So, now I finally have some time to write a little post about our work. Since Tuesday we have been working on a tomato farm. And it's really exhausting. But let's start from the beginning:
On Monday afternoon we went to Alan's place. He owns a working hostel and arranges jobs for people who live there. This is common practice in Australia and beneficial for the farmers because they can always request a certain and secure number of people. Many working hostels in the big cities take advantage of backpackers by letting them stay in the hostel and pay, but not providing any work. Luckily, that's not the case for us. We have guaranteed work because they need a lot of people for tomato picking. So on Monday afternoon we sat there and listened to Alan explain everything to us. That the tomatoes are picked with a big machine that you sit on, that we will earn around 650 dollars per week, that we will work 8-10 hours, that we have to pay 220 dollars per week per person for his hostel, etc. And then we just agreed, because we wanted to try it out and earn some money.
At that time, there were no double rooms available in the hostel, so Alan suggested that we move into his apartment where he has guest rooms. Of course, we accepted because there is a pool there! :D Initially, it was supposed to be for 4 days, but now we can stay there for the whole two weeks. Pretty cool! In the evening, we went shopping again (only one supermarket was open because October 3rd is also a public holiday in Australia), and then went to the apartment. We tried out the pool and enjoyed the amazing view of the ocean from the balcony. In the evening, we went to the restaurant downstairs in the building because it was our 7th anniversary. We treated ourselves to delicious Thai food and champagne. It was quite expensive because of the public holiday surcharge of 10%. Everything else was closed, but still costly. Even the rice had to be ordered separately for the curry. It added up quite a bit, but it was delicious :D After dinner, we went to bed because we had to get up for work at 4 am the next day.
In the morning, we made sandwiches for lunch, had breakfast, and then set off. We always drive from the apartment to the hostel in our car, and from there the shuttle bus takes us to the field at 5:45 am. It takes us about 30-40 minutes to get there because it's in the countryside. Then we start at around 6:30 am. On the first day, we received some instruction on which tomatoes to pick and how to do it best. And then we got straight on the machine. There are 5 arms on each side, with 2 seats on each arm. Each arm is in one row of tomatoes, so 2 people pick from each side of a tomato plant row. Then you throw the tomatoes onto a conveyor belt that lifts them up and transports them to the middle, where they are sorted by a sorter and then fall into the loading area.
The first few meters of picking were really unfamiliar, but we quickly got the hang of it and it went pretty well. At the beginning, it is also difficult to find the right tomatoes because not only the red ones, but also any tomatoes with color should be picked. The tip-colored ones are the best, meaning they are just starting to ripen from the bottom. Those are the ones that will ripen later and go to the supermarkets. Those are the ones that make money. On our first day, there were unusually many tomatoes on the plants because it had rained heavily 3 days earlier and the soil was so muddy that we couldn't pick for 3 days. So there were even more tomatoes for us to harvest. However, there were so many that we couldn't keep up. The machine was already driving so slowly, yet we couldn't keep up with tearing the tomatoes off the plants. In those cases, there is a bucket that you can take and then you have to follow behind the machine. If too many people are falling behind, the driver notices and waits until everyone is back in their seats. That happened quite often because even the experienced pickers couldn't keep up. But that allowed us to harvest a lot and earn a lot too.
Between 10 and 11 in the morning, we have the first break, which lasts for 15 minutes. Between 1 and 2 is the half-hour lunch break. But the breaks always depend on how long it takes to finish the rows you're working on. And on the first day, the rows were really long, and because there were so many tomatoes and we were so slow, the first break didn't come until around 11, and then 'lunch' was at 3:30. Luckily, it turned out to be the end of the day. The boss, the farmer, always signals the end by driving by and saying that we can stop. Afterwards, everyone has to mark themselves off on a list to ensure they get paid. After the first day, our backs were hurting so much!! Plus, despite wearing sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts, and hats, we had slight sunburns on our thighs, shoulders, and faces. Our legs and arms were also sore, but not as bad.
In the meantime, we have realized that getting off work at 4 is actually quite early, and that we don't get home until around 5:30 / 6. It's really inconvenient because the stores close at 6 (except for the supermarket, which is open until 8 or the other one until 9). On Tuesday evening, we managed to buy gloves (our hands looked so terrible!! But Alan said we didn't necessarily need them...). I also got a shirt (5$) and Andi got one too (12$) that can get dirty. And we bought cheap shoes (6$) so we wouldn't ruin our nice hiking shoes or Andi's expensive running shoes. So we were pretty well equipped. At home, there's not much else to do besides shower, cook, eat, and go to bed. The next day, we have to get up at 4 again.
