Daimler-Mitarbeiter-Blog
The AMG experience
My name is Maha Fityani, I am 20 years old and I am currently an intern in the marketing department of Mercedes-AMG in Affalterbach/ Germany.
You might wonder how I got here. I got this opportunity by submitting my CV to an organization called the Young Arab Leaders who is partner with Daimler in order to offer Arab youth internships and giving us a chance to take a closer look at different, multi-cultural work environment. I got accepted after a phone interview made by Daimler, I honestly thought I would never make it. But I am here now; I am in the lovely Stuttgart. I’ve been here for almost three months now, and I will be leaving for Amman (my hometown in Jordan) in about two weeks.
And retrospective, I would like to call those past three months the “Experience of a lifetime”.
To me, those three months were like a challenge. First of all, it was the first time in my life that I got separated from my twin sister, friends, and family. Secondly, I was going to a country with different culture and traditions, without speaking a word of German.
My first working day, was not very special, I just had a look around, got introduced to some of my colleagues and everything looked promising. After a couple of weeks things started to clear up to me, but I felt like an outsider and realized how drastically different things are in Europe and Germany. The feelings of frustration made everything even worse.
I remember when my team and I went to work over a weekend in Hockenheim at the Formula 1… All I felt before going there was the excitement to finally show my colleagues the other side of me, other than the shy and silent face, because that actually isn’t me! Seeing everybody getting along with each other made me, again, feel like an outsider and this time I didn’t do anything about it and therefore it back-fired on me. I was helpless and weak there, and those feelings along with the language problem made me freeze. I couldn’t do my job perfectly or mingle with the rest, and deep down inside I felt like I failed. After the return, my superiors noted that something wasn’t going the right way. We had a meeting, talked about my work and talked about my actions; it was more of constructive criticism, and to be honest, without that meeting this experience wouldn’t have been as rich as it is now. I decided to start making more effort, didn’t want to disappoint them or myself anymore. It definitely was the turning point during my trip to Germany!
In the “post-meeting time” – that’s now – everything is clearer. I am more confident and aware of what to do and what not to do. Its like the internship just started, after a month and a half I actually tried a new start. My work has improved, I get more interesting tasks, my social skills are building up and I am regaining strength and my life is almost back on track. And now towards the end I can see what has changed about me and how certain people here inspire me in a peculiar way…
The outcome: feelings of loneliness and fear have turned into inspiration and strength, failure and frustration have become the ability to accept criticism and wanting to make the best out of my mistakes and learn from them. Seeing how professional my colleagues are, makes me realize that the sense of being professional I have gained is related to watching their responsibility, their time management and their actions. The perfectly done tasks I hand in are just a copy of their perfectly-done work! Generally, I am grateful!
Dealing with a new culture and new people wasn’t easy at all, but it surely was rewarding! Being honest, I can’t just say its right or it’s wrong, because it’s just different! I come from a world where most of people are emotional, and now I am in a different one, where people aren’t emotional. This has taught me something I would never think of if I stayed back home, it’s when you should be emotional and when you shouldn’t.
This exposure has made me the person I am today. And I am proud of have been given this opportunity to work here with my German colleagues whom I deeply admire and whom I hold dear to my heart. Every one of them has a special place in my heart. You helped me a lot in every single step I took. When I look back at those three months, it makes me sad because I will miss you guys and I will miss our little quick meetings, I will miss every single day I had something new to learn… the paper jams too! But I am happy about whom I became, and that I had this once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet you, Ich bin glücklich, euch als Kollegen zu haben…Thank you for everything; you have been my inspiration…
Dieser Artikel wurde von Maha Fityani geschrieben. In diesem Blog schreiben Daimler-Mitarbeiter und einige wenige Gastautoren. Unsere Autoren kommen aus den unterschiedlichsten Bereichen des Konzerns und schreiben über eigene Eindrücke, Geschichten und ihre persönliche Meinung und geben so Einblicke in den Konzern. Warum wir das machen, finden Sie auf unserer Seite über das Blog.
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1. Pitt Moos
Kommentar vom 29. August 2008 um 23:47
Maha,
I think it’s great how you open your heart here. Maybe you wouldn’t have done that 3 months ago. You have learned a few things and I imagine that your buddies at AMG have also become richer through being with you. And don’t you believe they are not emotional, you cannot market an AMG Mercedes just with the left half of your brain. Best of luck to you.
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2. Yazan
Kommentar vom 30. August 2008 um 22:29
I’ve always had faith in you being an achiever, and I’m so proud of you now:) You must have done a wonderful job. It’s always hard in the beginning, ask me about it! You tured your fears and frustrations into a success story that will make you smile whenever you look back. This is how life should be and this is how you will become a better person:) But in the end you’re always stay Mahass:)
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3. Maha
Kommentar vom 31. August 2008 um 20:12
Dear Pitt
I want to thank you for your sincere wishes. And I wouldn’t have done a lot of things if it wasn’t for this enriching experience. Having my colleagues around is what made those three months so special, i am grateful =) Thanks
And Yazan! What you said is so touching. Thank you so much. To be honest I am kind of proud of myself to have pulled it off,its just great. And be sure that I will ALWAYS be Mahasss ;)
Good luck to you Abaaz
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4. Hannah Rasekh
Kommentar vom 02. September 2008 um 15:28
YOU ROCK MAHA! You really made me proud reading this! Keep up the brilliant work!
