And the mountains out my front window
So for the first time since I've been travelling this time, I haven't had to do much work. I eventually have a report to write, but that won't take too long. Furthermore, the surprising lack of sun in this purportedly tropical country came to a sudden and welcome end today, as we finally saw the clouds broke and the day turned absolutely beautiful. As promised, there are some pictures to add. Including the much-talked about view of the Pacific off my balcony at the hotel.
And the mountains out my front window
At present, most of my time is spent working in a companies rail yard, inspecting the rail tankers that they use to carry sulphuric acid. Overall, it's pretty straightforward work - most of the tanks suck, and I get to tell them why. Some of the tanks don't suck, and I also get to tell them why lol. However, the yard, like my hotel, borders on the pacific coast, and the view from the top of the rail cars is pretty good. Thanks, Yves, for taking the following photos of me (and the scenery) from the top of the rail car.
Now today was interesting. Normally, they work a six-day week here, with Sunday off. So we, in the interests of getting the job done as fast as possible (and taking advantage of the paid vacation for whatever time is left on the contract when the job is finished), we only worked a half-day.
The second half of the day, however, we went back to the markado - and fortunately, my Spanish skills have improved since then. So I was able to stock up on some much-needed groceries and things for the upcoming weeks (lesson number one in living on a perdiem).
Todays lessons also have to do with language:
1) Getting flirted with by hot foreign chicks is pretty cool when you're abroad. Knowing enough of their language to know they're flirting with you and not enough to know what they're actually saying or how to respond is less cool.
2) Thinking in English, listening in French, and talking in Spanish simultaneously is generally considered a bad idea.
At present, most of my time is spent working in a companies rail yard, inspecting the rail tankers that they use to carry sulphuric acid. Overall, it's pretty straightforward work - most of the tanks suck, and I get to tell them why. Some of the tanks don't suck, and I also get to tell them why lol. However, the yard, like my hotel, borders on the pacific coast, and the view from the top of the rail cars is pretty good. Thanks, Yves, for taking the following photos of me (and the scenery) from the top of the rail car.
Now today was interesting. Normally, they work a six-day week here, with Sunday off. So we, in the interests of getting the job done as fast as possible (and taking advantage of the paid vacation for whatever time is left on the contract when the job is finished), we only worked a half-day.
The second half of the day, however, we went back to the markado - and fortunately, my Spanish skills have improved since then. So I was able to stock up on some much-needed groceries and things for the upcoming weeks (lesson number one in living on a perdiem).
Todays lesson also has to do with language:
1) Thinking in English, listening in French, and talking in Spanish simultaneously is generally considered a bad idea, and will probably be doomed to failure.
And to close, the view from my hotel room, as the sun sinks beneath the horizon
