St. Barbara's day

Long Live the MINERS!!!!!

To all the miners. I guess I could call myself one but this would be a exaggeration...A really big one :) So it's to all the people that really worked their assess of in Iran (now I'd be in this group :) ). Shame not everyone appreciates that....

Górniczy stan, heoj, niech nam żyje! Niech żyje nam górniczy stan!
Bo choć przed nami światło dzienne kryje, toć dla Ojczyzny trud ten jest nam dan.
Boć synowi podziemnych czarnych światów każdy chętnie poda swą dłoń.
Niech żyje nam, niech żyje nam górniczy stan! Niech żyje nam górniczy stan!

Czy nie słyszysz dzwonka z naszej wieży i kilofa, który wzywa nas?
Hej, do szybu niech z nas każdy bieży! „Szczęść nam Boże!” zaśpiewajmy wraz!
Boć synowi podziemnych czarnych światów każdy chętnie poda swą dłoń.
Niech żyje nam, niech żyje nam górniczy stan! Niech żyje nam górniczy stan!

Gdy nareszcze góry się zachwieją i wnijdziem, bracia, do światłości bram,
staniem wszyscy z tą błogą nadzieją, że złota miłość więzi serca nam.
Boć synowi podziemnych czarnych światów każdy chętnie poda swą dłoń.
Niech żyje nam, niech żyje nam górniczy stan! Niech żyje nam górniczy stan!

Da Godfather....

So I became a godfather. Don Ufok...Capo di tutti capi... :)
The pictures below show my goddaughter. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, BARCA (with an 's')!!!
She's my friend's 7-week-old cane corso.

Sweet, intelligent, beautiful (ok, i've found a dog, how about a girlfriend? :) ).
You can play with me now, but i'll be 45kg heavy someday!

It wasn't me....

Have you seen my food???
Apart from that not much has changed. I am still sending CVs and waiting for some reply. Come on you people, I would be a great asset to any company.... :)
khoda hafez.haste naboshid...

Gooooodbyee Iran!!

Welcome Poland!

First of all i'd like to say hi to my new fans in Katowice :) The saying "No matter what they say about you, as long as they speak about you" is very up to date :)

My contract ended yesterday. I've been in Poland since Friday.
The trip itself was ok. 12 hours on the bus to tehran reminded of school trips :) then a short wait at the airport, flight to frankfurt (scotch & soda bitte), then a wait at the frankfurt airport (tequilla,arriba arriba!!! - though at 8 Euro a shot it was not the best deal in our lives), then a flight to Katowice (Poland welcomes with a sandwich) and eventually a 5 hour train trip to Poznan (had to stand in the corridor until Wroclaw!!). So after merely 40 hours I was home. Woohoo. And...
I have this strange feeling. It's like I miss Iran a bit (oh my god, call a doctor, he went bananas!!). I guess after 6 months of living in one place you get used to it. To the people, the work, the place itself, the jackals performing concertos every night.
But this is Poland. I am happy to be here. But then again. I am in a bit of a standstill (just like the belts underground :) ). Don't really know what to do. I am waiting for some things to be finalized and then I'll start changing my life :) Or at least I'll try and organise it. We'll see. Meanwhile, i am cherrishing Poland, the winter (ok, I am not, It is way to cold), polish people. Waiting for christmas, new year's and then...a new something :)
Take care all of you.
For those who managed to spend some time in Iran with me and for those reading that pile of bollocks - a big thanks.
Photos to be added soon.
Take care...

Hajer przodowy jako sie widzi....

Hi there you surface rats :)

Now this picture is for all of those doubting that I work in a mine. I do :) and i took this photo last friday, after I spent a shift underground. Oh, by the way. I did not get dirty somewhere on the surface. I honestly worked underground. With two of the mechanics. Nothing complicated of course, but still :) I like this job :)

'sup bro'? The hands that heal..

All is cool. Work is crazy. I'll be in Poland soon. So all of you out therem get ready for the boy is going to be BACK IN TOWN!!!And we'll rock it! :)

take care!!!

Luv ya...

Employee of the month...

Ah fock it. Why be modest. Employee of the year, the best employee ever :)

This is what I got from the Mine Construction Manager today. He is leaving on holiday and coming back on the 25th. On the 25th I will probably in Poland so he gave it today.

Is it really about me? :)
Though he made a slight mistake writing that I've been in Iran since March. Hm.. Maybe it was about someone else? :)

Take care you all.Soon I'll post a photo reportage :) from an Iranian wedding I went to a week ago.

P.S.
Yesterday we were all wondering if Mama Kaczynska had spanked Lech for signing Jarek's resignation :)

Ch,Ch,Ch,Changes...

