Impressions from the construction site
Today I was looking with Gaby through some pics I took and found this one, which stuck to me enough to post it here. It was taken in Füßen, in Bavaria, last year.
And now, on to some sort of update.
Work goes well, from 7 in the morning until 6 in the afternoon, every day, and Saturdays, twice in a month. So, as you can see, I don't get much time left for other stuff, but I and we try to take advantage of what's remaining. Like, for example, riding with the bikes along the Elbe, in the evening, which is actually relaxing rather, than tiring, as one might think, after 11 hours of work. It's wonderful to see the sun setting reflected in the Elbe, to hear the birdies singing and chirping and the cuckoos, to inhale the intoxicating scent of lilac flowers and of blooming acacia trees.
It is amazing how priorities change when you don't have much free time remaining. Before I would spend like one hour daily checking my emails, while enjoying a cup of coffee. Now, I need only 5 minutes to read what's important, to delete everything else and eventually to answer some messages :P
As much as I hate the long hours at work, the good side is that, since I'm paid by the hour, the more I stay there, the more money I get. On one hand, I find it an interesting experience, a chance to see a world totally different from the circles I use to gravitate in. Also, to learn new stuff. There are so many people there, beside the Romanian team for which I have to translate, and each, in this "society" are like characters in a book, with their stories and their antics. Their work is really hard, not only because of the long hours, and since many are coming from other places, they are there only for the job, one can see why many of them end up drinking heavily. With not much other options for entertainment (don't think that they'd read a book or spend time on the internet - except for the young ones maybe) they drink every time they get the chance.
That place seems like a Babel, mostly like an Eastern-European Babel. Along the Germans working there, there are a lot from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and, of course, Romania. I saw also some Turks and black people, but I can bet there are others from other places too. Since the work security regulations are very, very strict there, each has to wear protection suit with helmet and all the jazz. And it's strange to see then, at the end of the day, all those people with whose image you got used to, wearing their "civil" clothes. It's like they turn into these completely different persons, each with their own life style, tastes and preferences.
The protection measures are indeed really needed, because the substances they process in this plant are highly destructive and toxic. We don't get in contact with them (they are ran through pipes, anyway), but in case of an accident, it can make the difference between dying and surviving. Not to mention that, even if it the place is extremely clean, there's still a lot of stuff from which one has to protect their head from (like, scaffolding - doesn't go a day without bumping my head into some when trying to make my way through the construction site) and their feet (normal shoes wouldn't survive there - hey, it didn't survive even a pair of special protective shoes my co-worker translator was wearing, the shoes got torn after one week of wearing, probably because their quality was shitty).
While the place is very clean, the conditions are although harsh. For example, you're not allowed to eat or drink, even water, at the work place. You have to do it in special places. I and my co-worker translator have to stand most of the time and run around between the places where the Romanian workers are scattered. And, no matter how hot it is outside, one has to keep their working coat on, helmet, not to mention about the shoes which, as we discovered once my co-worker's broke, they have a metal plate inside, probably to protect the foot from the long nails or dangerous substances one might step in. And even there's no dust and all the dirt one can find a building site (also, remember, this is Germany, everyone has to clean the place where they've been working, before going home!) I still arrive home, as Gaby put it, smelling like metal and this work there.