Last saturday afternoon, codi, my boss's daughter took me up for a tour of Perth. What we actually did is that we went to a residential area on a hill. On that hill we do find houses called the #million dollar view# and it is very fantastic.
I was also able to visit my look around my boss house. Awesome!
Still on that hill we went to an area called #zigzag# like in french. The road is very small and dangerous. This part of the city reminded me of what we all see on american movies: the moountain on which it is written #hollywood#.
What is amazing with american movies is that when you keep watching them, you end up knowing all their cities without even having been there.
From the Zigzags you have an excellent view of Perth and its CBD towers. It also reminded me of that view we have of LA where towers are surounded by a big city....
It was a good moment....
Australia Day! Amazing fireworks on the swan river
I am just back from the swan river side. 30 min of an amazing spectacle of fireworks. I have been kind of lucky to participate to this event just a week after my arrival in Australia.
No pictures to show right now because my old 2008 iphone has kind of passed away yesterday evening. RIP my old iphone. Snif!
I felt a lot of emotion when sharing this event with an exited croud. I heard a lot of waouuuh! oooh!
This is the type of events that certainly make you feel proud of being part of a great community. And I could read this on the face of people that were surrounding me.
I spent only a week but I can tell you that I have noticed somehow that aussies are proud to be aussies and this country has a strong value out of its diversity. It does not mean that some challenges are not there but what I can say is that they have reached a point of no return in their way of building a strong nation.
Keep it up guys!
No pictures to show right now because my old 2008 iphone has kind of passed away yesterday evening. RIP my old iphone. Snif!
I felt a lot of emotion when sharing this event with an exited croud. I heard a lot of waouuuh! oooh!
This is the type of events that certainly make you feel proud of being part of a great community. And I could read this on the face of people that were surrounding me.
I spent only a week but I can tell you that I have noticed somehow that aussies are proud to be aussies and this country has a strong value out of its diversity. It does not mean that some challenges are not there but what I can say is that they have reached a point of no return in their way of building a strong nation.
Keep it up guys!
A good walk next to the swan river this afternoon!
I have enjoyed my first live sunset today while having a walk beside the swan river. See below how it looked like.
When looking at this, I was thinking of the people behind us, telling to my self that we here in Perth were offering the sun to oder people in the world.
I also enjoyed the St Mary's Cathedral in Perth next to the Royal Perth Hospital. It is a nice church. And it reminded me of the cathedral in Conakry which holds the same name but certainly not the same quality of architecture.
On this picture, on top left side, you will see the moon. What I find amazing with the moon here is that it appears in a position different from what I can see while in Guinea at the same period of the day... May be it is because of the fact that Guinea is not far from the ecuator.....
This evening, I had dinner with mouctar, a colleague from the Geology Resources Dept a secondee from Simandou as well. He cooked us sweet basmati rice with tomato soup including meat! :)
I also enjoyed the St Mary's Cathedral in Perth next to the Royal Perth Hospital. It is a nice church. And it reminded me of the cathedral in Conakry which holds the same name but certainly not the same quality of architecture.
On this picture, on top left side, you will see the moon. What I find amazing with the moon here is that it appears in a position different from what I can see while in Guinea at the same period of the day... May be it is because of the fact that Guinea is not far from the ecuator.....
From my balcon
Dienabou, thanks for being one of my blog's fans there in the Conakry office. You told me in an email that you are eager to see some pics.
Here are some that I took from my balcon yesterday night.
Enjoy!
Here are some that I took from my balcon yesterday night.
Safety Share.... Beware of fire!
Is it worth pointing out how dangerous fire is? I think yes!
This session has generated a lot of emotion to me because I have experienced fire in 2008 and I couldn't have been here today to write this post, if Zaza, my neighbour, did not come out of his home that day of August 2008 and noticed that something was burning in my living room.
Oh yes! The candle I left on the tv in my living room burnt out and caught the plastic of the tv. This started generating a suffocating black smoke. It was nearly midnight that day. Zaza came out to switch off their generator and actually my window was located on his way to the generator area. This is what actually saved my life.
