MyLong&WindingRoad: Summertime In The VHT

It’s 8:30 in the morning and I am sitting at the dining table of our humble abode, just having heard that we start work a bit later today. So instead of crawling back under the sheets – as tempting as that may be right now – I decided to seize the day and type up another little update.

Our humble abode. Have I mentioned that we absolutely looove living here?!

On our way to work. Always a scenic route.

The packing shed

We have been here for three weeks now and work has been good. Our days haven’t been as consistently long as in Katherine, but usually between 8h and 14h. The packing shed here is a bit smaller, but filled with double the amount of people and running at double the speed. Or so we hear… because Mo and I have been given positions in the VHT – the Vapour Heat Treatment – and are sealed off from the outside world.

In addition to the normal mango packing shed, the farm here in Giru has a facility in which the mangos are treated with heat to enable export to Korea and China.

The room in which they are packed – lovingly dubbed “The Box” - is a strict quarantine area. You get in through two doors, one leads into the airlock, in which all packing materials are fumigated and once this one is properly closed again, the second one opens into our kingdom.

Mo is in control of everything post-pack – which fruit gets tipped, how the boxes are packed, labeled and stacked and ensuring the orders are completed in time. And he is quite good at it! Chris is our forklift driver and keeps everyone’s moods up by just being him. Rachel and Tarn – the bosses kids, our house-mates and two wonderful people to live, work and enjoy our free time with, Masako – the packing queen in Katherine, and myself are in charge of packing the mangoes. And in some cases, polishing and packing – ugh! The heat from the treatment can cause the mangos to “sweat” sap, which leaves shiny stains along the fruit. When sap-ridden batch comes down the line, we get to shine them up with a soggy cloth – all.day.long. After a day like that my hands are dry and sensitive and my fingers so incredibly sore that they just stay in a permanent enclosing-a-mango position. But when the fruit is good, we smash through those bins in no time at all and finish the day with a smile…

Tarn and Rachel :)

Tipping the bin...

Polishing them mangoes...

Moe putting in the last bin. But shhhh, don't tell anyone...

(He's actually not allowed to drive that forklift)

Definite pros of being in the VHT are the cool temperature (air-conditioned to the max!) and the fact that we get to listen to music. Amazing how a good beat or some sing-along tunes can keep you on your toes.

Cons include the seclusion from the outside world, the constant hot-cold 15degree temperature difference, having to rely on the treatment going well (my extra 2h this morning are, for example, thanks to something going wrong) and a clash in personality/professionalism/attitude with our quality controller. Said person has been the only reasons why a fun day at work could turn sour and frustration could spread amongst us. Bossy and unfriendly, condescending and petty – and all that without really having much of a clue about mangoes! And though the problem has been addressed and management is doing their best to keep her off our backs, I don’t think it’s over quite yet. Oh well, grin and bear it, I guess.

Everything else is fine and actually fun. After three months with Manbulloo, we have noticed ourselves getting more and more involved in the goings on and attached to the name and company. We're "feeling" it, as some might say. We've come to appreciate the work on a different level than we did four years ago and are happy that they have come to trust and appreciate us and what we do for them. And on the other hand, we cannot thank them enough for how they have treated us in return.

The view during our breaks.

Aside from work, we are enjoying our time in Ayr and surroundings. Free time is spent in the kitchen cooking up a storm, on the couch watching movies, and yesterday we hung out at the beach in Alva loading up on some much needed vitamin D, playing with crabs and soaking in the salty pool made by sand dunes closing off the ocean (and stingers, crocs and sharks) from the beach.

It’s definitely a good life here and we are enjoying it. At the same time, the excitement about the months to come is growing. Christmas and New Year are just another two days that will come and pass this year. And I have a gut-feeling that next year is going to be legend… wait for it …ary! :)