Franc, Estonia

Franc, Estonia.  One of the many FIFO I met in Perth, WA.

Franc comes from Estonia. He is now 27 years old, and shared my room in a backpacker with two additional guests. A total of four in a room

Australia is a country rich in oil and natural gas. The wells are located in the desert that is in the middle of that continent. Such places are at least 1000 km from any major city. The oil and gas companies provide airplane transportation to all employees, to and from the cities located near the coast.

I learned from Franc, and other people, that the normal scheme of working in the desert, is two or three weeks of long working days (normally 12 hours per day seven days a week), followed by one or two weeks of rest. Most workers wish to spend that time in a city along the coast where they can find dry weather, mild temperature, many brands of beer, and a good social life.

A company’s airplane takes them to a city on the coast. At the end of the rest period another plane will take them back in the desert. This working set-up is called “Fly In Fly Out”, in short FIFO.

Please note that the same acronym is used in most industries holding a stock of parts or components. In this case FIFO mean “First In First Out”. The parts or components entered first in the stock room should be the first to exit, to be used by the production line.

Franc is a quiet person, and unless you talk to him he will not say much. That is, most of the time! However, every three or four days something happens to Franc. 

He wants to talk. 

He will call you, insistently, until you pay attention to him. He will then ask you a question. You provide an answer. However your answer is never good enough for Franc. He will start asking “why”, and then again "why," on, and on. This kind of peculiar conversation con continues endlessly. The only way to put a stop to it is to leave.

Well, one must understand. The high desert temperature may be the cause of this kind of peculiar behaviour.
Maybe.Then again it may be something else. Who knows.