AIR! We have AIR!

We have air! YAY!!  The air has been on for Decks 4 (cabins and nurses stations) and 5 (part of galley, dining room, many offices, registration, café, ship shop, library and academy). It’s on on deck 3 (my cabin) but it needs some time to fill the rooms there first. It’s also going to take some time to fill up deck 7 (laundry, computer room, some more offices and big meeting room).  The pool is also open. Just in time too, because all of the people from Applesbosch have arrived. Applesbosch was a former small college campus that was taken over by the Mercy Ship people as a hold-over site for many ship people while the ship was being worked on and had no air (for several months). I’ve been told that there were pros and cons to both locations: AB had windows, land to walk around and play on (for all the kids), was a pretty area in the middle of the mountains; it also took forever to go anywhere or do anything because it was in the middle of nowhere and didn’t have any ship people. The ship had no air, but it was in the middle of the mission itself and it is near a town.

That also means that the ship has about 300 people living on board now, including 300 to cook for every meal and clean up too. The good news is that the generators are also getting up to snuff in other areas. There is already a commercial dishwasher downstairs for the dishes in the dining room, but all the pots and pans must be washed by hand upstairs (in the galley) after every meal. We should have another such dishwasher upstairs in the next week or so, before we leave port. Also, the rest of the clothes washers/dryers should be up and running very soon – important for a tight community of 300! In the meantime, areas which have been getting dirty or otherwise mussed, what with engine workers, dust, pipes and tubes running all over the ship, are being scrubbed to within an inch of their lives. Even before the air came on, people were being bussed in daily from AB, getting down on their hands & knees scrubbing floors, walls, shelves (you name it), and then filing back on to the small busses and taking the 90 minute drive back to AB. All of this scrubbing must be accomplished before the ship can pass inspection and leave for Sierra Leone. All the nurses have been working hard, also cleaning and arranging the entire hospital, in order to be fully prepared for medical services when we arrive. It’s truly amazing to watch. Please understand, fans & followers, this is all done by volunteers! Not only is everything done without pay, for the glory of the Lord, but everyone has to pay for their room and board in order to serve here.

As I said earlier there are entire families here now; mothers and/or fathers serving on the ship while the kids live on ship and go to the academy. The academy serves all grades although all grades are not being served at all time – that, of course, depends on the array of ages of the children on board.

While in classes, the kids are even in uniforms. While they are in school, the ship continues to prepare for inspection and departure. Our goal is to leave no later than February 8^th, in order to arrive in Sierra Leone by the 25^th, with a 24 hour respite in Cape Town. Most of the guys working on the generators have not had any time off whatsoever for some time now, and deserve at least one completely free day! Some of those whose jobs are now complete (or will be when we leave) will fly out of Cape Town for their homes. In the meantime, there are teams of doctors in Sierra Leone interviewing and preparing lists of those SL natives who will need medical care from the ship when it arrives. That’s why the ship and its hospital must be ready when it arrives there...

International Lounge above where we have devotionals every morning and any other important get-togethers. Captain's spot below - the Bridge (also called the Wheelhouse).

PS: just got back to my room after my dinner dishes shift and it’s freezing – YAAAAAAY!

A Little Tour

If you're joining me now for a little tour of the ship, follow me!

There is a level 3 gangway (for commercial goods and workers) and a level 5 gangway for normal entry and visitors. First, you would see the Visitor's/Registration desk. It's emply in the photo because it's late at night. Turning back, you can see the doorway where visitors enter. You can also see the night lights of Durban over Tom's shoulder.

All entries to the ship are guarded 24 hrs/day by nice, polite yet apparently highly trained military mean from another country. So don't try anything sinister. Below is the level 3 which is also the level (sorry, deck) that my new room is on. The gangways are open during operation hours so at least there is a bit of a breeze in the hallway of the deck where I now live.

If, after entering the main entrance, you make a right turn, you will find the dining room.