The second day of picking went much better (also because of the gloves!). But we had so many tomatoes again and didn't take the first break until after 5 hours of work. And we didn't finish until 5:15... It's already dark by then because the sun sets at 6:30.
Today, we completed our fourth day and we're already pros. We don't have as many tomatoes now, but yesterday and today we did a lot of first picks, meaning we picked from these plants for the first time. The problem is that all the ripe tomatoes hang at the bottom and you're literally hanging in the bushes all the time. It's not good for your back at all. It still hurts, but I think it will be like this for the two weeks we're here. Also, the sunburn on my thighs won't go away, but we don't have time to buy long pants. A bit annoying. As I said, we quit again on the first day, so we only have to stay here for the minimum of 2 weeks. That's enough. The earnings aren't that great and many people only do the work for the days needed for the second year, the second working holiday visa, which you can only get once in your life. But if you do farm work or pick for 3 months in the first year, you get a second year. We don't want that, so the work doesn't really pay off. Somehow they even found a way to lower the legal minimum price for 1kg of tomatoes, so we only get 17 cents per kilo (and that's divided by 21 people on the machine...). Some have already called some Fair Work offices about it, but it doesn't help. Well, it doesn't matter, we'll be gone soon and for now the earnings are fine.
There's another couple living in the apartment, and she told us that there were days when she only made 20$. That's tough. Now she works in the cornshed, where they pay by the hour. But she says the work there is even harder because it's all done at a fast pace, and the machine never stops. You have to stand bent over the whole time and you get blisters on your hands from grabbing the corn cobs. Also, the day starts there at 3 am and goes on for at least 12 hours. It's really intense. But you have 200$ in your pocket at the end of the day.
Otherwise, the couple in the apartment is quite nice and has already told us a lot about their experiences. He has been working in the cornshed since the beginning, and now they both work there. And as I said, they've been living with Alan in the other guest room the whole time, I don't know why they don't have to move out :D By the way, they are both Germans, and overall there are many Germans in the fields. There are also many French people, but they are generally hated for their aggressive attitude. Unfortunately, there are more cases that confirm this opinion of the people here than there are those that refute it. There are also some Australians, English, and Asians. The Asians mostly work in the cornshed because apparently they work at such a crazy pace. Asians, you know... ;) They are not quite as effective in the tomato field.
By the way, there is actually no organic produce in Australia. Everything is somehow flavored with artificial flavors and preservatives or contaminated with pesticides. So we're also working in a field that is treated with pesticides. It's not great for our respiratory system when we tear the plants apart and the stuff is flying around. It's particularly bad for the skin though. Many of the people who have been working there for a while complain about dry, open patches of skin on their faces, hands, or legs. That's why we are supposed to wear long-sleeved clothing. Since the green stuff doesn't come off our hands, I couldn't imagine doing it without gloves, especially since I need clean hands just for my contact lenses. Otherwise, I might get the stuff in my eyes. Unfortunately, Andi has already developed some weird tiny pimples on his arm. My arms are also itchy. Hopefully, it will go away.
Now we have already completed the fifth day. I couldn't finish writing the post yesterday because in the evening we went shopping again (I got leggings to protect my legs!), then cooked Bolognese, then showered, and just collapsed into bed. It was already 10 pm and that meant getting up again in 6 hours... So today I was quite tired. But it's been okay because we finished work at 4. Maybe we can jump in the pool later. We can't use it otherwise because it's too late when we get home. We also haven't been to the beach or seen anything of Bowen and its beaches yet :D We want to do that on our day off. That will probably be on Tuesday or something. We were hoping it wouldn't be on Sunday because then we wouldn't be able to go shopping again. Or we could only go to the expensive supermarket. If we're really exhausted or sick, we can take a day off, but obviously, we won't earn any money that day. So we're waiting for the regular weekly day off. We're also excited about the first paycheck.
So, I think that's the most important thing about our current life. In the near future, not much exciting will happen. But that's also nice because you don't have to plan every day what you want to see next :D
There is one good thing about farm work though: we don't have to buy tomatoes at the moment and they are versatile :D
