Berhenti. This is a Malaysian word meaning, "stop." It is most often found at intersections on a red octagonal shape that looks exactly like the American version of the same sign. However, as the title of this particular post states, I believe this attitude to be the general one of the Malaysian person. Kind of awesome and kind of scary. Usually (unless there are guards in place at locations like checkpoints) the most response I see to the berhenti signs here is a slow roll through the intersection, stopping really only if a car is closs enough to hit us. Here in Miri, my teksi (taxi) driver disregards these signs entirely. Its kind of exciting and slightly scary, but it makes every car ride an adventure!
My sea survival course has been very interesting thus far. I am in a class with an Australian, a northern European (Norway?), a halliburton engg from Singapore, and 9 guys from Malaysia who all hold various positions on rigs like welder or rigger. A rigger, btw, is someone who works around the rig with the mechanical equipment as well as doing whatever jobs need to be done.
The first day of class my our teacher, whose name is David, introduced himself as David Beckham. I could only laugh...apparently that man is popular in this part of the world.
Though all the people in class are nice, it has been a different sort of experience because at least 2 of them speak/understand very little english, and 2 or 3 more have a slightly better grasp, but still not so hot. So the first day class was pretty much taught in both english and Malay, with David switching back and forth in both languages. Kind of fun, but it trying to catch him as he switched back and forth got slightly head-achy after awhile. The first morning was all power point so I utilized the awesomeness that is the little candies at my table. I avoided the coconut ones and went straight for those with coffee flavor. :) Most of the first day was about why safety is important, as well as how to handle emergencies on rigs, and what to do in an emergencie. Also, firefighting!
My firefighting practical rocked! We put on PPE (coveralls, helmets, boots, gloves, gas masks) and using proper guiding techniques make it through a 60-80 foot corrugated metal building through doors and around obstacles. The first time we went through it we had light filtering in the building. Second time was in the dark with smoke surrounding us, which is slightly scary because you can see nothing! Even though I went through it in the light it still felt completely different going back when I could not see. It definitely felt more real. The final time we went though the building the opposite way, in the dark with smoke, in groups. I was last in my 4 person group and it was definitely more difficult because not only did I have to keep in contact, but it felt like we were going the wrong way because the instructors closed all the doors on us and we had to figure out how to open and go through them in the dark. Next we headed over to a concrete area with metal containers and such on it, and got to practice putting out chemical, gas, liquid, and solid fires. Very cool. Basically they just lit stuff up for us and we took turns with different types of fire extinguishers to put them out. My inner pyro was fulfilled.
Today was the sea survival part of the course. We had the lecture in the morning again, including first aid, different types of life boats, how to survive in the water for multiple days, and what to do if you are floating by yourself, with another person, or in a group. The guy that lectured today told me I was going to be the OIM for the day, which stands for Offshore Installation Manager. This person is basically the person in charge of deciding if they abandon the platform, making sure roll is called, and they are supposed to be the last one into any lifeboat and the last one out of any lifeboat. It was kind of fun, even if I didn't volunteer. One of my Malaysian friends told me they jokingly call the OIM, "orang itu malas" (hopefully spelled that right), which basically stands for "The Lazy Person." Apparently the OIM doesn't generally have a good rep on the rig :) All my co-survivalists were very nice to me though and we had a good day practicing getting in and out of different life rafts, floating around in the pool trying to stay together as they were throwing waves at us, and counting off (always an important part of any safety exercise, apparently). The waves were pretty cool. I hope I am never in the ocean in a lifejacket having to deal with them in real life, though. We also practiced boarding and getting off of vessels in rough seas using ropes to swing on. Slightly scary for me as I was afraid my clumsiness would come into play (it didn't!). Finally, we had to board an inflatable raft (that looks kind of like a teepee), paddle it over to the other side of the pool, and then, one-by-one, be lifted out of the pool in a helicopter harness. Pretty fun stuff!! Helicopter harnesses are also not as comfortable as those people being rescued from floods make them look. False advertising, I say...
Also today I had some amazing chinese food!! It is nice to get to say that about a meal. I had Pineapple Fried Rice "Thai Style" (don't really know what that means) and sweet and sour chicken. We do it so wrong in Kansas. Chinese food here tastes so much better! However, I think the proximity to China helps with this.
So that has been my last two days I think. I have my first sunburn on my face and so if nothing else tans, at least that will!! It is difficult to tan when you work outside and everything from your neck to your toes is covered in protective gear. At least none of you have to wonder if I will contract skin cancer (contract? eh..whatever).
But now I am tired. I took a two hour nap today but feel as if I have been hit by a large bus. Probably one that didn't stop at the Berhenti sign...tsk. :) Love you guys, have a great day!
Becca
No comments:
Post a Comment