Day 1 at Objet Geometries in Rehovot, Israel. I started the day with a warm welcome from the friendly staff at the Sheraton Moriah and went downstairs for an incredible complimentary breakfast. At the time I was not too hungry but I was pleasantly delighted by all the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, cheeses, breads, juice, coffee & teas. It was definitely the biggest and best complimentary breakfast I had ever seen at a hotel. I wanted to stay and dine while looking out onto the Mediterranean Sea but my nerves on the first day of training would not let me relax. I quickly poured a to go cup off coffee and a fresh berry pastry and I was out the door to start my day. I was greeted by Menachem who is the VP of Marketing's father and he had graciously offered to drive me to and from Objet as I was not familiar with the area and I did not want to take a different taxi each day. The ride into the office was very eventful. There was the typical hustle and bustle of commuters in Tel Aviv. All the signs were in Arabic, Hebrew and English and there were so many new sights and sounds to take in. The radio was playing traditional Hebrew music and I was trying so hard to understand the language. One the way into Science Park which is right past the famous Weizmann Institute I saw many orange trees in the distance. The area is known for it's brilliant science professionals as well as the sweet smell of fresh oranges. I could see the Objet sign at the light to the entrance and it caught my attention that Objet is on all 3 floors while HP was on the bottom floor. A noticeably vivid sign. As I entered the office I met Aviv and Efrat who were so helpful in coordinating my trip. I was then introduced to Lynn Kolevsohn who is the Corporate Marketing Communications Manager. As soon as I met Lynn I knew it was going to be a great match. She was so interested in how my flight and travels had been and how I was feeling. The jet lag hadn't really set in too bad but it was soon on its way. The 7 hour time difference was definitely playing tricks on me. As soon as I settled in I was off to a full day of training. I met everyone that was involved with marketing, some folks in accounting and executive management. I was thrilled to meet with Amit Shvartz the VP of Marketing and to learn so much about the company and the direction of Objet. In addition, I briefly met Adina Shorr, the CEO and she was so exciting to meet. I think it's great that we have a woman who's CEO. The day was filled with all types of training that included all my marketing communications responsibilities for the US. I was also trained from our Product Marketing team about the types of materials and competitive analysis of the material in the RP industry. The week went along very well and I was beginning to really understand how the company works and what the goals and objectives are. On Tuesday, I was asked if I had a chance to see the area. I hadn't really had a chance to sight see so I was invited to take a trip to Jerusalem for a half day. I'll talk about my travels to Jerusalem on another post but it was such a peaceful experience. By the end of the week I had gained a really strong grasp on the Objet Technology, machines, material and marketing initiatives. I was building up all this excitement to take my new found skills back to the US office. I had such a great time meeting everyone and having a chance to speak with them one on one. I had some of the best hummus and tabbouleh I have ever had and I definitely want to go back and just take a vacation there.