Salam aleykom. Haste naboshid. Two news today. You choose which is bad and which is good :)

1st)So I had my hair cut. I have to explain myself. My friend was the hairdresser. And, well...One can see he is not a pro... :)
This is the shortest hair I have ever had,i think...And it was a challenge. To have short hair with the head being so big (though full of brains) :) Of course it has all been recorded for the sake of humanity (don't do this at home). Anyway, it's almost a week since I did it and they are starting to grow back.
Oh, by the way. I am really getting bold :) But than again, bold men are supposedly great lovers :p
So now. Ladies and gentlemen. Get ready for the de-hairing of Lukasz Wlodarczyk. Hope the Samson syndrone does not get me :)

I really had a tough day at work. Really!


It's the flash of the camera. Had to close my eyes. By the way. Wouldn't I make a great punk?

Prisoner no. 45632Lw. Sentence-6 months in Iran. :)
See I am blushing. New haircut, big ears, had to blush :) And the stain on me t-shirt is not a stain. It's water...

So this is how I look now. I guess now I can be mourning. The second news is that I am staying in Iran till the 25th of November. The mine, the maingate to be more exact, was flooded on Monday. Really flooded. I think the geologist missed a lake when taking measurements. and whoops. there it was.loads of water coming from the sdidewall. all the motors flooded, electricians trying to save sensitive equipment. Face Rescue Operation is on. a great example of one of Murphy's laws. "if anything can get worse, it is sure to fuck up".and it did :) but it could have been worse. the face could've been totally fucked.but it isn't.anyway.two additional weeks is not that bad. i'll manage.



One of the mottos. Though the real version should be:"Food+rest=end of shift"



The mosque in Tabas.









Same mosque.Good, old me. Trying to spoil every picture. :)



Inside the mosque. A tomb of Imam Kazeem. We shouldn't be taking pictures in there.



My artistic soul made me take that picture :)


Enough :) khoda hafez. peace out.

I'm leaving on a jet plane....

....don't want to come back here again....

So, I have a plane ticket to Poland booked for the 11th of November.
What can I say. I am happy. I want to go back. Spend some time in Poland.
This country is depressing. Of course one can get used to everything. Come on, in some countries people it french fries with mayo.. :) but it is too much. We're in a sort of a cage or a fish tank. But then again, if a fish is in a nice room then it is happier. And here?It's totally different.
Everything forbidden, small town, same people all the time...
This job has taught me a lot. A great experience that I hope will flourish in the future. Maybe...
On the 12th I am supposed to be in Poland. To be honest I anticipate that something will still change but for the time being that's the end date. I started counting days. It's not good, because time goes by slower when you do that. But what can you do :) I am happy I'm going back.
These two months after my holiday really passed quickly. Really, really quickly. Hope the two weeks left will pass as quickly...
People are going crazy. Loads of different documents to translate, quality control sheets, method statements. And guess who has to translate them :)
And as always, when something ends and there's lots to do people have a tendency to loose their temper. But I am calm as never :) Ok, I'm not... :)
Today is a big day. I am going to have my hair cut. I guess i'll look like a total dumbo :) Never had hair so short. I'll try and post some photos of the whole procedure :)
Take care.See you soon.

P.S.
Happy birthday Aga and an overdue happy birthday to Ruda. You're both fantastic. Keep it that way...

Xerxes's Revenge...

And so he finally got me. The cunning bastard. Was after me all the time. Louring me, teasing, offering great fruits. And got me eventually....
For the last two days I was a zombie. Temperature. Chivers. Visitng the toilet every 30 minutes. Nightmare. I got two days of work.Watched some movies (I must tell you. I did not know "Star Wars III:Revenge of the Sith" was such a pile of bollocks, how could they have ruined such a great movie...).
Anyway. Today I was back at work. Still the belly is hurting but it's ok.
But the bad thing is. Three of my roommates must have been also infected. I guess House no. 9 should be Quarantined, or at least drop an A-bomb here :)
I feel sorry for them. Though I was the one to take the first attack of the monsterous disease and had the most serious symptoms. Am I a good bloke, or what?
Today I woke up and thought someone was giving birth to an alien. Rember the movie?When the little chap got out through the abdomen?Well I thought this was happening at my house. It occured to be Adam, trying to fight the disease. Over the toilet seat. Poor chap...But he's ok now.
Today was also payday. Better than I expected I guess...So mood is quite ok.
Abnd of course on Saturday Lech beat Legia 1-0.Woohoo.....KOLEJORZ!!
Take care all of you.. I'm working on new pictures. Must admit I made one really nice.Could made a postcard :)
love ya all..

Birthday - the Iranian way :)

So. Yesterday was my birthday. I am 27, going on 30 :) oh my god :)



20/09/2007 was the day I was waiting for. Me birthday. and the party :) Normally in Poland or anywhere else (my previous 3 birthdays were in England and one in Denmark) we would go to a pub or a party place. But this is Iran. And only men :)



But anyway. We managed to arrange a little something ;) and at my place we had a sitting party. Well, some of us tried to play table tennis :)



It was ok. I got 3 kabanosy :) and a Gornik Zabrze key holder :) I'll post the pictures tomorrow or somewhere in the near future (today's picture is a GIF so the quality is very poor, sorry).



