Recently Dusty sent me a link to a post on 37signlas about working US hours from Europe.  I thought it was a great article describing how someone works 9-5pm from another country. It made me start thinking about how easy it was for us to adjust to the time change and how our move to France for 5-weeks didn’t seem to change our work schedule.

We plan on going back to France this summer and people are often surprised to hear that we keep US work hours while we’re there.  The US is behind France by 6 hours so when it’s 9am in Omaha it’s 3pm in Paris. Dusty and I would usually wake up by 9 or 10am, check email from previous day, spend a little time together, relax, get some breakfast, and start working.  Dusty would be continue to work while I went to the market and/or grocery store to get our groceries for the day.  We’d usually make a grocery list in the morning that included what I needed to get (and google any items I didn’t know how to pronounce so I could ask for them at the market).

I taught a hybrid communication course while were were there and met with my students before we left for Europe and then met with them again when I returned.  While we were in France my students had to listen to online lectures and turn in assignments via the internet.  I answered student questions each morning and then spent the afternoons grading assignments, emailing grades and feedback to each student individually.

Dusty would schedule meetings between 3pm and 9pm each day which most people might think would ruin their day but since Dusty and I spent most of the day together it wasn’t a problem at all.  Over the years I’ve grown accustomed to Dusty working long hours, often working until 1 or 2am (out or in the home) so having a Skype meeting at 9pm is no big deal for us.  We’d schedule dinner plans around when Dusty had a meeting and most of our sightseeing was done on weekends so we didn’t have any problems finding free time.

Fanta Zero – Dusty’s favorite soda while he worked.