This blog will be a sort of "online diary" for me, logging not only what I have done day to day (hopefully), but also my thoughts and experiences within and about the British workforce. If there is any thought I have pondered or question I have asked that one wishes to comment on or answer, by all means feel free. Be prepared...you are about to enter the mind of Griffin Hammel.
"All passengers, please fasten your seat belts at this time and keep hands, feet, and small children inside the car for the duration of the ride. Warning: there may be graphic content. If you have a history of high blood pressure, fainting, heart attack, stroke, or pregnancy, you may wish to exit now. For your convenience, the exit has been placed at the in the top right-hand corner of the ride. This adventure is not for the squeamish or faint of heart.
Still here? Marvelous. Those of you who remain in your seats should be either congratulated for your bravery or chastised for your stupidity. Last chance to exit...no? Well then, welcome to my Mind. Here we go in 3...2...Go!!"
Internship: Golden Hinde - Day One, 1/29/13
I call it "day one" because this was my first day of actually doing something. I had a meeting with Troy Richards, the GM of Golden Hinde Trust, ( the company that now runs and maintains the Golden Hinde II, but more on that later) and his lovely PA, Carol Roy, a week ago. Troy showed Morgan and I around the ship and explained a brief, summarized history of the Tudor period, Drake, and the Golden Hinde I & II. He also went over what our internships would entail and what he wants us to take with us when we have departed.
But today was the first day of actually getting to feel like a crew member. The day started slow with a very long bus ride. What Jen told us would be a 30 minute journey, was actually an hour. We arrived with enough time to hang up our coats before we got to work. What have we learned Griffin? Plan for at least double the time you think it will take. Traffic was a nightmare, and it doesn't help that we stop virtually every 10 feet. And the top of the buses are incredibly warm! The windows fogged up! But after waiting and roasting I finally arrived.
No sooner had I hung my coat up, in walks Aiden. Aiden (and that is all I know him by because no body uses last names apparently) is the guy in charge of ship maintenance and whom I will be working with for a while. He comes into the office and announces that he is going to check on the "Gate" (turns out that is the dam, and the only thing, between a high-rising Thames (said Tems) and the Golden Hinde II being washed out to sea...a.k.a. pretty damn important) and will be back.
It is at this time that Carol, once again, offers Morgan and I something to drink. This is probably the 5th time in the two days that we have known her that Carol has offered. I feel really bad because of those 5 times, none have been when I am thirsty so I have turned her down and I don't know if that is considered rude. And that is the last thing you want to be to the person who could possibly provide your lunch, if not someday employ you (you read right). So, after once again discouraging her, I chimed in with Mark's suggestion: I offered to learn how to make tea, and then make her a cuppa. Bingo! This seemed to bring her out of her funk. She got really excited and showed us to the kitchen.
Now, our first day here, Mark told us that this was a very kind gesture, and it is. Offering to do something for someone else is just being a good person. He also said that we needed to learn to make, for lack a better description, British tea. Here's the thing: Mark made it seem like there was some complicated method to making this tea. So I pictured a place with beakers, heating elements, and temperature controlled cabinets containing this precious material that has the addiction power of Opium. Tea in England is not that difficult. There is no mathematical equation, you literally make it the same way as the States. Now, that's not to say that the tea product (the stuff and overall quality of what's in those bags) is not different than in the US. But it's virtually the same method: Put tea bag in cup, pour hot water, put in a splash of milk (your work place will probably have the milk they prefer), add sugar (I have found that a heap-full of a small spoon = about a "lump"), stir and let simmer depending on how strong the recipient wants it. Please correct me if I am incorrect upon this method. Now those of you in the US, replace the milk with honey....sound familiar?
Yes, so after managing to make tea, I was sent up to the ship and given the task of hammering in clips to hold electrical wires out of sight and take out any nails or clips that were not in current use. Once completing that task, I shadowed one of the tour guides as he took a group of small children through a "maritime tour". It was Tom (once again no last names...), the Actor Coordinator. He was bloody brilliant! I also confirmed that the British are far more critical and perhaps subversive with their youth. He was in character and ordering the children to "shut their stupid, fat faces" and when he asked if anyone knew what the phrase "deficate in their britches" meant, he said to the young girl that answered "You are correct! I thought you might know that question because when I saw you come aboard, I said to myself that one's a pooper!" What amazed me however, was not the children laughing uncontrollably at his foolish, yet disciplined manerisms or insults, but the teachers accompanying the children that just let him go. Not one of the 4 teachers even flinched when he insulted the children.They were even laughing with him! I'm fairly certain that you would never find this sort of thing in the US, a living history museum where the guide insults schoolchildren. These kids were 8 years old, being told to "shut their faces".
That moment was an eye-opening part of my day for sure. In one of my classes last term, Children's Theatre, we discussed some of the educational differences within theatre and life in general for children of the UK and children of the US. It was fascinating to actually see it happen.
The rest of my day was fairly routine you could say, except for one small difference. And, once more, I had been warned about this change in thinking but it's very different to actually see it happen. In the span of two hours, Patrick (Aiden's assistant, who actually is a ship wright) and I cut and shaped an 18 in. board. Two hours it took us, and we had tea in that time. Patrick explained that when you fit in the board, you then must stuff the edges with pine wood shreds and then smear boiling pitch over edges to seal it and make the board water-tight. Instead of working straight through to quitting time, we had tea after fitting the board.
I come from an environment where you need to finish a job before you take a break. It's just what's expected. So stopping in the middle just felt wrong. I can't even imagine what Susie (or Barb for that matter) would do if they found Ethan and I just sitting around chatting and drinking a soda with only half a stall cleaned. But we will start back up with it tomorrow. Mark and Jen weren't kidding when they said the Brits concern themselves with quality, not quantity. And that it would feel strange to some of us. I blame the Iowa work ethic.
To be continued...
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