But then again, I want birthdays in Poland :)



Today we went to Esmerghan. Since it's Ramazan there were no persians, the whole place for us. A really cool to day today. And my suntan is getting bette. I am turning into a latino lover, though a bit bold :)

one small leap for a man, one giant leap for mankind!

Tomorrow back to work. Brrrr....



I start wondering what awaits for me after this contract ends. i have to think everything over. I guess i want to be back home. Get a job there, maybe start something own?who knows...

27, it's the point of life when most important things should be settled. Important thing for me is to understand that :) i still have problems with it. enough of moaning.
take care...cheerio...khoda hafez

Boys are back in town....

Hey there. So long till I last wrote. Over a month. But a lot has happened.




Me, in Poland - what a dummy :)



So. My holiday. Very eventful to say at least :) Though spent in Poznan, but it was good to see my family and friends. And polish beer. and polish women, who are really beautiful!!!






First I flied to Tehran. Being out of Tabas was a big relief. After all the hassle with getting the visa. Tehran is a different world from Tabas. European one could say. Almost pornographic - women have most of their hair uncovered!!! OH MY GOD!!CALL THE POLICE!!!OUTRAGEOUS!!BLESPHAMY!!!Prices are also european. But we had a good meal,shower, short sleep and off to the airport. Bear in mind my state - i still did not have a passport when I was in the cab to the airport!!


There were three of us - me, Mining Manager and Senior Electrical Enginner. The last two superb people. The first one is a bit of a tosser but still likeable :)



So. We arrived at the airport and I had to wait for the passport. I waited and waited and waited. Finally the guy came, with my passport, work permit and exit visa. Can you believe that one visit in Iran and 6 pages of your passport are gone. Entry visa, exit visa, visa extension, work permit, resident visa and normal visa :)


Anyway. We were finally on the plane to Frankfurt. As soon as it took off, I called for the flight attendant (not the gorgeous one from my flight to Iran) and said:


-Guten abend. Ich moechte vodka trinken. Drei monaten in Iran. Verstehen sie? :)


I guess she understood because very soon i was sipping nice, vodka and coke on rocks. Hmm. Not long after she visited me again. Marika, that was her name, now brought me jack daniels :) Lufthansa, Ich liebe dich!!! :)



You all can anticipate how it all ended. I had a very good and joyful flight. In Frankfurt I had to wait 4 hours for my plane to Poznan. So we went to have a beer. Dorota, the bartender, happened to be from Poland, and we were witnesses of a miracle - one beer changed into four!Wohoo!


Poznan, my dear Poznan. I somehow managed to pass the passport control (explaining that I have just arrived from Iran :) ).And went home. Cool to seem y family. Really missed them.


That evening I went out for the first time. Was back home at four. Next day out again. Home at seven. My brother was a bit pissed off when I went to his room at 7 in the morning and said:


"Will you assemble these chairs?"


I still dont know what chairs I was after :)



You have to remember it was friday, day of Walker's wedding and I still did not have my best man speech!So I had a three hours sleep and prepared the speech :) Somehow.
5 o'clock the wedding started. I was best man, one of the best days of my life.really. I was honoured. Pretty nervous too :)
And then the party! Nice please, by the lake. friends and many unknown people :)
I was the most stressed person on the whole planet!REally, tried to put off the moment of the speech. But then, the young couple had their first dance, so I though "If Piotrek can dance, I can make a speech" :)


And did it. And guess what?Everybody loved it.OR at least said they did :) I think it was ok. But the nerves were killing me :) Anyway. The party was cool. Eventually I got a bit dazzled ;)


Thasnks Mira and Piotr for giving me the oportunity. I was overwhelmed to be your best man. You're the best...



The following day I went out again. A re-party at the new husband's house and then off elsewhere. Was home at 10 am. But trust. I am too old for this kind of things :) Went to sleep at 8pm and woke up at 12 the next morning (i think :) ).


And then time run out so quickly. As did the money on my account :) But it do not regret going. I needed that, really!
But going back to Iran was horrible.Nice that Dorota was working when we were in Frankfurt, she new what to get us :)
Flight to Tehran - 5 hours of bad mood, directly propotional to the amount of whiskeys I had :)
Then guesthouse in Tehran. And then Tabas. Welcome back to hell :) no, it's not that bad.

