About one week into things

     Its Sunday night. It was a nice weekend starting with Friday when a group of us went to the market. I bartered with several local Togalese shop keepers and had a lot of fun doing so. They laughed as I tried to get them to cut their prices down to a quarter of their original prices. I was able to get them down quite a bit. When I got back to the ship, a more seasoned crew member told me that I had gotten some good deals. I felt better then! Friday night, a large group of us went out to dinner to a German restaurant of all things. Here I was in West Africa, eating at a German restaurant with British, Dutch, German, Scottish, Canadian, and other American nurses. It was funny. They served us cocina shells baked like clams before dinner. I made myself try at least three of them. It was a fun time to get to know some of the nurses. Being with so many people from other countries makes me realize even more that I need to be bilingual. All of the international nurses are at least bilingual, some know multiple languages. Its only the American nurses and some of the Canadians that only know English :(

     Saturday we had bought tickets to swim at a local resort, but it rained and was cloudy so we didnt get to do as much as planned. Fortunately Sunday, someone had a free ticket to the resort so I went again and it was hot and sunny! I had some amazing smoothies by the pool and yummy food. There is a large Lebanese population in Lome and there are quite a few French ex pats. It was funny being at the pool because all of the sudden there were so many Caucasians around. This morning I attended a local church service in Lome. The worship was awesome. People were dancing in the aisles. There were two choirs that sang back and forth to one another. It was so much fun. The sermon however was hard to get through because it was completely in French. I zoned out. Well that's all for now. I need to get up for a 6:15 am workout... i'll let you know if I really do...

Beginnings

     Getting to Togo was trying to say the least. If I would have known that it would take 40 hours to actually get to Togo, I might have chickened out. Our troubles began in D.C. where United airlines had us board not one but two airplanes with mechanical problems. Due to the many delays there, we (there were 5 other mercy ships nurses that I met up with in the airport) missed our connection to Togo in Brussels. We hung out in the Brussels airport trying to find all of our bags, which we eventually did! I promptly found a Starbucks, knowing it would be the last real Starbucks I would see until I came home. Four- five hours later we departed for Ethiopia, but to our surprise, we stopped in Milan, Italy first. From Milan, we eventually left for Ethiopia. It was a very long, crowded, hot, and uncomfortable flight! I sat next to a Chinese man who was slightly grumpy at first, but he turned out to be very nice. He spoke great English and we had a lot to talk about with my past experience in China. I always meet the coolest people traveling! By the time we got to Ethiopia, we were battered and weary. Knowing we still had another 3 hour layover and 6 hour flight was discouraging. I got my first taste of Africa in this Ethiopian airport when they announced over head that it was time to board the plane. At that moment, hundreds of Africans swarmed to the front; there really was no line. It was a mass of people! The girls I was with and myself decided to remain seated for awhile because we were not going to get anywhere anytime soon. Eventually, after many mishaps, we did arrive in Lome, Togo, our destination! What a relief! It was slightly unsettling that the airport customs personnel made copies of our passports before letting us enter the country. Oh well, God has protected us so far, I guess He will continue to work out those small details. He was very good to us on this journey! The Mercy Ships sent a driver to pick us up in one of their land rovers. The Port of Togo where the ship is parked is only 10 minutes from the airport. As soon as we set foot on the ship, we were warmly welcomed! They had lunch waiting for us and took our bags to our rooms. We were able to shower which was amazing! They have air conditioning and hot water on the ship. Its very nice.

     I've been on the ship now for 2 1/2 days. Its been largely orientation to the ship, hospital, and general rules. The cafeteria food on the ship is actually very good. There is a coffee shop that makes Starbucks brand coffee. That was a huge relief to me...I can't beak the habit now ;) Including myself there are five girls in our room. We were supposed to have a total of six, but there did not end up being a sixth person. The room is one long hallway with three rooms divided by curtains to the left with two bunks in each berth. My bunk mate is from Toronto, Canada. One of the other girls is from Orange County, CA. We have another roommate from Holland. One of the cool things about the ship is that there are people from all over. There are nurses from New Zealand, Wales, Scotland, Canada, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, all over the United States, and other places as well. I have met crew members from South Africa, West African Countries, and other places. Its a very international environment!