Yesterday was my two-month anniversary of being on the ship and I celebrated by working and being sea-sick.
Whoo.
I've actually not been feeling well for the past few days, and combined with working ten hour days all I want to do is sleep. I thought about going off ship today but I couldn't get up the energy or enthusiasm so I scrapped that idea and am letting myself rest. Tomorrow I am going to a community church service so I won't feel like I wasted my 'weekend'.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Aw di bɔdi?
Yesterday I went out to River #2 with a group of seven other people. A day worker got us our own poda poda to rent for the day! It was nice to not have to squish into one, especially as it turned out the beach was about a hour and a half over the foothills on nearly non-existent roads. They were actually doing roadwork which really surprised me because this was the first time I've seen that the whole time I've been here. Part of the deal with out poda poda was that they would wait for us while we hung out at the beach, and that turned out to be a good thing since it was so remote I don't know how long we would have had to wait to get another vehicle when we wanted to leave.
Unlike Burah beach you had to pay to get onto this beach. I heard from another Mercy Ship person that they used the money to better their community which is really cool! They even had some solar panels there! AND they had toilets!!! (Working toilets are maybe the thing I miss the most about home. Even the ones on the ship aren't totally reliable) The beach was quite a bit more crowded that I was expecting. So many white people! I feel odd when I see white people that I don't recognize now.
The beach was right where River #2 intersects the Atlantic Ocean. I walked into the river to see if it was colder than the ocean (it wasn't) and nearly stepped onto some fish. I was afraid I'd end up being chomped on by a barracuda so I got out of there fast!
We spent a nice afternoon there and my legs got really sunburned the whole way around, so wearing pants for work tomorrow will be interesting.
This morning I went to the church of one of the locals who I work with in the dining room named Regina. I wasn't sure how far it away from the ship it was but it turned out to only be a short (crowded) poda poda ride away. It was on the top floor of some building..I think it was an apartment building at one time. The windows didn't have any covering so the breeze was nice a cool. The attendance is small; Regina is both the worship leader and treasurer. I had some trouble understanding the message because the pastor's accent was pretty thick and I honestly couldn't tell some of the time if he was speaking English or Krio.
Unlike Burah beach you had to pay to get onto this beach. I heard from another Mercy Ship person that they used the money to better their community which is really cool! They even had some solar panels there! AND they had toilets!!! (Working toilets are maybe the thing I miss the most about home. Even the ones on the ship aren't totally reliable) The beach was quite a bit more crowded that I was expecting. So many white people! I feel odd when I see white people that I don't recognize now.
The beach was right where River #2 intersects the Atlantic Ocean. I walked into the river to see if it was colder than the ocean (it wasn't) and nearly stepped onto some fish. I was afraid I'd end up being chomped on by a barracuda so I got out of there fast!
We spent a nice afternoon there and my legs got really sunburned the whole way around, so wearing pants for work tomorrow will be interesting.
This morning I went to the church of one of the locals who I work with in the dining room named Regina. I wasn't sure how far it away from the ship it was but it turned out to only be a short (crowded) poda poda ride away. It was on the top floor of some building..I think it was an apartment building at one time. The windows didn't have any covering so the breeze was nice a cool. The attendance is small; Regina is both the worship leader and treasurer. I had some trouble understanding the message because the pastor's accent was pretty thick and I honestly couldn't tell some of the time if he was speaking English or Krio.
Friday, October 21, 2011
My team leader, Kevin, is going back to Togo for a little while soon and is trying to force me into his role. I'm not really sure I have the right temperament to be team leader...I get annoyed pretty easily if things don't run correctly. Then again, if some one else became team leader it would be pretty disastrous and I would enjoy that even less.
A couple days ago I ran into him in the dining room a little while after dinner had finished and we talked for a little while about it. He told me that the secret is who you have on your team. He said, "If you have a team like a couple of people we currently have...I will pray for you!" And he laughed.
So we'll see how that goes.
Apparently a British Princess is coming to visit Sierra Leone next month, and they are trying to get her to visit the Africa Mercy. It would be pretty interesting if she did end up coming here!
A couple days ago I ran into him in the dining room a little while after dinner had finished and we talked for a little while about it. He told me that the secret is who you have on your team. He said, "If you have a team like a couple of people we currently have...I will pray for you!" And he laughed.
So we'll see how that goes.
Apparently a British Princess is coming to visit Sierra Leone next month, and they are trying to get her to visit the Africa Mercy. It would be pretty interesting if she did end up coming here!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
They're Liberian, not Somalian.
Well. I mentioned pirates in my last post and that night we spotted pirate ship! It wasn't near enough to make the ship concerned but we reported it to the Port Authority anyways. I didn't even hear about it until dinner time the next day.
The past two nights they have been waxing the dining room floor. Which is one floor above my cabin.
When I say 'night' I mean they've been working from 6:30 pm to about 3am. They usually didn't even get to using the machines on the floor until after 10.
And in the morning they have been doing something that requires a lot of grinding. For nearly two weeks, eight hours a day, five days a week.
Grinding.
So I've had a interesting night's sleep the past couple days, and haven't been able to nap like I normally do on work days so I've been slowly going crazy.
