Just NB

Yesterday we had to lay off a few drivers, in attempt to start to curtail costs (hate the word curtail). Not a great morale going on here. 10h04, we get a message: Protest rally going-on, please avoid downtown. This usually means one of a  few things: 1. There are like fifty people with signs protesting 2. There are a hundred angry people protesting 3. It's actually unsafe to proceed downtown. More often than not, it's usually the first option. These days, who knows. Update 14h32: Our Security staff told the protestors to go home. They did. As if this place isn't confusing enough.

Alright. Maybe I’ll be able to actually put on paper in a someone legible sense what it is that I’ve been trying to explain to myself. and Louis. But mostly myself. I’m freaked out. I have moments of fear and I can’t (or couldn’t) figure out what was going on in this mess of hormones, chemicals, and neuron-receptors or whatever. I guess I’ve always been slightly sensitive since the first weird strike/protest that I experienced. In my world, your work and home was safe, and the thought of anything otherwise made me uneasy. If I’d hear what sounds like a loud group of people, usually in the back of my mind I’m thinking, “Oh, crap. Is this a protest?”. And then, not really on purpose, I kind of beat myself up for being scared of something so petty. I mean, strikes happen here all the time. Like 95…no 97% of those strikes/protests are more than likely peaceful. But the “threat” of what can happen, in a split second, is becoming a bigger issue for me…without me even realiz...

I've written a few times about the strikes/protests lately. Although they are annoying, and cost the project quite a bit of cash, I assure you that I'm at fairly low risk of being in a dangerous situation. The protests/strikes are calm. It's frustrating because we are locked IN at work, but in the event of an emergency, there are measures available to cut the locks, and other various back up plans. Maybe some maps will help better explain the situation. Here's the plant and the city airport. I would guess that we are about 20km from the airport. It's hard to tell because it takes so long to get there because the roads are in rough shape and are usually packed with people, rickshaws, and livestock. Here's the plant and camp/village areas. The construction camp is roughly a 15 minute drive from my camp. It's not that far but since we're on site, the speed limit is 30km/hour and the roads aren't paved. There is a bridge that connects the village to ...

I have a lot of work to do this week. So much, that I wish I could lock myself in my office until everything is done. POOF!! Source WISH GRANTED!! Even better - I am locked in Plant site! Again! Yesterday morning Louis got an email from his boss asking him and everyone else in his group to come to work prepared for a 06h30 meeting. Most people arrive around 07h00, so it seemed a bit odd. We were both trying to figure out what was going on. Later in the day, we found out there was going to be another protest and it would begin around 06h30 Monday morning. Since I didn't receive any direction from my management, I came to work. After I was already at work, I found out that only Operations and/or critical staff needed to be inside the plant before it was locked. Source I'm neither Operations or critical staff, I guess I should have stayed home. [Just so we're clear here, everything is P-E-A-C-E-F-U-L. I am totally safe. It's not like super fun times but i...

It was..one of "those" days yesterday. I got to work at the same time (06h30), started off with my same routine (coffee, vitamin, read a few blogs, check personal email, get to work). The rest of the office comes in at either 7h00, 7h15, or 8h00, depending on their contract, who they are, where they live (camp vs. in town). Except, just before 7h00, we had a group of protestors lock all of the gates from the outside. (Just so everyone is clear - I was in ZERO danger). Which meant that anyone that had planned to arrive at work any later than 6h50 was locked out. LUCKY FOR ME , I was at work early enough to get locked in. There were three people in our office. I called a co-worker who was driving through the depths of the bush to find a way in and somewhat lost. I called Louis he was able to find a back entrance. So the count in office went up to four. But not before the truck ran over a local person's fishing net set-up, making the owner very angry ...

I'm *possibly* beginning to realize that adapting to life here is all about letting go of your expectations . I have expectations that things will just go the way that I want them to, and then, they almost never do, and that’s when I get all riled up and anxious, and then frustrated because I feel that I don’t feel like I “get it” here. Now I'm beginning to think that it’s not that I haven’t adapted to life here – it’s that I’m still not used to letting go of my expectations and just letting whatever happen – happen. This applies to even the simpliest of tasks... Example: Today I planned on going and getting groceries, dropping them off at home, and then grabbing a quick lunch at the cafeteria. Well, it all worked out, but not as I had expected . First, on the way into town, there was a major traffic jam. There is currently a strike going on at the port, all having to do with Rosewood. The government of MG has forbidden the exportation of the valuable wood (see the National G...

Well, the strikes are expected to continue until at least Wednesday. Am so, so, so, SO extremely happy to be staying in town tonight. I have a full belly (with good Cuban food!!!), have had a couple of glasses of CHAMPAGNE no less, and am getting ready for bed. I have secured a ride to the airport and am really, really looking forward to getting on the plane from Toamasina to Reunion. I have to admit, I don't handle the strike situations very well. It may be the one thing in MG that I just can't get used to. I'm tired, I'm ready for a vacation, and I don't want to worry that I won't get to the airport. I don't expect to sleep that much tonight, but at least I had a great night with friends (did I mention South African champagne, thanks to the boy!) and won't have to worry about being blocked in camp. Will post an update from Reunion...

For the non-French, that means, the strike. This week we had more hooligans striking. It started Friday at lunch. As per usual, we all evacuated to the camp and after lunch things were calm and we could return to work. Early Saturday morning, they were back. This time there were more and they were more forceful. They broke down the gate of the site. As soon as word got out, we were told to leave the site. Unfortunately, some of us (like me!!!) were too late. The strikers had made their way to the camp and were blocking the road between the site and the camp. AND, they were trying to break the fence of the camp. Just great. Luckily, there was a Security Manager that I kind of ran into. We hopped in his truck, and he told us the plan, then we hopped in the boy's truck, and drove to the construction camp, located inside the plant behind another security gate. The construction camp is for all of the construction, contract, and other foreign workers. There is about 4000 people in the ca...

Since my last post , there haven't been any developments in the whole protest/strike thing. Saturday the Filipinos were asked to stay in the camp, and it's recommended that they stay away from town for the next little while. And me? Well, I'm less homesick, less freaked out, and had a great weekend. I think this is officially my lamest post EVER!! Be back tomorrow with some pictures of the weekend! Until then, here is me hard at work on Saturday. :)

It’s been a weird week. Some background information, before we begin: I work with three different groups of people: Expats, like me, from countries like South Africa, Peru, USA, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia Nationals (Malagasy people) People from ountries like Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, and the Philippians. The last group lives in another camp, seperate from the other expats. (You can probably figure out why and the reasons don’t need to be discussed on this blog.) I’ll just refer to them as people from Asian workers to make things simpler. So onto the story. Last Sunday, a Malagasy worker was found dead on site. His body was examined and it was found that he died of natural causes. Sadly, when the deceased’s mother was informed of the death, she died of a (suspected) heart attack. The town is not happy about this. They don't beleive he died of natural causes. There is a rumour that a Filipino worker died a few weeks back (there is NOTHING to confirm this) and now the Mala...