Beautiful morning! We were up early having breakfast at 7:00 am so Ken could get the taxi by 7:30 am.
Ken reports to me via email:
The taxi ride was about 15 minutes. I got here safely after I was certain the taxi driver was taking me to the ocean. It is a bit disconcerting to sit in the back of a car being driven by whomever wherever! He didn't speak English; I don't speak Spanish. The only words that got me here were Palmas Altas Abengoa.
Telvent in Seville, Spain (several other big corporations here as well)
That was enough. My sense of direction seemed all mixed up! I was thankful he knew exactly where he was going. While I was standing in line outside the building to get my badge (something I will have to do each day), Alex came up and asked if I was Ken. He and I had chatted via SKYPE so he had seen my picture. That was very useful and friendly. He brought me into the building and showed me around. I have met Ricardo, Ramon, Alex, Ana and one other. I haven't met Maria yet and there is one other person also that is on our team, so I will have to work on their names associated with the pictures I have in my mind from our SKYPE conversations at home in Lethbridge.
Telvent Employees must not bring their own lunches but must eat in the company cafeteria which is subsidized by them. Ken's second email report:
Just back from lunch. It is a typical cafeteria - lots of lines and lots of noise. Had grilled chicken with rice. Olive oil on the rice. Chicken not bad, but very little seasoning. Had a lettuce and tomato salad with some sort of mustardy dressing. Quite good. A small bun (no butter), an orange and a bottle of water completed the meal. Total cost was about 6 euros.
They all grabbed a coffee when we got here this morning. Then worked straight through to lunch - about 1:30 PM. And then another coffee break about 3:00 PM. It looks like we are working 9 hour days because they get to take Friday afternoons off in the summer. (In our Calgary office we get them off without having to work the extra time so we are very fortunate.) So I'll be working until about 5:45 PM each night.
Ramon has shown me a map where the bus stops are for coming and going to work. They are buses owned by Telvent and are free so from now on I won't have to take a taxi.
After Ken got back from his busy day we set out for our walk to find something to eat. Most restaurants/cafes shut down around 2 pm for siestas. Then they reopen around 7 pm after it cools off a little. They will stay open until 2 in the morning to accommodate all the late nighters. Most of these establishments serve "Tapas" which are appetizers. Lots are fried in olive oil - very greasy spicey food.
We finally located a place called "The Amercan Restaurant"
where we were able to enjoy a good salad and chicken beef sliders which were delicious. They consisted of slice chicken or beef, carmelized onions, lettuce and mayo. Just what we neededafter all the fried items.
Time is now 11:00 pm and it is still 37C - time for milkshake and then back to the hotel to get some sleep if we can.
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