I was working here last week, but I am now back in the kitchen which is upstairs from here. Breakfast is simple cereals & such all mornings except Sunday, when we have eggs, (incredibly thick) bacon and either pancakes or french toast or something special like that! Lunch is very busy and takes 2 lanes to function because of all the workers on board to fix the ship. There are quite a number of locals who come on board M-F just to work here, in addition to all the people who reside here. Dinner is smaller but still busy. In addition to a hot dish or two there are always fresh lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, cheese slices, deli slices, bread and multiple condiments available in case you want something fast or just don't want what's hot. These extras are offered at lunch and dinner.

Saturday & Sunday lunch, you are on your own, however the deli stuff is offered in the morning (during breakfast) for you to make yourself a 'sack lunch' if you wish. Sat & Sun dinners are usually much less busy because people are off doing things, but it's about to get crowded again soon, as we get closer to leaving. When we arrive in Sierra Leone, we will be more crowded still (average above 300) as the rest of the crew comes to meet the ship and get to the actual mission itself. I've heard that, when it gets like that, there will probably be 2 shifts of both lunch and dinner each!

During a couple hours of the day (except weekends) the cafe will open, usually during morning & afternoon break time, for an hour or so at a time, and then in the evening. It is actually a real Starbuck's Cafe, with all kinds of drinks, sodas, cold water and treats like candy bars, chips & assorted nuts, all for sale (way cheaper than a real starbuck's however). No homemade muffins or anything like that, sorry. The cafe is also home to wi-fi.

There's also a little "ship shop" but it will not be open until we set sale. It's like one of those tiny mom & pop stores that has some basics in addition to a few treats. I understand it will also have Mercy Ship T-shirts, hats and memorabilia, so if anyone wants anything from the ship or the organization, let me know!

Down the hall from the shop is the library, which will have an actual librarian just before we take off from Durban. In the meantime, it's dimly lit (because of the generators) and under 'on your own/we trust you to check out the books & DVDs' situation. Many people who bring or buy books end up donating them to the library when they are finished reading, as I have.

Above the library is the laundry room which is reserved during several hours every day for the laundry of the ship. Other times, you must reserve a washer and its coordinating dryer in 1-hour periods. Laundry is apparently very cutthroat and you'd better not have your stuff in someone's w or d when it's someone else's reserved time and you'd better not take someone's stuff out of their w or d when they are in their time! As you can see only 3 of each are available until the generators are all up and running.

Obviously, there is much more to the ship and I have not even discussed the hospital area or the engine area. I will learn more about those and get back to you on those. In the meantime, I'll work on an idea of my daily schedule and tell you about some of the wonderful people on board with me!

Until next time...

Visit to town

Today, I went into town for a visit to one of the local malls with a car full of other Mercy Ship volunteers. The mall was up in the hills a bit, which is very green and can be very beautiful. It was humid, of course, but we had quite a nice little breeze the higher we went. The SUVs used by the ship are manual so I had volunteered to help drive if they ever needed additional drivers, but changed my mind once we got on the road. I expected the disorientation of driving on the wrong side of the road but the real confusion comes when maneuvering through major intersections, especially when you suddenly think the lane you're supposed to be in is filled with a giant truck coming right at you! And that truck has I pile of things on the back it probably should not have - and a pile of men on top of that!!! WOW

I didn't have a lot of money to do major shopping; I just needed a few necessities (and to wander around, off the ship) and I did some people watching. There were every kind of people wandering the halls and it resembled any American mall I'm accustomed to at home, but the people tended to wear their ethnic garb more than an American mall. It was entertaining to watch the little girls and boys (especially girls) trying to mix their native clothing pieces AND the popular shoes, trinkets or extras that call out to them at the mall!

