To celebrate Bastille Day (French national holiday), we had some special desserts… I know you want me to talk about my project: what am I doing at Google? But sorry, this is the only bad thing.. I cannot tell, it is confidential…
But what I can tell you about is food!! And today desserts have been really awesome! Many different cakes, crêpes, hot apple pie… Just have a look 
Back in Spain I had no idea Google had an office in London. I knew of Dublin and Zurich offices, but not London. Since I found out, I have had only one goal in mind: join Google! So I updated my CV following the guidelines provided in their website (although they are meant for students), sent it and started preparing for the interviews!
After three phone interviews, four on-site interviews and four months of recruiting process, here I am! I am a Google intern 
This position is only available for students and it lasts between three and eleven months, depending on your course, graduation date, etc. In my case, I am gonna be working here for 4 months as an intern and then.. well, we’ll see
The intern process allows you to ask for a full time position after the internship and the decision will be make according to code reviews, reports, interviews, etc. The process depends on your department and location. So far, I’ve had a mid-point review and everything is fine
So.. wish me luck!!
Useful links:
Many things have happened to me since I last posted (I know it was a long time ago…). But please, be patient, because I want to tell you all about it!
Here is a summary:
Is Google testing a new interface for Google Notebook? Or is it going to be definitive? I’ll have to give it a try, but I preffer the old one at first glance…
There is a famous market all weekends in Covent Garden. It is not as famous as Candem, but it has a lot of different food and you can find people juggling!!
A couple of weeks ago, for St Patricks Day, we saw a man dancing limbo. Amazing!
Google PSO Event in London was held yesterday at their Victoria offices. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the Partners Solutions division and to meet people interested in joining them. The event was oriented to both PS possible candidates and partners, though I only met people looking for more information or interested in applying for a job in this division.
The event was divided into three parts: 1 hour networking with food and drinks, 1 hour presentation and panel, and another 1 hour of networking with more food and drinks!
The presentation by Dora Hsu, director of PSO, was very clear and gave us a good idea of the work and goals of the Partners Solutions area. But what I liked most, was the panel that took place afterwards. We had 4 panellists including Dora and an engineer. To introduce themselves, they told us their names, original country, role and their favourite food at Google!! (see? food comes out in every Google presentation ). They answered questions in a very informal way, giving an idea of the environment lived in Google offices. I really liked it
And, finally, after the panel… Sushi!!! Yes, I had the pleasure to meet very interesting people (from business managers, to entrepreneurs and graphics designers) while eating sushi! One of the best networking events I’ve ever seen And not because of the food, but because of the great enviroment they managed to create. Everyone was very nice and it was easy to just start talking to anyone. Thanks Google!
And for the ones that could not be there, I leave some photos for you
Yesterday morning, we had an impressive snowfall in London. All the roofts, streets, cars, etc, ended up covered in snow. It was really cold and the snow didn’t start to melt until the afternoon.
Even when the snow started to melt, you could take very beautiful pictures such as the ones below
But not everything was so great… Some hours after the snowfall ended, the floor was really slippery and you had to watch every single step!
In London you can see many strange things, specially in Christmas. If you’re not careful, you can be trapped by hundreds of Santas!!
We invaded the Tube…
We invaded the streets…
Even the theme park could not escape…
Have you ever seen so many Santas?
And we all wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
If you are fond of Chinese food, there is one place in London you must visit: Chinatown!! This area is close to Soho and the main street is Gerrard Street. As soon as you enter this area, you’ll find a complete different environment. All posters, announces and even the street name plates are translated into Chinese!
There are plenty of chinese restaurants and stores all over the place. And they are all full at dinner time, specially fridays and saturdays. But be careful, because there is a wide range in prices and quality. You can find restaurants with the delicious pekin duck and noodles as well as all-you-can-eat-for-9-pounds buffets!
And some interesting links:
One of the first things you should care about when coming to London, is which side to look at when crossing a road. As you probably know, English people drive on the left. But this is not as uncommon as one may think, since this is the way people drive in India, Japan, Australia and many other countries. If you want to know a bit of history, you can have a look at this article: Why do some countries drive on the right and others in the left?
In London, it seems there have been too many accidents concerning the driving direction, and they have decided to tell the pedestrians which way to look 
If you get confused each time you read this message, here is a little trick: Don’t look at the letters! Just focus on the arrow!
Copyright @ 2006. Araceli Checa |