My Experience as Expat Engineer
by Carlos Calderon.
Tengiz, June 1st 2006. I am working
in Tengiz, Kazakhstan. I have been here for more than four months now.
I am going to present below a brief account of my experience here:
1. The trip Venezuela-Kazakhstan
The company that hired me issued an electronic airfare ticket from Caracas
to Amsterdam with a transfer point in Paris. Everything worked alright
with two exceptions: one of the airlines lost my baggage and there was
nobody waiting for me in Amsterdam to give me the ticket and instructions
for the rest of the trip. Since I had a hotel reservation for one night
in Amsterdam, I left the airport and headed for the hotel... To make
the story short: I got to my final destination five days later! You
have no idea how useful it is to speak English until you have to travel
through three non-English, non-Spanish speaking countries and yet find
your way around. My employer recognized that there had been flaws in
the logistics and planning of my trip and reimbursed my expenses.
2. The Cultural Shock
We work 12 to 14 hours per day, seven days per week. My rotation is
70/15, that is, I work seventy straight days and then get 15 days off.
In this country people live to work. There are no unions. There are
no possibilities of asking for better work or living conditions. You
either do your job or someone else will take your place.
When I got to the hotel at the work site, I was surprised to see that
the room was scarcely three by four meters and had no individual bathroom.
I was told then that I had been lucky because I had been given the status
of a European. The other accommodations had no individual rooms and
their food and general conditions were... well, not as good.
The food is a major cultural issue for us. The menu at the hotel is
exactly the same every day. It consists of meat or pork, cabbage, potatoes
and pasta. The taste is good but it seems like the word “variety”
does not exist in the cooks’ dictionary. One can buy chocolates
and fruits in some stores. Their price is four to ten times what they
cost in Venezuela.
Politics here is not a problem. All locals speak Kazak or Russian, therefore
you can not get involved in a political conversation with them. People
from other nationalities that work here just don’t care about
it. Religion, on the other hand is a hot issue. Most people here, even
expatriates are Muslims. For them all western people are sinners and
despise us, sometimes even rudely.
In general, foreigners are not welcome here. I have not had any major
problems, but in another worksite close to here, two foreign workers
were killed last month in separate foreigner hatred incidents. It is
highly recommended not to go out alone here, especially at night.
Another aspect that may affect our Latin culture is that related to
personal hygiene. One local confessed to me yesterday: “We do
not take showers”. It takes a lot of effort to overcome this part.
3. The Work
All specifications, reports, minutes, procedures, paper work and personnel
functions are the same as in the Venezuelan Oil Industry. I felt as
if I was working in a project for PDVSA when I started here. Even the
order in the Weekly Construction Meetings between the client and us
(the contractor) are the same as in Venezuela. They start with the Safety
Minute, and so on.
I felt a certain resistance when I first got here. I arrived with a
five days delay and my supervisor is a workaholic. He did not like at
all that I did not get here on time. But, after lots of effort and good
work I have finally gained his acceptance. I have built a solid and
good relationship with the client’s planning team and that is
very important for a foreign contractor. So, fulfilling the job requirements
part has not been a problem.
In general, the construction logistics and procedures are pretty much
the same as in Venezuela. The HSE requirements and policies are also
similar to ours.
4. Conclusion
I came here on a six month contract. I am now in my fifth month and
there is a good chance that I will be offered an extension. This is
not a paradise but it has been a great satisfaction to me that what
I learned working in the oil industry in Venezuela is valid and recognized
here, in the opposite side of the world.
 All
this experience has been possible thanks to cvempleo.com,
a pioneer head hunter in Venezuela that is promoting abroad the Venezuelan
talent.
My applauses for them!!! |