It's getting serious now! Sort of..

Today, we had three exercises, a test and some information to go through. Seeing as I'm still in the first week, and that is the introduction to all the stuff we need to do, the teachers are more relaxed about it, and they just gloss over the things we need to go over during the basic training. That does not mean I can take it relaxed, or that it's not informative.

The first exercise was in a forklift. We had to pick up a pallet, drive through a course, head back to where we picked up the pallet and then put it down again. "Easy", I thought.. I jumped into the cab of the forklift, and then.. Panic.. I completely forgot what I had to do. Luckily, all of the students are very good to help each other out and give pointers, so I was quickly filled wit confidence. I slowly began to creep towards the pallet. The forks slowly making their way underneath the pallet. I then proceeded to lift up the pallet. Reverse gear, foot on the throttle. Gently pressing it, reversing the forklift. I headed down the course at medium speed, and with the surface not being the best, it was quite a bumpy ride. I made it down to the turning point, slowing down. Made the turn. Now it's just a sprint to the finish. I slowed down, in order to put the pallet down the best way possible. I made it with no advisories. "Awesome job", was the reaction from the teacher.

After we all had a go, it was time for a break. After that, it was time to learn about a big machine - the MAN truck, that we are going to take our truck license in. The teacher went through the basics of the truck, and asked us questions such as "What is the first thing you have to check before starting a truck?".. The answer is the oil. If there's no oil in the truck, the engine seizes up and gets destroyed. After our heads were interjected with a lot of information, it was time to head back to the classroom for a quiz.

While walking back to the classroom, we talked about everything from trucks to Euro Truck Simulator 2. It turns out, that it's the one game that the teachers are recommending to people who wants an education as a trucker. Arriving at the classroom, we were instructed to log into a game, where 13 questions were asked. Out of a possible 13 places, I placed 5th. Pretty excited about that. Then.. Yes, time for yet another break..

With the break over, we headed down to the yard for the last time today. This exercise was reversing by using the mirrors. First, a slalom reversing exercise, followed by a figure 8. After that, we were allowed to head down to the start line forwards. Now, I have been playing a LOT of Euro Truck Simulator 2. so I was feeling very confident about my ability to reverse using the mirrors. It went extremely well, and I was super excited about that. I know a truck is different. but if I really practice, I know I can be good at reversing, even with a big trailer at the back.

By then, it was time for lunch. After lunch, we were treated to a step-by-step walkthrough of the student handbook, and then the day was pretty much over.

I am SO excited about this! Three years down the line, I should be a truck driver. I just need to figure out what I'm gonna haul, since I haven't decided that yet.