The Road Family: Nate

Nate's a great start to this series, because he's a storyteller.  For every question, he'd have a vivid answer illustrated by an accompanying yarn.  I can't tell what makes him a better storyteller, his craft or the sheer quantity of tales he has from the road.

Interviewing him was both a joy and pain.  A joy because he had a lot of information, but a pain because I won't be able to capture all his detail and skill in this post.

Nate's Road Bio

Nate at Machu Picchu in Peru

This is Nate, a native of Colorado Springs and an alumnus of the Colorado School of Mines.  He's been with UOP for five years, three of them on the road as a process advisor.

He's been on jobs in Brazil, Canada, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, and the U.S.A.

His favorite countries were Malaysia and Brazil.

He said Malaysia was cool because it has strong cultural influences from the hemisphere, predominantly from China and India.  The people were friendly; they had amazing food (a cross between Thai and Indian); there were mountains, beaches, and jungles; and it was inexpensive.

Brazil also had nice people and gorgeous scenery, according to him.  He knew the language, however, which made the job and socializing easier.  The one downside to Brazil for him was how expensive it was, especially to live like an American.

When people ask Nate what he does for a living, his answer varies depending on the asker's background.  To the lay person, he describes his job like this:

We design a unit for a refinery.  We go to the site, make sure they built it right, help them start it up, and teach them how to run it.

On a day-to-day level, Nate said the most difficult aspects of being on the road are not having a kitchen and not being able to go home for funerals, graduations, and other family matters.

He also said it's pretty hard to talk to people back in the U.S. about his experiences, because they all start with "In China..." or  "When I was in Brazil..."  He thinks most people don't believe him, or they think he's boasting.

Brazil

On a deeper, personal level, he said it's difficult to see people in poverty and (as a result sometimes) caught in human trafficking.  Overall, he said he feels overwhelmed seeing how bad human beings can treat each other.

Despite the difficulties, he travels full-time because he enjoys it.  Despite some crappy assignments, he said he's had a lot of fun:

There's always something new - new experiences, new places, new cultures.  It's easier to learn about cultures when you work with them.  You're not just a tourist, gawking.  That doesn't mean I don't do tourist things.  There's a saying in China, you aren't a man until you see the Great Wall.

An example of Nate's optimism and willingness to find fun abroad happened in Tobolsk, Siberia at a Russian sauna in winter.

The Russian Sauna

Tobolsk, Siberia, Russia

Two locals from the refinery told Nate they had a "crazy idea."  They were going to take him to a Russian sauna.

They drove out of Tobolsk and into the surrounding forest on the treacherous roads of a land covered in ice for three-quarters of a year.

After about an hour, the driver pulled off the main road and onto a small path that wound its way back into the woods.

The road was two tire tracks, big enough for only one car.  Multiple times, they either had to pull off or intimidate other drivers so one car could pass.  Miraculously, they arrived at the resort just after dark.

Small, wood shacks surrounded a lake.  Nate said it's only accessible by helicopter during the summer, because the snow melts and the surrounding area becomes a swamp.  In the winter, though, it's solid.

They rented a shack for three hours.  Inside, there were two rooms.  One had a table and chairs.  The other room had the coals, oven, benches, and buckets one would see at almost every sauna.

His hosts began preparing the sauna by unpacking the food, stoking the fire to heat the coals, collecting water, and drenching the stones to create steam.

Nate was told to pack "normal stuff for sauna" before leaving Tobolsk, so he pulled out his swim trunks to get ready.  His hosts laughed.

Proper attire at a Russian sauna is only a towel and only a towel sometimes.

Nate said that Russians are "rough" in the sauna.  They built the steam so thick it pooled on his eyeballs.  They didn't just sit, sweat, and relax.  As a group, they'd run out into the negative double-digit air of a Siberian winter and jump into snow drifts, butt naked!

When they did this, Nate would tip-toe outside for a moment and run back after brief exposure.  His hosts, on the other hand, would bathe in snow, rubbing it all over their bodies.

After a few times between the cold and heat, his hosts pulled out a bucket filled with birch branches.

"What are those for," he asked.

His Russian companions told him to lay on his stomach.

They beat him on the back from neck to heels.  He said every blow made his skin burn.

The next time they went outside, he too dove into the snow piles and rolled around still in his birthday suit.

When they got back in, one of his hosts said,  "Ok.  Lay on back now."

Nate did as he was told.

He protected his manhood, closed his eyes, and said, "Just remember, I'm a prude American!"

Despite being a step outside of his comfort level, he said it worked.  He felt relaxed afterwards, like a million bucks.

Nate's Road Advice

Nate's full of advice and wisdom when it comes to road life, like these tidbits:

• Don't act like a know-it-all American
• Be polite and know the customs
• Accept the foreigner tax (paying more than locals) and don't get bent out of shape over a few bucks
• Don't get screwed by the foreigner tax, though

In my opinion, the Russian sauna exemplifies his best advice, which is get out and meet people.  Don't sit in the hotel.  Get past your discomfort.  Don't do the familiar.

He's been to the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, the Amazon Rainforest, buddhist caves in Malaysia, and temples, but his favorite stories aren't about those places.  He says they're cool to see, but the times spent with other people are his best memories.

That, to me, is the moral of his road life up to this point.  See the sites, experience the people.

Plus, if you do this long enough, you might have cool stories like his to tell.

Malaysia