And then, out of nowhere. I found out that my superior has quit and I was to take over his duties. But then he changed his mind. Generally i am not sad as a result :) Too many duties I think. We agreed that when he comes back from holiday, he'd take the Administrative Department and I would take over the Translations Department. Maybe... :)
But now I have to take care of that shit. Guess I am doing ok, but time will show :)
Work is ok. The Site Manager has changed. Underground has changed.
U/G is cool. The face (coal seam) is operating now. I went there four times. Really cool experience to see the Power Loader (shearer) cutting the coal. Noise, dust everywhere. Miner have a really hard work. When I come back to the surface I look like the miners in tv. All black :) Once, underground, the senior mining engineer from ym company mistook me for an iranian :)


I stood a few meters from him, my face all black, and he said:
-Mr, belt ok? (meaning belt conveyor on which people can ride)
-No Mr. Belt haile bat (no, very bad belt conveyor) - I said.
-No belt Mr?Kurwa mac - he replied
and then he noticed that I was me :)

The whole project is getting to its final stage - the warranty tests. So it's a big of a crazy town. PApers, document, protocols - all to be translated. So a bit of work to do, but there are days of total laziness.
Tabas, has not changed. All is the same. Though morning are quite chilly now. But during the day it is still the same. Hot as f**k :)
Last friday i was at work, believe me or not but I was installing isolation valves on the pressure pipe range :) physical worker :)



The mosque in Tabas, from a long way away :)






Andrew (safety manager) and someone...

My new friend, Ali... :)

Trupek and me - just chillin'

UFOK WAS HERE.. :)

Everything is the same. We went to Esmerghan two weeks ago and Khor three weeks ago.
Khor, a dam, lake, place to swim. Esmerghan, osais and place to swim. cool places to chill.
Time to go. I'll try to write more often. But you now, managerial positions are time consuming :)

Take care all of you...

p.s.
Ramazan started. Work ended! :)

p.s.s.
Pictures!! Woohoo.

Voodoo people

Salam, haste naboshid...
Yes, we all look like voodoo people :) the last week has been a total frenzy. The commissioning of the face is approaching so everyone worked their asses off to meet the deadline. Especially that we've been told that a big shot from Teheran is coming, this is a political case and we'll get shot if we fail*

But i think it is going to be ready and the first Mechanized Longwall in Iran is going to run. But remember one thing, to start operating is not a problem, the problem is to maintain it...

Oh, onme more thing. I think I am going on holiday on Tuesday!!!
WOOHOOOOO!!!Finally. Though I am supposed to get my passport in Teheran, before flying out of Iran, I also still don't have a plane ticket to Europe, but I'vve been told that I have a Tabas-Teheran flight on Tuesday. Which is the best news in weeks. And I must admit i am really happy. Though the thought of coming back here is not ery nice :) It's like with parachuting. YOu do it the first time 'cause you're looking for new experience but when you know how it is, you shit your pants before the second jump :)
But enough of moaning :) I am glad i'll see my town and friends and that ui will make it to Walker's wedding and be the best man. I am Really looking forward to it.
Ok.take care.and cross your fingers for my flight and all.
cheerio

Happy Birthday sweet 16...27 :)

Happy Birthday JJ. All the best and so on. I wish everyone had friends like you...

Ok. So here I am. I have just learnt that maybe, with a 90% probability, inshallah, and so on, I might be able to fly out on 5/08. I sincerely hope so. I have to gety out of here :) no, it ain't that bad. But it's getting worse Mordad (somewhere between July and August) is supposed to be the hottest month here and Tabas is THE place NOT to be in the SUMMER!!But fock it.If all goes ok, it's only 7 working days for me left before I go.
Mining news? We have almost finished the installation. Now comes the small jobs. This is where the hardest part starts. Maybe this is why I have been sent underground. From Saturday onwards I'll be in the Resistance :) It's so boring underground. 19% of oxygen, feel sleepy all the time. But what can I do, nothing!
Take care, cross your fingers for my visa...and maybe see you (at least some of you) in the near future...or a further one :)

No men exist on surface...

Sob bekheyr...

You may wonder what the topic's about. Well, this is what Adam has been told by one of the Iranian miners.Someone wanted to call the haulage operator to check if any trasnport was going down the T/G and if he was safe to go out. But the chap told him that "no men exits on the surface".
"bloody hell" - he thought. "Is this the third world war?Have the Yanks invaded?Dropped an A-bomb?"
What the bloke wanted to say, is that there was noone to answer the phone :)
Yes, these people sometimes say funny things.
But the next one belongs to our compatriote, the operator of the pump station. He was training a group of young and eager IRanians to become pump station operators and they were all taking pipes from one place to another. and MArian (the polish specialist) was saying to them "Lula gende". They were all laughing and he thought it was because he was speaking good farsi.no,no,Mr Marian. "Lula" does indeed mean "pipe" but gende does not mean "give me"."gende" is the second part of the MotherF word :) so he was saying "pass me the focking pipe" :)
Of the other things. Our favorite tv show is english teaching. And so, everyday at 9 p.m. we sit and watch and repeat "thirteen or thirty, fourteen or fourty" and so on :) Don't really know what to think about it. it hink we are going slightly bananas... :)
My eyes are red. For over a week now.Fardo I am going to an eye doctor. Hope he/she helps me 'cause it is getting anoying. I jsut hope it is not anything bad. And my eyes will still be beautiful as they were :)
I cannot wait till my holiday. It is supposed to start on the 3rd of August. I hope it does. Really,sometimes this country can be depressing. I make stupid mistakes at work and the next day I am over the moon. In a good mood.
As for my farsi speaking skills they are...mediocre :) I know a few words, can buy the basic stuff in a shop but I had hoped for more. Well I still have some time here to pick up on my skills and hopefully I will.
ok.gotta go.take care all of you,if anyone keeps reading this load of bollocks :)
cheerio
khoda hafez

