Work

It's been almost nothing but eat, sleep (a little) and work since I started the job at Parmalat. My schedule is still totally crazy and I don't know what day or time it is anymore usually but I'm getting lots of hours and the management is now calling and asking for me by name to come in. This is good. very good. Not that I'm surprised. I do have a workaholic mode and I move fast. I move twice as fast at work as anyone else, not because I'm trying but I just seem to be naturally fast. It probably also has something to do with the fact that I'm maniacally optimistic at work as well. I probably freak a lot of people out, but when I make more in a day working there than I did in a month in the Phillipines (but I do miss the Phils so much still) I can practically taste the dust of future sketchy bus rides in the next set of third world countries that I'll travel to :)
I have still just continued to work in the bottling section of the place, rotating around to all the various duties within that area. It is amazing how much product and packaging waste there is though. I still can't get over seeing litres and litres of milk being dumped out of the vats to drain off the floor. There must be a lot of cows in the world....
Because we are working around machinery and wear ear plugs all day and there are no scheduled breaks such that we break together (usually you get relieved for break and it almost rotates around rather than stops all at once) there is very little socializing at work. I have obviously met a couple of people and there are quite a few foreigners in the place. Kiwis, South Africans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Samoans, etc. It's funny because I get along with them better than the Aussies most of the time I guess, particularly the Africans. I work a lot with one South African guy and it was funny that I was able to back him up on a story about South Africa to an Aussie he was talking to.
Another thing I've noticed and find a little weird is that I seem to have a little bit more patriotism left than I realized. Not that I think about Canada and "home" much anymore, but Aussies that I meet always ask me what I think of their country. To be polite I just answer that it's a lot like Canada but pleasantly warmer. But because of the similarities in the two countries I do find myself comparing the two, something I haven't done with others (I don't compare Canada to India, Ghana or Taiwan for example) and with the exception of the weather I believe Canada superior on pretty much all counts. Attitude, culture, tolerance, sport, etc just seem better in the Canada I remember compared to here. But then a lot of the Canadians I've met have said the same thing, though not publicly. I'm just surprised that I agree so easily. Maybe that comes across as exceedingly arrogant or something but it's my current thought.
Note: That doesn't mean I have rediscovered a desire to move back to Canada any time soon, I still have lots of travelling to do!
Ammon