Angélica started driving a tractor at age 20: “I like that we can work together with my husband and I don’t have to separate for a long time” | Lifetime

For the first time, the trip was with dad

“I did a simple and clean job in the office on the computer from eight to five, the weekends were free. But I felt like that job didn’t make me happy at all, that I wouldn’t realize myself here and I didn’t even want to work here.

My husband had already gone on a trip. Once, while talking on the phone, I felt comfortable with my work, the man said, “Wait skin I replied, “Okay.” The next day we talked about whether to really take that step, and everything, I took it and persevered, “Angelica, 23, said with a smile.

Driving licenses of categories C, CE are usually available from the age of 21. Angélica achieved it at age 20: “There is little talk about it, but actually it is allowed to do it before age 21 if you take longer courses of 95 codes. By default those courses are about four weeks long and I took eight weeks. “

When asked why she thought about replacing the job she didn’t like in the office with a long-distance driver, the interviewee said that her father had been working as a long-distance driver for sixteen years, and she and she had started to travel in childhood and adolescence.

“I was probably fascinated with this job through my dad. It has led me to another ten-year term: one was short, lasting about ten days, the other two months. Afterwards, my husband kept the driver’s license, I thought he didn’t want to be alone, so I did the same ”, said Angelika with a smile.

Better working conditions in a foreign company

Andželika, a long-distance driver, works with her husband Gytis in the so-called two-seater crew. Initially, the couple got a job in a Lithuanian company and last year they worked for one of the German companies. The best working conditions, according to the interlocutor, allow you to have a full-fledged normal life instead of constantly pulling a tractor. Since last spring, Andželika has been spending most of her time with her husband in Denmark, returning to Lithuania every three months.

Here we have a better salary and the company has given us a place to live: we have a house in Odense, Denmark, where we spend our free time.

When asked how the working conditions differ in Lithuanian and German companies, the interviewee stated that the difference is very big:

“If you work for wheels in a Lithuanian company, everything is fine; you are often at home, you don’t have to rest on the tractor. And when the deadline expires, you need to pick up more items, put them in the cabin and there is a problem with the shower.

Now that we work in a German company we are leaving for a few days, and we only bring food and necessary items for those days. It is not necessary to constantly tune the tractor. Also, we have a better salary here and the company has given us a place to live: we have a house in Odense, Denmark, where we spend our free time. So our current working conditions are definitely much better. “

When asked to explain the terms “circle” and “mandate” mentioned several times during the interview, the interlocutor said that a circle is when one goes from one country to another and returns, and the duration of the mandates varies.

I would call this job free rides, for which you also get money (Serie).

“The wheel is when, say, you load in Lithuania, go to Spain, unload there, reload and return to Lithuania. The two-man crews take between five and seven days. There are various deadlines, some work continuously for a month, we work three each, then we return to Lithuania ”, explained the interlocutor.

After returning to their homeland, the couple spends about a month and a half here, then back on the road. Their working routes mainly extend to western and northern Europe, from Denmark to Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, etc. With accommodation provided by the company in Denmark, Angelica said, blacks can always return there every three to four days.

Working together strengthened the relationship

Asked who likes this job more, Angelika said that there is always an influx of good feelings caused by a new country, invisible places, unknown:

“I would call this job free rides, for which you also get money (Serie). We have passed through various countries, from Sweden to Portugal, with few or no visitors in Western Europe.

When we worked in a Lithuanian company and constantly lived on a tractor, with a break of 45 hours or more, we tried to get to the cities so that we could take a walk and inspect them. We often walked like this for 20 km a day.

Now that we have accommodation for ourselves in Denmark, when we return here during the rest days we try to make the most of the time and travel around the country. We have our own car, so there are no problems and we keep driving somewhere.

Another thing I like is that we can work with a husband and not have to break up for a long time. Because that separation doesn’t give the families a great advantage. “

Angelica and her husband have been together for five years: two of them are married and three have been working together. The couple do all the trips together. When asked if the fact that they constantly spend time together does not put a foot in the relationship, the interlocutor says, on the contrary, that working together in black has brought us even closer.

I like that we can work together with my husband and not have to break up for a long time.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Personally, it’s good for me to be with my husband often, he’s my best friend. Working together, I got to know him from the other side: what he is like at work, what it takes to get through a lot time together in a small space All of this has strengthened our relationship.

Someday I will have to leave this job because I will have to think about my family, sometimes I think that I cannot imagine how I will have to work in another team, when I am used to this, always with my husband. ”, The interlocutor shared his thoughts with a smile.

Once tried to steal

When asked about the difficulties she faces, Angelica said she couldn’t stand out too much.

“As for the technical part, there are services that provide these services, they repair the machines, since in the old days there is no need to repair trucks. We go in two, much more fun, time does not last as long as I could not point out anything negative or difficult, said the interlocutor, adding:Serie). “

Angelica spoke over her shoulder three times, saying that so far all trips have been successful, accidents have been avoided: “Tfu tfu tfu, I don’t want to talk because that’s probably the scariest thing we all fear.”

Only here is there a robbery, which is not uncommon among long-distance drivers, that Angelica and her husband managed to avoid in France.

“At that time, we were transporting a kind of furniture panels, it wasn’t carrying the load, there was nothing to steal, but the semi-trailer of our tent cut us off,” recalled the truck driver.

Family members were notified when discouragement was too late

Angelika said without telling anyone that she had decided to keep the rights to the tug, her parents found out when it was too late to discourage their daughter.

“When I kept the rights, nobody knew except my husband. I didn’t want to get other opinions, maybe discouragements, that men work here and so on. When I passed the school driving test and there was only one test left on the “Registry”, I went to work with my mother and told her I would be a truck driver. My mother looked at me and said, “I thought you were doing something here” (Serie)

I know at least 30 Lithuanians who work in this job. It is certainly no longer the case that there are only men and women here.

Dad wasn’t very happy, maybe because he knows the details of this job, life here. But it was too late to be discouraged because everything was past. And my friends didn’t surprise me much, ”said the interlocutor.

When asked what has been the attitude of men who work as long distance drivers, a young woman who participates in such activities, received negative reactions, or perhaps only support, according to Angelika, it has been in every way:

“Maybe I captured those crooked looks or other gestures more at the beginning, when I kept my rights and started driving. Once stopped in a traffic jam, someone even photographed me from a car. Such things are not pleasant, but over time you don’t see them, you try not to pay attention. “

According to Angelika, the number of women working as long-distance drivers is growing rapidly, so according to her, this should come as no surprise:

“I know at least 30 Lithuanians who work in this job. It is certainly no longer the case that there are only men and women here. There is also no shortage of female drivers in the German company we currently work for. There are a lot of young women working in this job and it’s really rewarding, because sometimes there is a lot of desire for female companies. “

A temporary opportunity to earn money

Angelika, speaking about herself with her husband and other couples who work together at this job, said that most see it as a temporary opportunity to earn money:

“Some are building houses, others want to start their own businesses, so here they have the opportunity to earn money. In addition, there are quite a few job offers for long-distance drivers. It is true that in foreign companies this work pays better than in Lithuanians, so my husband and I were looking where it would be better.

However, despite the good earnings, I think that work would cease to make sense in the long run and I would feel sorry for my time to always work that way. And now my husband and I are joking that we are selling our time at this job, we spend a lot of time in the lives of our loved ones. So we plan to work a few more years and then spend time with family and other activities, ”Andželika said.