50 days and 50 nights

So, long time no write. But did anyone really miss me anyway? :)
I had an opening line, witty, funny and great but i forgot it, so no funny opening today :)
Not very uch has happened since i last wrote. so that's it for today.bye

:)

We had a company trip to Yazd last thursday (panj shambe). Yazd is really nice, though a 40-people trip takes all the effect away. I flt like on a school trip :) but fock it...
Yazd old town isreally great. With it's winding lanes and wind towers (sound like an extract from Lonely Planet). Cool place, just like the medinas Morocco...
found a comfortable couch, there was a pool inside the teahouse.really completely different to what we had seen so far. good to know that Iran is not only Tabas and Parvadeh mine...
oh, still no photos...sorry
work?it's ok.nice to be THE BIG BOSS :) for the last 2.5 weeks I ahve been the Deputy Translations Coordinator and Administrative someone :) i can know officially yell at people and tell them to take a piss :) but don't do that.when i grow up i want to be a CEO :)
things are lookign good.the vocabulary is almost in my head, though I still take canopies for bases. the only worrying thing is that i don;t know when i am gonna go to Poland.supposedly my holiday starts on the 3rd of August but there is a chance that I will not have the work permit by then which means i will bea ble to leave the country but not come back,at least till I get a work permit in Poland,what might take some time (wow,a 3.5 line sentence,almost like polish manuals)...but we'll see. as our boss says::"what can i do?" :)
tomorrow is 50 days in Iran for me...bloody hell,lana ti...i am sometimes fed up with this...and then I like it the next day.it's the "third month syndrome" :) but then again i think i've had enough. I guess i did not appreciate my life enough...now i can see how much i can do.i am not saying this is wrong here.no,people might be happy.but i cant see meself living here.i guess i am getting to a point,a decisive point.i'll either go bananas or accept the fact i am stuck here for the next 5 months :) by the way. my company apparently has signed contracts in India and Indonesia..cool places to go next :) or maybe an oil rig?
did i tell you there was a spider, the size of a human hand, 20 metres from my office. lucky I was not there :) bozorg spider,mister,bozorg...gure pedar mr spider...
it's getting haile garb...45-50 degrees and summer is not here yet.wonderful,bloody wonderful.
beam me up to Poland, Scotty....please...
take care, all of you...
P.S.
those who are expecting gifts. I have not bought anything yet. Tabas offers nothing I cannot buy in Poland, Yazd was closed...tough luck :)

