Eng-1 School Intro

I arrived in Abu Dhabi for my Engineering-1 school 2 weeks ago today. Now for those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll back up a little. As part of my training I am sent off to school for 9 weeks of intensive learning. I spend 9 hours a day, 5 days a week in the classroom, on the rig, or in the shop learning how to do my job. Then go home and do homework and study for the rest of the day. Now you might ask, what were the past 5 years of university for then? Basically they were to get me to the point that I can understand, absorb, and then regurgitate all this information I’m getting in a very short time.

After Mines it might not sound very hard. And really it’s not. Except that the stakes are infinitely higher. At school, studying for a test was very abstract. ‘What happens if I fail this test?’ – my class grade goes down, maybe I have to retake the course, maybe I stay an extra year at school, maybe I lose a scholarship, maybe I get yelled at by my parents, maybe I make my teacher angry etc… Here, studying for a test is very concrete.  If I fail this test, I get a warning letter from the company, my boss finds out and if I fail two tests I get two warning letters and lose my job. Not to mention, if you don’t understand what you’re doing at my work, you can lose the company hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars with one small mistake. The incentive to study is infinitely greater.

A Touchy Cough...

After my pre-school exam I was sent out to the rig for a little more than a week. I arrived just as I was starting to get a cold and rigging up in the rain then lack of sleep from switching to night shift schedule meant that I very quickly got really sick. After 5 or 6 days my crew got sick of hearing me cough and I was having trouble keeping enough energy to get through my 12 hour shifts. My coworker finally called a car to take me to see the doctor. Unfortunately it was a Saturday, so going to the doctor meant going to the emergency room. 

Now one reason I chose Villahermosa over my other Russia offer is that Villahermosa is said to have some of the best hospitals outside of Mexico City. I can now confirm that they do seem very nice. I walked in with my coveralls still on and announced that I didn’t speak much Spanish but I was sick and wanted to see a doctor.

My rig Spanish is definitely getting up to a sufficient level and I can communicate everything I need there. However, medicine was a new region of Spanish I hadn’t explored before. I saw the doctor and explained that it was hard to breathe and “No puedo dormir porque yo toque todo vez”.  Now what I thought I said was “I can’t sleep because I cough all the time”.  What I actually said was “I can’t sleep because I touch all the time”.  I’m not really sure what they thought I was trying to say.  Anyway, cough is tos and toque is touch.  Apparently easy to confuse. 

Back to Villa

I’m back in Villahermosa after more than two weeks back in the US. I had an amazing time with my family and friends. It was nice to just go back and fit again. But it was also nice to leave again. And don’t take that as a negative thing. It was hard to say goodbye again, especially not knowing when I would be back.

When I left Villahermosa I had a slight fear that I would get home and not want to leave again. I mean, what if all this time I’ve been delusional in thinking that I love my job and my life so much? It’s such an unusual life choice. What if I went back home and saw people living normal lives and coming home to their families every night and decided that I am actually completely crazy?  Well I’m back in Villa, so that should tell you something about how that turned out. I might be completely crazy, but I really do love what I’m doing.

Coming back to Villahermosa was strange. I never expected for it to feel so familiar.  To come back and start speaking Spanish again, to see my friends here and be excited (only to have them all abandon me quickly for the rig, sigh). Anyway, the point is that leaving and coming back only served to cement in my mind that I am doing what I’m supposed to. It’s hard. But somehow, life in the States now seems too easy. Where’s the challenge in doing your job in your first language? Seriously…

Since being back, I’ve studied for, taken, and passed my pre-school exam. Which means that the only thing between me and Abu Dhabi is less than two weeks and getting my airline tickets. After Abu Dhabi, I’m meeting my family in Spain for a two week vacation. I’m pretty psyched already and if you have suggestions on where to go and what to do, tell me! 

Also, I didn't put any pictures in here, but I have all my vacation pictures here! They're pretty much all pictures of snow... And a video of my dog wearing booties. 

A Change in Climate

I recently experienced a dramatic climate change. No, it's not global warming. Two weeks ago Tuesday my boss emailed me with dates for a two week vacation so I could go home. It wasn't unexpected, but I was still really excited. I immediately booked tickets.

 I was thrilled, but very busy. We were in the middle of changing out a failed tool, which basically means a lot of reports to close out an old job, then reports on the failure, then opening up for the new job and then physically changing out the tools, a process that can take about 6 hours. Wednesday morning, after being up all night working, my boss called me and asked if I'd like to go home for New Years Eve. He said I could leave the rig the next day and start my vacation Friday.

I spent the next day and a half handing over the job and dealing with the airlines. Trying to get a flight was a challenge and quite expensive. Luckily, my dad has a special talent for dealing with airlines and after I got fed up talking to them, he managed to get me a flight out.

Thursday I left the rig at 6:30 pm, getting back to my staff house at 8:30 that night. I dealt with my work computer, getting cash, arranging transport to the airport, feeding my self, and packing then went to bed for a few hours before waking up to go to the airport. I flew all day. From Villahermosa to Houston, Houston to Seattle, Seattle to Anchorage. I left my apartment at 5 am and arrived in Alaska at 9:30 that night. My parents met me at the airport with a fur coat and fur boots.