What else? Well, the containers that bring us food has been delayed by at least two weeks so we have been eating....interesting combinations of food. And even more rice than normal!
The past two nights they have been waxing the dining room floor. Which is one floor above my cabin.
When I say 'night' I mean they've been working from 6:30 pm to about 3am. They usually didn't even get to using the machines on the floor until after 10.
And in the morning they have been doing something that requires a lot of grinding. For nearly two weeks, eight hours a day, five days a week.
Grinding.
So I've had a interesting night's sleep the past couple days, and haven't been able to nap like I normally do on work days so I've been slowly going crazy.
What else? Well, the containers that bring us food has been delayed by at least two weeks so we have been eating....interesting combinations of food. And even more rice than normal!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Did I mention.....Pirates?
My past few weeks have been very quiet. I haven't left the ship lately so my days are divided between work and recovering from work.
I worked the past two weekends, so I am looking forward to having this coming weekend off. On Friday there is a showing of 'Pride of Lions' on the ship, and on Saturday I am going to River #2.
I getting close to my two-month anniversary aboard ship. Most days I can't believe I've really been here this long. In fact, I often have a hard time believing I live on a ship in Africa!
The current field service is starting to wind down...the last of the surgeries are scheduled for next month, then the ship gets ready for sailing. I leave a couple weeks before the sail to Ghana so I won't be experiencing that. (I hear there are quite a few pirates hanging out between here and there!) I am actually pretty glad I won't be on board because I get sick from the rough weather that we have just in port. (Also: pirates)
I worked the past two weekends, so I am looking forward to having this coming weekend off. On Friday there is a showing of 'Pride of Lions' on the ship, and on Saturday I am going to River #2.
I getting close to my two-month anniversary aboard ship. Most days I can't believe I've really been here this long. In fact, I often have a hard time believing I live on a ship in Africa!
The current field service is starting to wind down...the last of the surgeries are scheduled for next month, then the ship gets ready for sailing. I leave a couple weeks before the sail to Ghana so I won't be experiencing that. (I hear there are quite a few pirates hanging out between here and there!) I am actually pretty glad I won't be on board because I get sick from the rough weather that we have just in port. (Also: pirates)
Monday, October 10, 2011
Fakes-giving
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. I asked a couple Canadians that I know about the origins of Canadian Thanksgiving and got some vague answer about harvest-time and being thankful for food or something. Then they admitted it was mainly a excuse to eat. We had turkey for dinner and all the Canadians sat together to eat.
Afterwards, I went to the Hope Center with a bunch of other people. The Hope Center is where all the post-OP patients and patients that live far away stay at. It is right up the road from the dock where the ship is. It also houses the dental clinic. My two of my cabin-mates did a quick puppet show (I just held up the sheet that covered the performers), and then we all spent a lot of time taking photos.
The patients at the Hope Center are used to having their picture taken, and if they see you have a camera will demand that you 'snap' them (quite a difference from the people in the rest of town!). "Where is your snapper?" a girl asked me. "I want a snap!" I managed to get away with only taking a couple and then quickly put my camera away, but one of my cabin-mates got stuck taking photos for fifteen minutes straight.
The children at the Hope Center are very aggressive and will fight the others if they think you are paying too much attention to anyone else besides them. However they can be very sweet as well. I met a little girl today who was maybe three years old. She had a cleft lip and couldn't really talk, but she came up to me and just started dancing with me. We danced until I had to leave.
Afterwards, I went to the Hope Center with a bunch of other people. The Hope Center is where all the post-OP patients and patients that live far away stay at. It is right up the road from the dock where the ship is. It also houses the dental clinic. My two of my cabin-mates did a quick puppet show (I just held up the sheet that covered the performers), and then we all spent a lot of time taking photos.
The patients at the Hope Center are used to having their picture taken, and if they see you have a camera will demand that you 'snap' them (quite a difference from the people in the rest of town!). "Where is your snapper?" a girl asked me. "I want a snap!" I managed to get away with only taking a couple and then quickly put my camera away, but one of my cabin-mates got stuck taking photos for fifteen minutes straight.
The children at the Hope Center are very aggressive and will fight the others if they think you are paying too much attention to anyone else besides them. However they can be very sweet as well. I met a little girl today who was maybe three years old. She had a cleft lip and couldn't really talk, but she came up to me and just started dancing with me. We danced until I had to leave.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
You say goodbye, I say hello
One of the strangest things about being on the ship is the constant flow of people coming in and out. It often makes it difficult to get to know anyone because as soon as you do, they are getting ready to leave. I've already had one close coworker leave and tomorrow one of my cabin mates is leaving.
It's a bit hard to make friends with the newer people because you get burnt out constantly introducing yourself. And while I feel bad about it since I had gone through this myself with the people who had already been here for a while when I first arrived, it's pretty much unavoidable. Even the extremely outgoing (which we all know I am not) have this happen to them. Constantly repeating your name, home country, department and length of service gets really old.
It's a bit hard to make friends with the newer people because you get burnt out constantly introducing yourself. And while I feel bad about it since I had gone through this myself with the people who had already been here for a while when I first arrived, it's pretty much unavoidable. Even the extremely outgoing (which we all know I am not) have this happen to them. Constantly repeating your name, home country, department and length of service gets really old.
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