Working... Updates

2/15- Yesterday I worked in the potato factory for the first time. It is how everyone makes it sound- boring, mindless, soul crushing work. The only part of my body that is really aching is my feet, probably because you stand for 12-14 hours while you are sorting these potatoes. You stand at a conveyor belt moving potatoes at a respectable speed, and your job is to remove the clearly rotten and inedible potatoes, and also the slightly imperfect, but still edible potatoes. Those are called "specials" and are used to make french fries and stuff, because they were not pretty enough to be sold as is. The day is very long, and you only have 1 hour out of it that you are on break. This is split into three 30 minute breaks, every 2-3 hours, and a 30 minute lunch at 12:30. You get so messed up watching those potatoes go by for hours at a time, that when you come off the conveyor belt, you experience what I am calling "treadmill effect," where it feels like you are still moving for a while. It's not a fun time. I don't rally understand why we have to stand up; chairs would improve productivity for me. Also, a 1-2 minute break every hour, to just stop the machines and let me sit in place and let my eyes adjust for just a moment, would improve productivity as well. Also, we can't listen to music while we work, so I find myself singing to myself or counting the potatoes I touch. I got up to 2,684 before I got interrupted by someone.

It was really worse than this. Potatoes were moving a lot faster, and I mean, that's chocolate, not rotten potatoes.

Today, even though I just turned in the rest of my paperwork to become an official temporary employee, I was informed that they were offering temporary employees 3 month contracts, and that temporary employees that did not accept the contract may not be needed for work anymore. Well, I have only about 2 months left in Australia, so a 3 month contract is out of the question. So I am not sure how much of a future I have at this potato factory, a thought that isn't all that troubling, but I do need the money. On top of this, I am afraid that I am probably at the bottom of the list for grape picking now. So if I am no longer employed in potatoes, and grapes are still weeks away, I may have to consider throwing in the towel and heading back to Adelaide. As it is, my profit margin working the little bit I did is about $200, but if I pay to stay another week and do not work at all that week, I lose that profit. I am frustrated and disappointed that work has evaded me so much in Australia. It's an expensive place, and it's fairly impressive that I have made it this far living entirely on savings and donations from Christmas and family. It also helps that I pay very low rent in Adelaide to stay with the Pollocks. But I may still be able to visit Perth before I got home, if I pool my money and my mother's donated airline miles.
It's really still up in the air. I am going to talk to the receptionist Sam when I can to find out my place on the list, and talk to my supervisor Monday and see how much work I can hope to get from the potato factory. If it looks like nothing is going to pan out, I may be back on a train toward Adelaide by Tuesday next week.

2/16- I spoke to my mom and grandparents this morning to let them know the status of my work situation. I loved to hear Pop laugh and laugh when I told him I didn't want to see a potato for weeks after spending a couple of days at this job. I walked to town and got a hotdog and a spider (coke float) for lunch, then went into Foodland to get some cheap soda and sausages to make for dinner tomorrow night (and to spend time in the AC). It is sooooo hot here. I cannot sleep at night. We have to close our window because people are so loud outside at night, but in doing so, it gets unbearably hot and humid in our room. I lay perfectly still in my minimal amount of clothes I can wear in a 10 share hostel room, with my head as close to the osculating fan as I can possibly get it, and I am still drenched in sweat. I long for my double bed with a ceiling fan and open window at Chateau Pollock in Adelaide...