Beginning in January, one week later than last year, we started working for Hansen's Cherries again.
The second year. The same place. The same work. The same people, yet everything feels completely different. Compared to last year, this summer is much colder and it rains almost daily. We work full days, which means from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and many days. Overall, this season is seven work days longer than the previous one.
The weather is going crazy! One day the heat is overwhelming and the next day you have to dig out your winter jacket. The most impressive change was from nearly 40 degrees Celsius back to 15. Often, I was glad to escape the heat or cold in our great room.
Organizationally, everything is running as we know it. We are divided into teams of up to 15 people and harvest one row after another together. Each person then gets two trees, and when they are harvested, we make ourselves known with a loud "Tree check" so that our team leader can come and check that every single cherry has landed in the bucket. When our buckets are full, we take them to Quality Control, QC, where they check that we have only picked individual cherries and no spoiled ones. This year, there were no more picker cards, our lugs were counted electronically. Each of us was given a QR code to hang around our neck, which is scanned every time we bring a full bucket. An app then records exactly how many buckets we pick in a day, the exact time, and of course, it makes it easy to see the average for each picker. Certainly interesting, but also quite surveillance.
We are in a good team. The other pickers are nice and we have a good relationship with our supervisor and QC. We even like each other so much that we meet and hang out outside of the orchards.
This season is the best I've ever had. I feel strong and motivated like never before. After work, I started doing some sports exercises. I train my legs, arms, and stomach, and I notice that I can climb the mountains faster, which motivates me even more.
Time is flying by. I barely notice that we are working almost two weeks in a row... I can hardly wait for the arrival of my loved ones!