Once he noticed the fire, he immediately came to the window of my bedroom (that was not closed because of the heat I was suffering from although it was the rainy season) and managed to wake me. Without panick, he instructed me to immediately take the blanket, wet it with water and place it over the burning TV. This is what I did and we managed to control the fire. I then opened the door and got out of my studio because i was finally suffocating.
What an experience! Please, make sure you safely use candle because they are very dangerous if not properly used. This experience did not make me a person who avoids candles but I have now purchased a special device that enables me to use them safely.
Also, I would like to notice how good this awareness session was due to the quality of the trainer. And from the perspective of the training superintendent, I noticed today how important it is to appointed the right person given the topic to be trained.
The trainer we had today is a former australian police officer with 20 years of experience. He dealt with several fire cases from burning houses to forest fires. And the way he was sharing his experience added a strong value to the awareness session. He was just credible.
One thing I have learned in Rio Tinto especially in Iron Ore, it is that credibility on the work place, especially when it comes to safety related positions is very crucial. This trainer was just credible because of his experience in fire emergency management. Any advice he gives makes sense and have a strong impact in the mind of delegates in sessions he delivers.
So I learned a lot today on fire extinguishers, on how to behave in case of fire emergency and also, as a training service leader, I figured out once again, how important it is for me to hire/appoint trainers with the crediility required to fulfill their duty effectively. This credibility can be built also by ensuring they benefit from a sound development program on their job by sending them on certification trainings, also on exposure in other operations etc...
Jet lag Jet lag Jet lag!!!!!
Akh! Does anyone know a gran mother receip to deal with jet lag?
During my induction today, my sufferness was so intense (by the end of the day) that my hand writing (bad in normal times) turned out to be something else that I cannot read myself (please do not laugh)
The last time I had to deal with jet lag was a trip to south africa (two hours) two years ago. It was not a big deal. Also, I remember having dealt with it during a trip to the US (new york) ten years ago.
However, the australian experience is definetely having a strong impact on me. When people are sleeping here, guess what do I do?
I spend my time reading a book, browsing on the web or watching tv....
It is only during today's night that I managed to sleep two hours. Crazy!
I do not drink coffee so it is even harder for me to adapt.
My plan this week end (saturday) is to visit Perth with, my boss's daughter Codie. Thanks to her in advance. I am sure I will be able to show you some pics!
We have the Australian day celebration on the same day. Exciting!
During my induction today, my sufferness was so intense (by the end of the day) that my hand writing (bad in normal times) turned out to be something else that I cannot read myself (please do not laugh)
The last time I had to deal with jet lag was a trip to south africa (two hours) two years ago. It was not a big deal. Also, I remember having dealt with it during a trip to the US (new york) ten years ago.
However, the australian experience is definetely having a strong impact on me. When people are sleeping here, guess what do I do?
I spend my time reading a book, browsing on the web or watching tv....
It is only during today's night that I managed to sleep two hours. Crazy!
I do not drink coffee so it is even harder for me to adapt.
My plan this week end (saturday) is to visit Perth with, my boss's daughter Codie. Thanks to her in advance. I am sure I will be able to show you some pics!
We have the Australian day celebration on the same day. Exciting!
Finally in Perth
First and foremost, my warm thanks to my bosses (RD&YB) for having "strongly" supported the decision to send me on international assignment in Perth WA where Rio Tinto Iron Ore offices are located.
I am here in the framework of what we call internally at simandou the "national development program"
This initiative has been thought to enhance the development of young guineans by sending them to existing Rio Tinto operations around the globe particularily Iron Ore operations, in order to have a real vision of how Rio Tinto operates a mine with high standards of Health Safety Environment and Communities processes.
Although Guinea has rich mineral resources, the country does not have the real mining culture as it is the case for example in Australia. As Simandou is a "country changing" project, this initiative aims at generating the mining culture that will enable young guineans to efficiently lead the future operations of what will be a world class mine. Before that, we need also to ensure that the construction phase is a succesfull one given the importance of challenges (safety,technical skills, infrastructure, community etc.)
My intention with this blog is to share with you my experience in this "adventure" in every sense of the term and show practically how this is being beneficial to me.
