Construction-destruction!!

What a month...oops I meant week! (It sure felt like a month)

Our journey to the paving/construction industry was introduced at an unexpected time and the idea alone left us puzzled and curious. To our satisfaction our curiosity fed our hungry brains while grafting our lives away.

The site we visited was in Melrose Arch and we were working as labourers in a paving company.
We were all pretty chuffed with ourselves as we were mingling with the "giants" of the construction industry - Murray and Roberts. Twas quite an experience! However, contradictory to their massive name and reputation, the safety induction we received was not-so-impressive. Nevertheless we managed to grasp the important factors and import all the "knowledge" we needed to remain safe on site.

So the journey started after a long morning and unusual training session. We received a warm welcome from our fellow labourers and in no time we were grafting like never before, literally.
The days became longer and the progress was gradual, yet we met interesting and dynamic individuals. Be it labourer, foreman, supervisor; the guys we met were great! Props to Earth Civils for their great team!

While on site we also managed to integrate all our in-house training outcomes with real-life experiences! That was a reality check! Funny how one became so observant of the safety involved in performing the various tasks. I cannot even begin to explain how many substandard acts and conditions I witnessed. Its amazing how the people continue doing jobs which put their lives at risk. To some extent we also needed to place ourselves in the position of the people and try to understand the reasons why these behaviours are performed. This was the main purpose of the practical.

That said, we had to move on to communication and building bonds with our fellow workers. Which was the only way we could find out more about their jobs and personal experiences. This was very difficult for me to achieve as I had what many may call a "fan club" and hence conversing with some of the guys was an overwhelming process. There were a couple of people who I made friends with though, and I learnt a lot from.

The past week definately served as a learning curve for me and I can finally have a conversation with the guys regarding things such as types of bricks, cement, machinery... the works! All in all it was great fun!

The downfall came when I was exposed to a great amount of dust (which I am allergic to). This managed to rekindle my timely hayfever and led to me being very sick and nasal. Nothing a good rest and medication could not handle though.

Our hard work continues in Strydom Park and we're yet to see what will come out of it.
So far, so good...

Out.