Settling in

Almost a week done here in Puerto Rico and I'm much more comfortable and much less lonely than my last post.  Work continues to be long, any my feet have been killing me the past few evenings.  Yesterday large chunks of blistered skin peeled off of each heel when I took off my socks, and there's a large callus on my right big toe.  My feet throb, but I suppose it's what I should expect walking for 8 hours a day in boots.  That being said, I should finish my big, important field tomorrow.  I have walked 5/6 of the field in three full days, so I'm hoping I can finish the last sixth in my half day tomorrow.  I would really like to be done in there tomorrow and move on to other locations!

Other things have been going well.  I got gas--no credit at the pumps here and I was a little leery of the language barrier, do you pump first or pay first?  Cleared that hurdle.  I've also frequented Walgreens for my chapstick and snacking needs; tomorrow I plan on swinging by to get new headphones.  It's a long day in the field with no music and my cheap earbuds are crapping out on me.  I also haven't used the GPS since Monday, but to be fair I'm just driving the same 10 kilometers every day.  But I haven't gotten lost!

I'm also less lonely.  Manuel, the crew leader, checks in with me each morning and we usually chat for 5-10 minutes which is nice.  Mostly work stuff, but it's nice that he checks in with me every day, even if it's just to say hi.  On Wednesday, a little out of desperation, I called Bill, a contact I had made before coming.  He is another Pioneer employee from York, Nebraska and had been here the past week and a half.  He also knew that Greg from Champagne, Illinois, had just gotten in, and the three of us ate at a little place over the ocean that night.  The food took forever and the Puerto Rican style steak I ate may have been cow tongue (it was a very strangely shaped piece of meat and tough), but it was nice to interact with someone and get out of my hotel.  Last night I was on my own again since Bill was packing to leave the island and Greg was working, but Greg and I headed out this evening and I think my pork chop was half a pig.  Pretty good though.

Although I'm pretty motivated to finish that field tomorrow, I'm also pretty excited for some time off.  I was told we're only working a half day tomorrow (I'm not supposed to work by myself, so when others go home, I do too), so the current plan is to call Greg and we'll explore some tomorrow and Sunday.  I'm supposed to research where to go and he'll do the driving.  Sounds like a good deal to me!  Hopefully I'll have some good stories and pictures to share soon!