Galley Work

I’m a little disappointed and maybe a little confused but I’ll get over it. I found out today that I will not become a Hospitality Hostess when we get into Sierra Leone, as I had been led to believe. That’s the job I applied for, that’s the job I was ‘hired’ for, and that’s the job I’ve been looking forward to for at least a year (I’ve been planning the trip for 3 years). When I arrived, they needed galley and dining room people and those people came from the Hospitality Department, at that time. When we left Durban, we were to actually start in our appropriated jobs. Hostesses weren’t needed for hostess-ing but the hostesses were being trained for their tasks while preparing for arriving in SL. I was pulled out of that and asked to stay in the galley while at sea, as the galley needed the people. I was told by Peter, the boss over both departments, I would be staying in the galley for as long as I’m on the ship. I leave at the end of April. I will remain chopping veggies and scrubbing pots and pans. Alas, my dream of being the Julie McCoy of Africa is not to be…

As I continue to remind myself, this trip is not about me; it is about what He wants me to do for them. If that is to chop and scrub – so be it!

Our shifts will be changing as soon as we dock on Sunday. The galley has been on one day and off the next, using 2 distinct teams. Sunday will be our last day of working that shift schedule. My team will have Mon/Tue off go back to 3 on/2 off, with every other weekend free. This is so that everyone has equal opportunities for weekends off. One positive of staying with the galley, so I’ve been told, is that I will actually have more time to spend with patients and other guests of that nature, should I so choose. There is a kind of adopt-a-patient program where you can volunteer to spend time with those recuperating or even help with light medical assistance. Also, maybe I'll continue to lose weight!

Two other cool things coming up for which I heartily volunteered: patient acting for upcoming fire drills and pirate watching! There will be upcoming fire drills and the team leaders will need “patients” to practice leading them up stairways or using other emergency disembarking procedures. Also, night, from 11pm to 1am, I am on the volunteer pirate watch on the aft deck, complete with night vision goggles and radio and all. WooHoo! How fun does that sound?