the price. This is only my third day here and already it is extraordinary to see how cost effective the whole program is!

On the plane over hear I was reading “Stephen Fry in America”…The following is from the introduction… “There is one phrase I probably heard more than any other on my travels: Only in America! If you were to hear a Briton say ‘Tch! only in Britain, eh?’ it would probably refer to something that was either predictable, miserable, oppressive, dull, bureaucratic, damp or incompetent - or a mixture of all of those. ‘Only in America!’ on the other hand, always refers to something shocking, amazing, eccentric, wild, weird or unpredictable. Americans are constantly being surprised by their own country. Britons are constantly having their worst fears confirmed about theirs. This seems to be one of the major differences between us.”

During my short time in the States I can already see exactly what he is talking about. Everyone is so friendly here in Texas. They are always happy to help you and give you so much encouragement with anything you are doing. Whether it be organizing a trip for the weekend, to a crucial part of the project, the people I have met are never negative about anything. It really got me thinking of how this sort of environment, especially in the work place, can bring such a good feeling in the office, which not only produces good results but also gives employees a reason for getting out of bed and going to work!

I think this whole experience is going to really change the way I view work, and I think the whole Saltire Foundation program, both undergraduate and fellowship, is exactly the opportunity we need to try and prove Mr Fry wrong!