Itsy, bitsy spider...Big, black, bastards

Long time, no write I could say. And that is completelly right. I just did not have the time/the will/strength :) to write. But I hope to make up for it.
First of all Happy Birthday Matt.Don't really know the exact date but I know it was last week (I also know that saying happy birthday a week after the birthday itself, is a bit weird :) ).
Anyway. Anything you wish for!And thousands of miles for you to walk,fly,swim,drive, just travel...and one more thing.30 is just the beginning...
The friday before last I hoped to see something different than the camp or the Parvadeh mine.But my hopes were shattered. I had two reports to write,lots of technical documentation to look through and spent the day in my room. It was too hot to be outside.So another friday at home.
But then came one of most terrifying weeks in my life. I saw three spiders!!!!!!!!!!!!AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
One of them on the road. And it was quite ok.we stared at eachother for some time and then went our ways. But then....Out of nowhere...A spider was in my bed!!!AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!Imagine that.
I was going to lay meself in bed, i lifted the pillow and then he/she was. Big as a dragon, hairy as a mammoth (thanks to Zosia for the comparison :P) and ferocious as you can be. He was looking at me, eyes burning with fire, deep breaths, showed his big fangs and was ready to attack. But no, i did not fall for his pathetic games,i did not back out. I stayed there looking back at him. We stood like that for about 30 seconds I jumped to grab a newspaper to fight the bastard, but it just went somewhere. The result - since then I have been sleeping on the other bed in my room :)
And then a spider in my office. Big bastard as well. I though he was dead. Even wanted to make friends with him, gave him two flies but he rejected them. And the day after he was gone. The result - since then I have been checking my office carefully for spiders :)
But finally this Friday I made it out of the camp. With two mates from my room (one of them speaking farsi) and we headed for the Arg e Tabas. (the fortress of Tabas). In the city centre. a 600-year-old fortress made out of clay and its derivatives :) It's destroyed now but still nice. I now think I should've been an army commander in those days. I would have ordered 5 fire brigades to attack the fortress, flush it with water and win the war :) ah,dreams...
Then we went to Koriti (or something like that). Quite a big city, destroyed by an earthquake 150 years ago. It really was quite impressive. we were then chased by a herd of goats, but i bet they came in peace :) Then we went to the city. And decided to play it the hard way and have some Iranian ice cream :) (i've had Moroccon ice cream before and was ok). Strange they were, but nice quite. The force with me be.Listen to Yoda I had... :)
Then towards the mosque (I forgot the name). The pictures you can see in the first post. Though we did not enter it,yet...We ate a chicken kebab and guess what???Iranian food can be tasty!!Finally, the rumours were right. Though it was only just one incident I now assume than Iranian food is edible :) and hope to experience more of it.And that was the end of my free day. quite eventful, i know look like a boiled cancer :) burn can the sun, know i now...
On sunday we had an influx of new polish personnel. and i am responsible for them now.only 10 people experienced miners and such an inexperienced person is telling them what and why and when :) but they're ok.and i am preparing to replace the Administrative Manager when he goes on holiday in 3 weeks time...who's gonna be the daddy then? :)
oh, and of course.i almost forgot to write.
I went underground.for 4 hours!
250 meters underground.was ok.but now i am a miner :)!!!!
4th of December is my day!!i can officially get pissed :)
and one more thing.a big influx of new persian personnel...my god...our only hope is that they aren ot going to kill themselves.really.they are nice people but .....I say we but mean the mining managers.anyway.according to Persian supervisors they are ready to go underground and work.yeah,sure...one of them got hit by a hammer that was being used by his friend...so imagine what can happen when they work with 350Bar pressure...
but we are hopeful and maybe they're going to be alright.maybe...inshallah they say :)
I know I promised pictures.but it still was impossible.maybe i'll post some next time.
4th and 5th of June are supposed to be free and if they are i hope to go to Yazd.supposedly nice and impressive.hope it will be possible.
ok.motashakeram for reading and khoda hafez friends.till next time...
p.s.
Tabas can be nice. Especially in the evening, at dawn. It is surrounded by mountains and when the sun is setting it really looks nice :) Though maybe i'll have enough of it in 3 months time :)
p.s.s.
I have officially been given holidays from the 3rd of August till the 17th.it is subject to change but hopefully i'll be in Poland then.that is of course if i get a work permit and taking under consideration the 'fardo/pas fardo' way of how Iranians perform their duties, it may be not so sure :)
p.s.s.s.
.ok,over and out

"...Take me to the magic of the moment on a glory night..."

Yes. Some of you might have guessed...The lyrics come from a song by SCORPIONS. And speaking of scorpions. We were chasing two of them. Noone invited them to our bathroom in the mine officess.And they came uninvited so we had to have them out. One of them died but the other one escaped. They were huge, with big pointy teeth :) Oh wait, that was some other monster. But these bastards were big and did not look friendly at all. But now I would like to say sorry to Mr.Scorpion we killed. I hope you went to scorpion heaven.I know you did!!
But to be honest this started a "scorpion psychosis". Everyone's checking their beds before going to sleep, their shoes. I know it might be stupid but it is wise :) Oh, and a few days ago one of the iranian workers killed a viper...nice one..
Everything's ok apart from that. I moved to a four bedroom house today. Was living alone but now it's going to be four of us. We'll see...
Work's ok. I am still finding out that i don't know many of the words. But it's ok.People understand. But the temperature is killing me.One of the thermometer measured 58Celsius yesterday. Ok.you may say it was in the sun but there's no bloody shade here :)
Hope the A/C is going to be working ok in my new house. Otherwise i am going to melt...
If not that, than the scorpions are going to eat me.or maybe the vipers, or the vultures or i'm gonna melt :)
no,it's ok.really.a week has passed since I arrived in Teheran.Only a week,bearing in mind that I have over 20 left :)
I am planning to go to Yazd in June.it's supposed to be a really nice place.it's "only" 400km.one day should be enough. the Tabas taxi drivers are said to cover this distance in 3 hours :) should be interesting...anyway,I hope to get a camera by then and finally post some pictures.
take care,all of you.
p.s.
the food.I've heard so many positive things about iranian food.but maybe Tabas is not Iranian :) or it may be for the fact that the cooks are male representatives of this society.anyway,it's only kebabcici or chicken :) and of course yoghurt...and the rice, which was supposed to be the best is only boiled.and nothign else...too bad...
cheerio

Free Friday, nothing to do...

