Of the many people I met in Easter Island, Conor was one that I traveled a lot with; probably since we're Americans and understand each other! When Conor first arrived, it was very obvious that 1. He did not speak Spanish and 2. That he was American. I can always pin point a fellow American. He apparently had just arrived from a very long flight experience with several lay-overs, so when he arrived, John and I offered him a glass of wine and we all started chatting.
I always thought that people stopped at Easter Island during a long period of traveling such as going to French Polynesia or Santiago and continuing on traveling. However, Conor went to Easter Island, just to go to Easter Island.
He had worked on a boat on the Mississippi River for the summer and saved up his money for this trip. (Every time he mentions Easter Island he has to add that it has the most isolated airport in the world.)
As we continued on chatting, he told me about how he worked as a fish waste cleaner in Alaska. As in, mopping away the guts and what not. (Pleasant sounding right?) Well the story is, he was flown to Alaska to work with the fish business last summer. He asked me to guess what the longest work week was that he had, and I guessed, 80? 85? No. 126! 126 hours in one week! It was for two weeks during the peak of the season. He explained his schedule and how he basically only had 4 hours to sleep each night before having to get up again. However, he explained that when you're working like that all day, you want to socialize because you're alone for so long. So instead of going back to sleep, he would go out. Therefore, basically getting no sleep. He told me that because of the sleep deprivation, he had started to hallucinate. His example was when he was sweeping water/fish waste into a drain, he looked down and saw all of the people he knew swirling around. Luckily it was only for 2 weeks and not the entire summer. After hearing this story, I assumed he did not enjoy it. I mean, cleaning fish guts and not getting any sleep? However, he said that he was so happy he did it not only because of the experience and the people he met but because he realized that if he were able to do that, he could do anything. 80 hour week? Please, that's nothing.
Conor stayed at Easter Island until Monday, so was there for three more days that I was. He said that after I left, the rest of his trip was quieter and more calm, but he still had a great time and got to see plenty of places. He even saw the sunrise.
Conor is 20 and studies at Washington State and is actually starting classes on Monday, so soon! He is majoring in journalism and screen writing, and is interested in going to the Czech Republic to study abroad.
Conor and I traveled very well together and we agreed that we should travel together again some time soon. So, who knows, maybe I'll go visit him in the Czech Republic next year when I've graduated from college.
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| Conor and his ceviche |
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