The mall itself, the Pavilion Mall, was top of a hill yet most of it was underground. Surrounded by parking slots were several large, green iron and glass structures that resembled the tops of those old, fancy bird cages (pavillions, duh). When you entered the 'cages' you immediately start descending into the mall, four floors down. It reminded me of that cool, hidden mall in Georgetown, the one you wouldn't even know is there unless you happened onto it. The Pavillion is 3 times the size of that one but not as fancy inside. It was a nice few hours to get out and around. As we were leaving (waiting for a few stragglers) I got some photos of the surrounding countryside. The following 4 photos are a sweep of the town from the top of the hill where the mall is located:

Below is a close-up of the hill with all the houses:

One of those looks-pretty-until-you-focus-on-the-specifics kind of place. The land looks green and usable for growing crops, if not a bit hilly (not all of it is mountains). As we drove back to the ship, the areas nearer the water did not fare much better.

Very sad.

I planned to take more photos in this area but I was busy watching my life pass before my eyes. Picture everyone on the wrong side, but you're on a one-way street which suddenly becomes a 2-way street at a busy intersection - you get the picture. You know it's bad when I am shocked at how people are driving! So there...

Made it safely back to the ship. Tomorrow is pancake/french toast (hot) breakfast day, the only morning I bother to get up for breakfast. I have a new cabin and a new roommate so I needed to re-unpack and do some laundry.

Until next time-

More on Week #2

Some more little goodies from the ship:

Wednesday night cards; I've learned a new card game called Hand & Foot. I've been partnered with Roseanne and we've kicked butt 2 weeks in a row! That's Carmen, Roseanne, Cathy and Carol.

Sitting quietly by a window after dinner, I drew this of Durban:

I know, don't quit my day job...

Week #2

Wednesday of week 2 and still no air conditioning BUT I finally have the internet on my laptop and can upload photos that I have so far. The computers open to everyone not only didn't have a fan anywhere near them, but I couldn't find a way of getting photos from my camera to the computer. Now I can - YAY.

Still, we are in Durban, S. Africa, docked while many things are being fixed, updated or replaced. The traffic of engineers, electricians, plumbers, painters etc, is phenomenal and every one of them is volunteering their time, service, sweat and experience. It never ceases to amaze me what people continue to do here.

The port of Durban is in a cove of sorts so neither side has a view of the ocean. There is a lot of work being done all over the ship and we won't be leaving Durban until it's all finished. In the meantime, the wonderful workers need to be fed.  I am part of the Hospitality staff, which contains the kitchen, galley and housekeeping departments. My first week, I worked in the kitchen:

These photos are from 2 directions of a long kitchen with Carmen posing for all during lunch. There are several kitchen areas, for different reasons & events. This is the main kitchen on Deck 6, where most of the cooking is done for everyone. It's long but gets very busy, as you can imagine when mealtime is close.

First, that's Carol cooking pancakes on Sunday morning; Sunday is the only hot breakfast day of the week, so it's worth getting up for even if you have that day off and would not normally bother coming up for breakfast. The bacon is thick and killer! There is no lunch served on Saturday or Sunday, so I sneaked a couple of extra bacon slices for a BLT later on Sunday. When breakfast is out on those mornings, so are items for people to make a 'sack' lunch for themselves. You can wrap up whatever you want to take away and save for later on, like I did with the BLT. Every day has a hot dinner. Also shown above are Carol, Alice and Oretha cooking the rest of the meal for last Sunday.

That's Makro, S. Africa's version of Sam's Club, where we get most of the food supplies for the ship kitchen. Makro is visited several times a week based on what's planned for meals and what's missing. The meat comes from a different store because we buy so much at a time.

Most breakfasts are selections of cereals, some yogurts and fruits if in season here. Lunches are the busiest during the week because all the workers are here. Thursday night is always ice cream night after the all-hands meeting. Also, during limited hours (while in dry dock) the Starbuck's Cafe is open: coffees, sodas, candies, nuts, but no muffins or anything like that right now. When we are in Sierra Leone, the cafe will be open more hours and the store will be open & staffed.

