Breakout Session!

So things have been crazy here . . . lots of work with a little bit of fun! I have been to about 30 jobs and 4o days in the field since I arrived in Poza Rica. It has been a lot of hard work but also really fun. I have learned soooo much and I have to say my Spanish is getting much better though I still have trouble speaking! Also I was able to travel during my days off.

My roommate and best friend from Reynosa, Karina, was going to get married the weekend after my birthday but things changed due to lack of documents but I still got to go see her in her hometown, Puebla. I took a bus in the middle of the night which took about 6 hours . . . surprisingly I am getting a lot better at sleeping in cars, buses and unusually places. It can be one of the things I can say I have learned from this job!! When I got there I went to breakfast with her whole family . . . aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. for her mom's birthday! Her fiancee, Qarnain was also there (he is another engineer/friend from Canada that works in Reynosa). It was soooo nice seeing her and doing normal things . . . just hanging out with a friend! We went out to eat and then decided to go ice skating! It was the first time I did that since I was about 10! I was horrible especially when you compare me to Qarnain who is from Canada and Karina who practiced figure skating for awhile! It was still a lot of fun. After that we went bowling which I was a lot better at! Karina and I both thought that day was so nice . . . a time with friends, laughing, and just enjoying life and the time with each other.

After the lst day of craziness, the next two were pretty chill . . . watched movies, hung out with her family, and walked around the beautiful city. The city is surrounded by mountains and had an amazing climate. Unlike Poza Rica, when it rains it cools off instead of being sticky. It was a perfect vacation from work! I will upload more pictures but the ones below will give you a taste of what Puebla is all about!

Karina and I at lunch eating some really good food. This picture was the first picture together we realized which is horrible since we lived together and all!!

Karina, Qarnain, and I goofing off at the ice rink . . . man was I bad!! Just look at my beautiful form!

Me spending the day with Karina and her dad and brother in the center of Puebla at the famous cathedral.

I loved looking at all the building . . . they had a lot of Spanish influence and a lot were covered in tiles that Puebla is known for, pictured above.

The last day we spent in a town outside of Puebla that had a beautiful cathedral on top of the hill which is actually ancient ruins that you can see some of in the picture.

After the much needed break, I started going to a lot of jobs and started getting even more responsibilities. When I went to the well most of the time I was in charge of the reports and all the paperwork and sometimes even talking to the client which was scary!! With that my manager here said it was time for my breakout job which means that I would be operating the unit and doing all the meetings and stuff (acting as supervisor). We planned for one job but we had some issues so it ended not being my job which was a little disappointing. Little did I know a few days later I would be going to do 8 wells in 7 days!!

Well . . . during those wells, I operated the unit the whole time for a milling job. Come to find out that the supervisor and the other engineer there were watching me and ended up making that my breakout job! When I got back to the base my manager said that I had broken out, meaning that I was being promoted from a trainee to an actual engineer!! It is really exciting but scary at the same time because that brings more responsibilities. The day after my breakout I got to design two jobs and perform those operations which was awesome. I will get to have a lot more practice very soon because there is another 8 well job that we will start in the next week. I am finally getting comfortable here, however, with my breakout means I will be heading back to Reynosa soon. Below are just a couple of pictures from those 8 wells!

Christian and Eric writing the number of the well on a sign so the water guys would not get lost.

Jesus and I showing off our hard work after we finished mixing a batch of gel. You had to put this powder in diesel and then mix it to from a gel. It was crazy, the powder would stick to you everywhere and then when you sweat it would form a gel. I rubbed my neck and it was not normally!! After these I was the smelliest and dirtiest I had ever been in my whole life . . . I guess that's what happens when you do not shower for 6 days and wearing the same clothes after working in the mud and sun!!

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.