The smooth landing of the Emirates B777 300ER on saturday 19 Jan 13, sounded to me as a signal of the cool side of this wonderful western australian city of Perth.
At 1700 hrs, the temp was 31 deg celcius. When the immigration lady handed over my passport after usual visa check, she added with a smile that I would not need the coat I was carrying.. Lol
KS, the training manager for Iron Ore, was at the airport to welcome me and take me to 101, Murray St Perth CBD. Thanks to him for this honour... :)
Two days after my arrival, I am still suffering from jet lag... It is not easy to deal with given that Aus is 8 hours ahead of Guinea. The guinean collegues that I found here told me that this sufferness may last up until a week... My challenge is to get my brain accointed in max 4 days. Will update you about this in another post.
Sunday 20/01. After a big sleep, my colleague Zeze from the Simandou Geology operations dept (he is here since early dec) took me to woolworths to get some stuffs to cook. Oh yes, this is a reconnection to my life in France when I was a student from 2000 to 2006. :)
Monday 21/01. Induction day. I have the whole week to spend at the Rio Tinto training facility in Belmont. We go through sessions in which new comers (I am not that much a new one in Rio Tinto but in Perth indeed I am) are provided with info on Rio Tinto as a group, HR info, Health and Safety standards (isolation, lock holder...). I know, this may sound unfamiliar to those who are not in a mining environment. If you want further details on this please ask and I will provide you with appropriate internet links.
I also opened my bank account to the Australian National Bank (NAB).
while writing this post, my eyes are asking for some sleep again.......
This evening, I will take the opportunity to have a walk in Perth CBD just to identify my way to the Rio Tinto office located on St Georges Terrace as I will start work formally next monday.
I am here in the framework of what we call internally at simandou the "national development program"
This initiative has been thought to enhance the development of young guineans by sending them to existing Rio Tinto operations around the globe particularily Iron Ore operations, in order to have a real vision of how Rio Tinto operates a mine with high standards of Health Safety Environment and Communities processes.
Although Guinea has rich mineral resources, the country does not have the real mining culture as it is the case for example in Australia. As Simandou is a "country changing" project, this initiative aims at generating the mining culture that will enable young guineans to efficiently lead the future operations of what will be a world class mine. Before that, we need also to ensure that the construction phase is a succesfull one given the importance of challenges (safety,technical skills, infrastructure, community etc.)
My intention with this blog is to share with you my experience in this "adventure" in every sense of the term and show practically how this is being beneficial to me.
The smooth landing of the Emirates B777 300ER on saturday 19 Jan 13, sounded to me as a signal of the cool side of this wonderful western australian city of Perth.
At 1700 hrs, the temp was 31 deg celcius. When the immigration lady handed over my passport after usual visa check, she added with a smile that I would not need the coat I was carrying.. Lol
KS, the training manager for Iron Ore, was at the airport to welcome me and take me to 101, Murray St Perth CBD. Thanks to him for this honour... :)
Two days after my arrival, I am still suffering from jet lag... It is not easy to deal with given that Aus is 8 hours ahead of Guinea. The guinean collegues that I found here told me that this sufferness may last up until a week... My challenge is to get my brain accointed in max 4 days. Will update you about this in another post.
Sunday 20/01. After a big sleep, my colleague Zeze from the Simandou Geology operations dept (he is here since early dec) took me to woolworths to get some stuffs to cook. Oh yes, this is a reconnection to my life in France when I was a student from 2000 to 2006. :)
Monday 21/01. Induction day. I have the whole week to spend at the Rio Tinto training facility in Belmont. We go through sessions in which new comers (I am not that much a new one in Rio Tinto but in Perth indeed I am) are provided with info on Rio Tinto as a group, HR info, Health and Safety standards (isolation, lock holder...). I know, this may sound unfamiliar to those who are not in a mining environment. If you want further details on this please ask and I will provide you with appropriate internet links.
I also opened my bank account to the Australian National Bank (NAB).
while writing this post, my eyes are asking for some sleep again.......
This evening, I will take the opportunity to have a walk in Perth CBD just to identify my way to the Rio Tinto office located on St Georges Terrace as I will start work formally next monday.
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