So I had a free day. And to be honest nothing happened...
I woke up at 7, the breakfast at 8. and then wen back to sleep :) then I went to the city to send some e-mails, but guess what?The shops were closed because the shopkeepers have a siesta.good to know that. Well, after all Tabas is not London, you can go round all the shops within an hour. I still have the public park (supposedly to be vey nice) and the big mosque to see. But that's next Friday. That is of course if I make it till next Friday. The temperatures are really killing me, I am lucky it's not humid.
Unfortunatelly I do not have a camera, but maybe i'll sort one out.we'll see.
Work's ok. Today I was officially nominated an Assistant to the Administrative Manager...
basically it means I am a bloody secretary :) I have to make daily and weekly reports of the progress, keep everything in order,and so on. I also interpret every daily briefing and translate everything else possible :)
The vocabulary is still killing me but it's ok. I've got 5 weeks to catch up. Then the Manager is leaving and guess who's gonna be the daddy???Yes,you are right---->me :)
On our way back from work today we had a flat tire. Who would have thought I'd catch a tyre in the middle of bloody nowhere. And there we were. Standing in bloody 45 celcius for 20 minutes :)
ok.i gotta go.i'll keep you in touch...cheerio.sorry for not being funny today :)

Dzizasz, dzizasz, ale jestem podjarany...

Witojcie wiaruchna. Oh, it was supposed to be in english. So it is going to be.
First of all thanks for the comments. I am alive and quite well.
But first things first.
The trip:

So I took a 2 am train to Katowice. Received my own private helmet, overall, trousers and boots :) I even have the name of the company on the back. A hell of a miner I am...
Then I was driven in a new Honda Accord to the airport (after all I am the man!!!). There was some sort of a party because they were opening a new connection to Turin. So I had a free glass of champagne, though i don't think I was really entitled to have it. The flight to Frankfurt, then a few hours at the airport. In Frankfurt I must admit I went to McDonalds to have the sandwich with bacon in it. Last one for 3 months at least...
The flight to Teheran was nothing out of the ordinary as well, apart maybe for a gorgeous flight attendant (a she, mind you :p)...Of course there I had my last alcohol for months.
I arrived in Teheran at 1 in the morning. Then we waited for an hour to be let into Iran. Finally made it...I changed one hundrer Euros and got 1,265,000 rials!That is quite a big pile of money. At the exit I was greeted by a man holding a piece of paper saying "Mr. Kukasz Wkodarczyk", a common mistake. Though nothing will beat the time when I was in Turkey and my name "LUKASZ WLODARCZYK" was spelled "TUKAJ UZODARCZYJ" on a I.D. I got. Anyway...
-Salam.
-Salem aleykum.
-I'm mr wlodarczyk
-salam.how your family.
-thank you.good.and yours?
-yes.we go hotel.
-that's good.i need a bath and desperately need a sleep.
-yes.we go hotel.
:)
but trust me.He made Teheran, a big building site, look like the eigth wonder of the world.He was really excited telling me: This,ministry defence,this, ministry economy....
A really nice first impression.A second one to be honest.On the airport I helped an older lady placing her two big bags on a trolley. Then her son (I expect so) came, she told him that, and he almost had hugged me :) Thanking me in all possible ways.Very nice people I thought.
Anyway.Teheran is really big (like Stambul). But a big building site. Maybe it makes a better impression during the day and in the old part of the city.but i did not have the chance to see that.
So I was taken to a guest house. I was told I would pay the next day. The guesthouse occured to belong to the company our company is working for. So the standard was very good. Fresh fruit in the fridge. But all I wanted was a bath and a good sleep. So I woke up at 10. Had some more fruit and a taxi took me to the airport. They still said I would pay later. But eventually I did not pay at all...Two taxis through the city, one night in a hotel-priceless :)...quite a good deal...
Oh.On the way to the hotel the driver would stop playing his favorite music and put on...guess what???"Nothing Else Matters" by METALLICA!!! :) he was really happy with the fact that he could play 'my music'.
The domestic airport.
I was picked up by some from the company. A very nice man (Mr. Lukas, here, newspaper for you, orange juice for you...).
We went through three x-ray check, and two metal detecting gates and there I was, sitting in an old russian Ilusin on my way to Tabas. I even got a free cookie on a two hour flight!!And a soda.Woohoo!!
Then I saw it. The desert. Well not actually a desert with dunes and stuff. Just flat land, with occasional salt lakes. We landed in the middle of it :)
Went out of the plane.boom.a wave of hot air. (Mr.Lukas, nice weather,eyy?it's spring,not hot!!)...
Ok.Another taxi took me to my place of residence for the next 7 months.
It's a gated compound. With small houses (4 or 1 bedroom). But full of flowers and it even has fountains but they are not working ('cause when they were all kinds of lizard and snakes would come near it). But the whole place makes a nice impression.
I was given a single room with a bathroom and a kitchen!!But I was told that later this week I would be moved to a 4 bedroom house.
Anyway, I thought I had been taken to a wrong camp. I did not see any Polish people. But then finally they came.
"Z kaj jestes?" :) i wszystko bylo jasne.
All in all there's 27 of us here. But more are coming. Nice chaps they seem to be. Most of them really experienced miners. MAking a really nice impression.
There are also 3 englishmen,1 scotsman, an austrian and some italians. But the Russians are coming. It's going to be fun :)
Tabas is...well, it just is :) an oasis in the desert. Really I expected more of a shithole. And it really is nice. The mosque, the public park (though I only had the chance to see them from the bus). Quite nice.Tomorrow's a free day, I'll take a tour and maybe post some pictures (though I have to borrow a camera :/).
Work.
Well. I have to get up at 5.jesus,jesus...5.30 - breakfast. and guess what.a big selection of...a pita bread (with stones,yes,stones!! in it :) though occasional and I guess not on put there on purpose), carrott jam and yoghurt. I think this is their national dish :) Yoghurt or rather some kind of kefir, served cold. really cooling but having it three times a day may not be the best idea.
and then at 6 we take a minibus to work. 85km. Pierunsko daleko. but at least one can sleep on the bus. Yesterday we had to wait for 10 minutes for a flock (or however you call a group) of camels did not really want to get off the road :) The mining site is quite big. First, there's an entrance gate. Then the office when we sign our timesheets and then finally the workshop and our offices.
We start work at 7.30. at 13.30 there's an hour long lunch break (guess what makes the starter?yes,yoghurt!!) and we finish at 16.30. we're home around 6pm it can be quite a long day.but no, i am not moaning :)
Work.Well, we lack everything. The translators (there's 5 of us) have a lot of manuals to translate and we only have 3 computers. Bt we are supposed to get 3 laptops (though 'inshallah', so i dont expect them soon).At 7:45 there's a daily meeting summing up the previous day. The parties meet and talk the problems over. and believe me,there are problems. and jesus,jesus, I was an interpreter on the second day of my work. but i guess it was ok. though having to know what a canopy sprag plate, pulley block, chock (mechanized powered roof support) or scraper conveyor is, may be quite hard and it still is. I've got to learn a lot of such expressions.
No, I still haven't been underground. Though I have to wear my beautiful orange helmet at times when I am in the workshop. The reason for not going underground is that I still haven't undergone safety training. I was to have one on Monday but the safety man said "Oh,Mr.Lukas,you are only one. No problem training for three, but only one is too few. Come back when there are more of you") and I will have the training in two weeks time. And then I'll probably enter one of the shaft and become a miner :)
Work is ok. people are quite cool. helpful, the Iranians nice .Anyway. I am really looking forward to the stay in Iran. Tomorrow I hope to see a bit more of Tabas. Nothing more really 'cause the closest city is 400km away :) I am hoping to learn new things and gain new experience and most of all experience a bit of Iran. Really. Can't say anything more about the people and the country. but i guess more reflections will come.
Be in touch soon...Take care...Inshallah...

