Weekend Adventures

Last weekend I had the opportunity to get off the ship for a day and go to the beach with a group of others from the ship. This is our last weekend before the hospital opens, so we decided to take advantage of that, and get refreshed after a busy, busy week...

We (about 20 of us from the ship) left the port, and walked up the road into town. At an intersection we flagged down a Poda-Poda (pronounced POH-duh POH-duh). Those are the local taxi vans that you can rent for 20,000 Leones per day which is about $4 US. We're learning to ride in vehicles African style (ie- cram as many bodies in one vehicle as you can) so we had all of us in one little Poda-Poda sitting shoulder to shoulder on metal benches instead of normal van seats and it's equipped with really good air-conditioning called 'roll the windows down and drive.' It's about 12-15 miles to the beach from the dock, and it took a little over an hour and a half to get there. Even though it's slow-going and traffic is horrible, I really enjoy getting off the ship and experiencing some of the culture.

Traveling in Sierra Leone is never boring!!! Driving on your side of the road is purely optional, he who honks longest wins the right-of-way, the horn is also used instead of turn-signals, and there are no stop-lights or stop-signs. Even though there are pot-holes EVERYWHERE, they still build speed-humps (who knows why).

Danger... men working =)

Carrying charcoal for fires...

well worth the long trip... 

 

'restaurant' at the beach, Barracuda cooked over an open fire for lunch, village man selling home-made
wares, local 'entertainment' playing drums and singing on the beach...

My first time ever to go swimming in the Atlantic

This week on Monday, I helped to train some of the day volunteers who are local people hired by Mercy Ships to help out with things on board... Teaching housekeeping is extra fun when some of the people you're teaching haven't ever flushed a toilet before. It is so much fun to get to know them and hear their stories. Most of the 170-some day volunteers hired by the ship are from local churches, and some have worked on the ship before during previous outreaches in Sierra Leone. 

Yesterday and today, I had hospital orientation to how things are done on the particular wards, and how all the paperwork is done. My first shift actually working on the ward is tomorrow night from 930pm to 730am. More updates to come! =)