Training with a stranger.

you'll get to know each other real fast!

Main reason I went with who I went with, no mentor bs.

 

Gets pretty weird if your driving and their behind you peeing into a jug.

 

or worse......

 

Yuck.

I not only trained with a complete stranger, HE was a stranger from Africa. It was a little odd at first, but I was already kind of used to sleeping in close quarters with men I was neither sleeping with nor related to from being on call at the fire station. We only had one bunk room. But...I knew them.

I didn't know my trainer until ten minutes before I loaded my stuff onto his truck. At first, there was a little adjustment time. Within a week, though, we had a routine set that worked for us. It took me three days just to be able to understand him.

You will find that after a few days, you will fall into a routine and it won't seem so weird. You will amaze yourself how adaptable you are. Besides...after that first few days, you will be too tired to care.

 

Try to remember, that trainers truck is their home and you are a guest. So don't leave your dirty socks on his bed. If you find yourself with someone totally incompatible you can ask for a different trainer in most cases. You are there to learn and make progress, not friends. Don't let a bad trainer instill bad habits as what you learn will likely set the stage for the next few months or your new career. If you are lucky enough to get a real pro, ask lots and lots of questions, don't just sit there playing on the computer or reading a book. Oh, and the most important thing, you CAN get another coupon for a shower. Just tell the attendant you are a team. Don't let your trainer tell you you have to shower together. He's lying.

 

As a trainer, we look at it in a similar way. We don't know who's getting on our truck until we actually meet them. I've had my share of doozies and down right awesome guys. We have to control the situation from the moment we say "Hello" to the trainee. We also have to understand this is very likely brand new to them, so make them as comfortable as possible. It's a tight balance, as wee don't know if the new guy is sociable or not. He may be a complete prick.

I don't train women, because I couldn't train the first two I was married to. Why would one behind a wheel of an 80,000 pound machine be any different?

 

I have to agree with Tasty there. It's one of the few things I've been thinking about, esp as a female. But then again I tend to have the more "man" type personality (as in things like make-up and clothes shopping are of no interest to me) so hopefully I'll get lucky and get someone cool. LoL