Campo tres

The camp is surrounded by wire. There's a gate at the entrance. It's like a military base. Those were my first thoughts. 

Everything is made of PVC panels. So sterile...I didn't think about this much prior coming, maybe that's why it surprised me. All houses are the same. How will I found mine...I was confused, had so many information in my head. All the people bombarded me with advices, stories, their impressions, etc. I just wanted to go to sleep and get a fresh start tomorrow. I couldn't move in my new house as the guy I was substituting had still been on the camp, so I crushed in a house next door. I wanted to unpack...

    

New day, new beginning - first actual day on the job. My position should have been "Head of general businesses" - meaning I was in charge of the salaries, all payments, making sure that the working hours are correct and in accordance with company's guidelines. But the directors changed that, so I was to be "Head of social standards" - I had no clue what that means, not even when they explained it to me. In fact, there is no simple explanation - you have to try to fulfill almost every need someone in the camp has and it varies from "I'm missing my undies"(in those words) to "The dinner is the same as the lunch was" and a lot more.So, I didn't have a clue what my job is going to be, but was happy in a way that I wouldn't have to have a lot of contact with the local workers, so I can easily learn Spanish on my own pace and not to be overwhelmed all at once without knowing how to respond. 

That first day the guy I was replacing (he looks a lot like Raymond form "Everybody loves Raymond" - the face and the voice and even the way he speaks) drove me around the whole camp and the part of the highway our camp is building. It' s literally going through the heart of the jungle. Bulldozers, excavators, dumpers and all the big construction machines everywhere. The nature, the part you can see through thick and dark rainforest is so different from what I've seen before. I couldn't recognize any of those trees, except banana tree. And the sound of the jungle is awesome, who knows what kind of animals live there - I surely won't check. 

    

That night "Raymond" was having a farewell party. There I met more people. It was a bit awkward as it always is in a situation where you don't know anyone. I was scanning, looking at the people, trying to figure out the general mentality. There's a lot of drinking, but really a lot. Beer and whiskey. People drink the minute they finish their job and it's like that every day - job, drinking, sleeping - routine. I didn't wanna fall under that circle, it would've killed me. But I have to say something, despite the heavy drinking everybody's responsible, they go to bed around 10pm, so they'd have enough sleep. Sleeping well is the most important thing  here, they were all united in that. It keeps your organism stronger and more capable of fighting the diseases like malaria, tifoidea and the rest - and you don't wanna "catch" any of them, having to lay in your bed for three days, shaking with fever...People were unanimous in one more thing - what is normal back home, here is not and vice versa... I thought - OK, I'll try not to stand out too much, meaning I'll try not to wear my pajama trousers and colorful CinemaCity and Exit T-shirts ;) One guy told me later: "How many of those T-shirts do you have?", don't know was it a compliment or what... Some people have only a few T-shirts to wear - for these almost two month, I've seen one guy changing only 3.  It's not they don't have the money (they have more than needed), they are just like that - it's normal for them to work and spend afternoons in the same outfit, for several days in a row.

I forgot to say that I'm the youngest at the camp by far, even think the youngest of all Serbians working for the company. Still don't know is it good or bad... One more thing that most of you couldn't understand about people here (this may sound degrading, arrogant or something in that manner, but I don't have an intention of offending anyone, it's just a fact) - 80% of people here are "bluecollars", manual workers, "hillbillies", or in a lack of good English words, šljakeri and sirovine. I've never considered myself as some super smart, educated guy, but ask yourself: How many people do I know, hang out with and work on a daily basis, that only finished primary school (if that)? See my point here? It was a completely different surrounding that what I used to, what was normal to me. Had to change the approach. A lot of adaptation was ahead of me. I'm just hoping I won't lose myself...