The Heat of the West

24°C, 0700HRS – a calm cool morning, dewy grass, a fresh cup of piping hot coffee and bundled together with fruits and pies, we made off to the first site to conduct geotechnical investigations for the Western Sewerage Reticulation projects.  28°C, 0900HRS – with some difficulty we found our first site, breakfast was finished off and our equipment was soon unloaded.  One ping, two ping, three ping, four – testing started, data getting logged, samples now being retrieved and water bottles slowly emptying.  The efficiency of greenhorns Taukave and Garth soon picked up under the supervision of the watchful and critical Elaijie.

35°C, 1100HRS – it was soon evident that morale was inversely proportional to temperature.  The trio drudged on in the muddy conditions of the first site.  With dedication as fiery as the sun’s rays, day one soon came to a close.  Second day, same heat, same difficult clay – finishing earlier than expected, the greenhorns found their rhythm.  Day three, day four and day five all had the same story, but our pace had picked up.  Day six, we found ourselves now without a supervisor but imparted to us from our supervisor were the ins and outs of the job, we carried on our merry way – praising passing clouds and indulging ourselves in laughter to lighten the mood.

We soon made quick work of the sites in Ba, closing out with a rainy last day and nighttime drive back to the hotel.  Cleaning, sorting and packing, we found ourselves almost longing for new sites to keep the momentum going.  Almost!

Author:  Taukave Mua

March 2021 Edition

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