When not working, this is my abode for now:

It's not that bad, but it would be a lot better if there was air conditioning! Over the bed is another bunk that comes down and will be occupied when we fill up with more service people in Sierra Leone. That will mean 2 people living in this area, and there are 2 of these little 'areas' for each cabin. There's also a tiny living room, in case your roommate is sleeping and you are not, but there's no air in that area so there's no spending much time there, if you get my drift.

Right now, I'm working in the galley, which is a smaller kitchen and the dining room where everyone eats all the meals, unless there's a special event in one of the grand rooms and it's catered from the big kitchen. Since meals must be prepared and served at different times, our work days are spread out into 2 or 3 shifts, depending on preparing, serving or cleaning. I'm usually so sweaty after a shift I take a shower and rest until the next kitchen shift. I had Tuesday off and slept in, then wandered around the ship to check out more things I had not seen before. There's a library and an area for people to sit and visit, read or play on their laptops (like I'm doing now). I also started walking on deck 7 for an hour or so on my days off, before dinner, because it's outside and fairly open. Most of the ship is a mess of pipes, tubes and hoses from one end to the other, but all of that will be gone before we sail.

There are 'trips' into town for shopping or going to the beaches and movies but I haven't been on one of those trips yet. I have this weekend off and so will go into town to check out the mall and the town...

I'll have more photos and info about the ship and the experience here in a couple of days!

Flying

I made it on board the Africa Mercy Ship!

We are in Durban, South Africa (bottom, right side) while generators are getting fixed/updated. Generators = air conditioning = very important! Actually, it's lovely outside; it's just warm on the ship. There are special set-ups for certain areas that have to have air, like the kitchen & the freezers, but the rest are on their own.

I arrived on the ship very late on Monday night and slept almost completely through Tuesday. I had my first workday on Wednesday. Since we're not in Sierra Leone yet, they don't need a Hospitality Hostess, so I am working in the kitchen for now. Today happens to be my off day and I'm catching a ride into town to buy a few necesities that I didn't want to carry with me. I have a few photos from the ship, but I will upload them later along with some of the ship and maybe in town.

Not sure yet when we'll head for Cape Town - not until generators are fixed. In the meantime I am with dozens of wonderful, spiritual people who have welcomed me with open arms!

More later...

West to East

I'm doing this second post so close to the last one because, frankly, I can't sleep. I just drove from SoCal to GA in 4 days, and I'm exhausted. Yet, here I am, at 5am (GA time) and nothing. I was able to spend Christmas with Ryan and I'm going to see Sam tomorrow, then I'm headed to Atlanta A/P. My flight to Durban, South Africa, is scheduled to depart at noon on Sunday! Some people keep telling me that it might get screwed up because of the pending ice and snow that is expected very soon. Really, people? If that happens, I'll live with it. As long as I've done everything I can to be ready and prepared. 

For those of you who don't already know, I'm going to join the Africa Mercy Ship in Durban, sail (actually a misnomer since there are no sails on the ship) to Cape Town for a few days for training, then sail up to Sierra Leone for 4 months. The ship is an incredible, state-of-the-art hospital (floating) that goes to a different country in Africa each year to treat and help those indigenous to each of the countries it visits. It's an amazing opportunity which I have been planning for no fewer than 3 years! (Sorry to those of you who might be sick of hearing about it by now.) I will live on the ship and work as a Hospitality Hostess. I will keep up the blog while I am there and show you all about it. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post and I will answer if you'd like to know anything about the trip, the ship, the sights, etc.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ex0dkRd1bB4

I can't explain how excited I am, which is of course probably why I can't sleep. It's not like I won't have 2 days on airplanes to snooze, right?

BTW, mom is taking care of my Fletch, whom I miss a little already.

I'll keep you posted...

Pismo Beach & Solvang

Pam and I decided to get away for a few days while I was in SoCal. I had suggested Catalina Island. Pam opted for a drive up the coast and it's a good thing she did. Let me warn you now that we happened to have planned this trip right in the throes of the biggest and longest blanket of rain that SoCal remembers ever seeing! In case you missed it, water did not ceased to fall from the sky for 8 straight days, and our little sojourn was smack dab in the middle of it. We could have cancelled, I guess, but Pam already had that Friday and Monday off, and we really did need to get away. So we went anyway.