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5. Maha
Kommentar vom 03. September 2008 um 09:16
Hey Hannah! Thank you so much! Thats really nice of you. And i think you are making me proud to see you majoring in the thing you were great at since we were kids! Remember that play when we were in KG 2? I still have the pictures… I mean… Thats your thing ;)
Good luck
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6. Fadi Abdulhadi
Kommentar vom 05. September 2008 um 00:43
that’s lovely, I enjoyed every single word in this article, what you have experienced during your placement at Mercedes-AMG is the First-time dilemma that every person faces in his life, once you overcome it, you will keep on succeeding. You have turned on the ignition switch of the car and now you will keep on accelerating :-), you have just proved that you are ((an original Mercedes)) :-))))))) Best of Luck With All Your Future Endeavors
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7. Maha
Kommentar vom 05. September 2008 um 09:40
Fadiiii =) Thanks a lot,really! Thats so nice of you to say. But you forgot to say i proved that i am an original Mercedes-AMG ;) hehe
Thank you again! And good luck to you too :)
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8. Jehad
Kommentar vom 05. September 2008 um 12:19
http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=alFl4OGucPg
http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/video/video.php?v=26595825136
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9. Aida
Kommentar vom 05. September 2008 um 18:51
Oi Maha!
There you go, cheating on me, spreading your highly interesting story to other media sources……..I guess I really should have called you more often ;D joooking, love the blog :) Especially the happy end. I started college last week and I’m already terribly homesick, so your story really made me feel a little better. I hope mine turns out just as well!
You still have my e-mail adress, right? You should write me a nice mail and ask me for my messenger adress so we can keep in touch! :)
best wishes xoxo Aida
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10. Maha
Kommentar vom 08. September 2008 um 12:23
Aida… I am sorry that i have cheated on you! But this is the price of fame, you have to let yourself go and make other interviews with lots of people hehe,oh i am just kidding.
Good luck with college! And believe me this homesickness will only make you stronger, and soon enough you’ll learn how to do it, its not easy but it doesnt take long ;)
I am leaving very soon, its like a dream! I dont feel like leaving… Everything has been going just perfect, and today is my last day at work! how sad is this? I will miss everyone… Like A LOT! :(
Good luck, and we will stay in touch and i still have your email address :) i will send you always…
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11. abd el rahman
Kommentar vom 07. Februar 2009 um 12:14
Maha,
i think that your experience will be a promising start for some of us to start concentrating more about our proffesional life and leave some of our emotional life back where they belong :)
i am from Egypt and i will try to experience the same thing you tried when you went there .If i got accepted
Best of Luck with Your Life
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12. Mariz onsy
Kommentar vom 26. Februar 2009 um 18:19
Hello maha
I am so happy to hear ur experience in germany , I have got to sofia bulgaria for a scholarship too , but i didnt live a work team and good communication like u in germany.
i would like to go for internship in germany to take a trainnign in biomedical engineer, so please if u can help my , just tell me how can i apply , and prepare myself to these experience
thank u
Mariz
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13. Dalia
Kommentar vom 03. März 2009 um 18:12
Dear Maha,
Your experience meant alot to me as I would like to try it myself in the summer, and I am from Egypt by the way.
I just wanted to ask you about the accomodation arrangements, how was it and whether you liked it or not as you didn’t mention any of it in your blog.
Thanx
Dalia
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14. Maha
Kommentar vom 03. März 2009 um 22:09
Dear Mariz
I am terribly sorry to inform you that I dont know any place where you can do your training at. However I would love to help you in giving you some tips.
Dalia =) I will give you my email you can send me whatever you want and we can talk more details. Good luck.
mahafityani@hotmail.com
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15. Aya
Kommentar vom 06. März 2009 um 14:40
Hiiii…I loved reading about your experience and I am going to apply this year, so wish me luck :)
I just want to ask you one question, what about the travelling expenses and the accomodation ? Is it all on Daimler or do we have to pay for ourselves?
Thank you
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16. Osama
Kommentar vom 07. März 2009 um 16:02
hiii Maha … i really liked ur experience sooo much and i want to apply for the internship this year … but i want to ask u a lot about it
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17. Dalia
Kommentar vom 11. März 2009 um 17:13
Dear Maha,
Thanx for giving me ur e-mail. I sent u one but I don’t know if u have received it or not. If u did pls reply to me.
Thanks again, and I hope I am not troubling u.
Dalia
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18. Anas
Kommentar vom 13. April 2010 um 22:17
Hi Maha..
I loved reading your article about your experience, i am sure that it was a great experiment for you and that you learnt alot from it, also i hope that you enjoy your future as you enjoyed this experiment :)
And actually it was inspiring for me because i am a candidate of the 2010 internship, and i hope if you could help me with the embassy issue (documents, how and when to apply…etc).
Anas Yaseen
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