one week in

It’s been a really interesting week. I’ve met some clients, plenty of people at the yard, some managers who came through town, and generally been very busy. One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about working here is meeting people from different places. Right now, people pick me up from the hotel each morning and bring me back at the end of the day. It’s usually one of the engineers, but on Thursday it was our location manager since he was also picking up some of the regional managers who were in town to visit the yard. So in the car, there was a Venezuelan, German, South African (that Afrikaans accent is so great!), African-Frenchman and myself. Very amusing.

For the most part, the field equipment here is very different than what is used in the States. The basics are the same, but analogous pieces have different manufacturers and different road and regulatory requirements. The logistics here are also conducted very differently. Most of that is a function of different client and job-type circumstances. However, some of it is a result of some laws here about when big trucks can and cannot drive on the roads. During the weekend, there is a 24 hour period where big trucks cannot be on the roads. During the summer, that time goes to 48 hours. For any job that is expected to occur during that time, equipment must be mobilized before and demobilized after that time.

It has snowed the last couple of days. It’s quite nice to see something that wasn’t going to happen in South Texas.