No way back...

Witam wszystkich... :)
Wylatuję do Iranu 7.05. Cos musze zrobic z mieszkaniem, musze sie ubezpieczyc, kupic jakies rzeczy, Lonely Planet o Iranie...Oczywiscie wszystko zostawilem na ostatnia chwile i jak przyszlo co do czego to sie okazalo, ze hola hola panie Ufoku, ale jest pan nieprzygotowany :) I prawdopodobnie bede lecial sam!!Juz to widze.Katowice->Frankfurt->Teheran->Tabas. Jak ja sie gdzies po drodze nie zgubie to bedzie to cud :) ale nie kraczmy :)
Co wiem o Tabas?
Ano wlasciwie nic. Tyle, ze jest to miasteczko na pustyni :) W ktoryms tam roku 1970-cos miasto nawiedzilo trzesienie ziemi. Dosc powazne bo zginelo 25 tys. ludzi...Ale teraz trzesienia nie bedzie.
Nic to. Wiem, pierwszy wpis i od razu nudy :) Bedzie lepiej mam nadzieje. Kiedys i zdjecia sie pojawia. A tymczasem trzymajta kciuki wiaruchna...Musi byc dobrze...

p.s.wyciag z Wikipedii:
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabas
kurde, czemu Tabas nie jest znane z pysznego jedzenia, albo pieknych widokow?

English version: Everyone repeat "bye,bye Lucas"...
Since I've been receiving complaints from irriated englishmen (just one to be exact, but a real pain ....,trust me :) ) I've decided to run the blog in english...Wybacz Piotrek.Najwyzej popros kogos by Ci przetlumaczyl :p
I'll leave the first post, but from now on the post are going to be in english...
Cheerio...

p.s.The above pictures were taken in Tabas (thanks to Aga for them). So it seems Tabas can be quite picturesque...