It started raining on Thursday night; we left Friday morning. A 4.5 hour trip to Pismo Beach took almost 7 hours what with wet roads, bad visibility, and that old favorite known as LA traffic. We even tried the beach route for a while but traffic was worse and we couldn't see the dang water anyway. (I've been trying to cut down on my cursing, BTW.) I was able to introduce Pam to Johnny Rocket's in Laguna Beach however, and I think she was pleased!

For those of you not of the SoCal persuasion, Pismo Beach is where many of the old "beach blanket/Gidget" type movies were made WAY back when. Pam even wanted to walk down the pier even though all we could see were a million birds getting a free bath and some strange dark dots in the water. Those dots turned out to be crazy surfers getting whatever gnarly waves they could from the crappy weather.

The scenes from the pier reminded me of scenarios out of Dean Koontz novels, especially one of my favorites, the Odd Thomas collection (the 4th one takes place in a town that I pictured like this when I was reading it). Definitely no Frankie and Annette here.

After taking some punishment at the pier, we tried the Butterfly Zoo. It's a nice looking park with a path and no netting to keep butterflies in or fences to keep admirers out. Alas, (almost) no butterflies stupid enough to be out on a day like that - just a very small group (and one quail-looking thing) who hadn't enough sense to come in out of the torrent. The butterfly batch is difficult to see but they are hanging off a branch in the lower mid quadrant of the photo, at about 7 o'clock.

After a nice breakfast we decided to change course a little and go up to see the Hearst Castle. I mean, why not, right, since we will be indoors?!  Wrong. A tourist at the castle goes from bus to bus to garden to outdoor pool and the walk goes around several of the buildings, no matter what the weather. The guide started out at the outdoor, Grecian-style pool and gave us his entire spiel, even though water was coming down in buckets and very few people were listening. I guess they have to keep to a schedule, no matter what is going on around them. At the top, we couldn't see any gardens or ocean view or even, frankly, past the patio surrounding the pool. The house was cool, though, but to see it all (or at least more of it) one would have to take multiple tours at other times. And yes, for additional fees.

That's Pam and me in front of the indoor pool. It's a huge room made up of what looks like a zillion 1-square inch tiles, in and around. You can even walk upstairs (hidden from view) and dive into the pool from a catwalk across the pool itself. Well, maybe you can't, but they did back in the day. I know I've seen that pool in a movie somewhere but I can't place it...

Learned a valuable lesson I will pass on to you: nothing against the Hearst people, but don't bother going up there unless it's a clear day. The grounds are at least  1/3 to 1/2 of the tour so, unless it's perfect, it's a waste of money.

Sunday, we went into Solvang, a little Danish town, with the traditional Scandinavian shops, bakeries, and even people dressed in the traditional garb. The windmill is 73% to scale of the original, more famous one overseas. You can barely see me. but I'm on the steps, wrapped up in a blue lawn & leaf bag-looking thing. (Thank you, Pam!)

It was drizzling the entire day, but it wasn't as bad as the day before. The plus side was there were very few people out and about. We were the only people in the restaurant for breakfast. The owner/manager/greeter/waiter/cook (all one man) kept talking to us, probably because there was nothing else to do! Later, after a little shopping, we went to one of the bakeries for Aebleskiver - a traditional donut-type ball, empty inside, but doused with powdered sugar and raspberry preserves on top. I wanted to buy one of the special pans and sticks to make them, but wise Pam once again prevailed. You know me: I was trying to figure out how to fill those little suckers with chocolate pudding or mousse!

We drove back on Monday, in the rain again (still). Not a complete loss though - had a really nice weekend with a good friend and saw a house that I loved and could theoretically afford, very near the sand, some day...