Day 3

Day 3 - Sept 27 - Brian's bday - Happy Birthday Brian!

I woke up 6:00 despite setting my alarm for 7:00 as apparently SL starts moving around 6:00. I quickly figured out why the dog we first met when we got to the hostel is named "bark!" :)

The open windows made any more sleep impossible and there is non-stop car honking, people talking, dogs barking, and the smell of smoke. Like people roasting something. Church bells also loudly went off. So much for wondering if I would wake up on time!

I am about to get out of bed and go to the cold shower again to wash off the sweat from the night (decided against the shower). Today we head to the ship for a morning orientation and then it is off to paint!

I can only imagine what God has in store for me today! :) Looking forward to it!!

Outside school girls are gathering in nicely dressed uniforms. They attend the private school next door. 

Driving to ship - what an adventure! I was so overstimulated. The sites of the poverty and the local people were unimaginable and indescribable. The traffic was crazy and the amount of pedestrians, cars, motorcycles, and buses all on tiny roads was simply amazing. I wondered why all the people were out and where they were going? I saw one very pregnant woman with a baby strapped to her back and a giant tub of stuff on top of her head. It is super cool how they strap the babies to their backs. The babies are so cute. One person joked that they would ask for the baby and Dulce said they would gladly give it to us. I thought she was joking but she wasn't. The women would gladly give their infants to a white woman because it means a better life. How sad...

Orientation with Dulce was enlightening. I really like her. It is hard to believe she has been doing this for 2 years without any pay. I plan to leave money with her so she can continue her work here. Such a neat, admirable person!

The have coke zero on the ship! $0.65!

We got our schedule and went and toured the ship. We had lunch, which was pretty gross, but I guess I can't complain. Very starchy. Glad I brought the peanut butter - protein seems in short supply here. I was able to use my calling card and talk with Ethan and Keith. Mom called Jon and Linda. All were very glad to hear from us and hear we made it here it ok.

Dulce is going to see if I can scuba dive while here. Apparently divers are desperately needed. Not sure if that will work out since they dive in full face masks and I would need training on that but she is going to ask just in case.

The day is going slower than expected but I have learned that nothing is kept to a very strict schedule here. That is good because I get enough of strict schedules at home. Plus this will probably be the easiest, low key day we will have; so I am enjoying the slower pace. We toured the ship the majority of the afternoon and it is so amazing the resources and the people it takes to keep this place running.

Dr. Stuart was able to coordinate getting a high flow shunt in for a peds patient (9 months old). They weren't sure what they were going to do and he just happened to meet someone this morning that mentioned the need.  A few phone calls later and voila! A high flow shunt. He had his rep overnight it to a volunteer in Virginia that will be arriving on Thursday.

I also overhead Dr. Stuart and Missy (head of OR) talking about a woman that was in a car wreck a few days ago in another town. The German neurosurgeon that arrived late last week saw her when she came here for a CT. She had a subdural hematoma. The surgeon offered to go to her town's hospital, along with two neurological nurses that also happened to be onboard, and they operated on her at her local hospital. She was only under a heavy conscious sedation, not true anesthesia. The doctor went to see her on Sunday and she was doing very well.

While walking through the hospital ward we saw many various patients in bed. Each ward is a different speciality - burns, eye surgery, etc. We saw several cute babies strapped to the backs of several local women. I can't get over how precious the babies are.

We met with one of the off shore people that is in charge of agriculture. Their teams of people train 16 local people who will teach 246 other locals how to farm responsibly and productively so they can train others. It is all organic with focus on compost, mulch, water conservation, erosion, etc. They are trying to stop the locals from chopping, hacking, and stripping the land. We hope to see one of the agriculture sites on the way to the beach. They are called 'Food for Life' with an emphasis on physical and spiritual life.

Dulce is going to try and get mom and I fans for tonight! :) The small blessings!

The captain just announced over the loudspeaker there was a very serious accident on the road leading out of the shipyard. Something about a very large truck and serious injuries. It appears we will be on the ship longer tonight than expected due to the massive congestion because of this accident. They are advising the 'day workers' (that is us) to use extreme caution when leaving tonight due to the heavy congestion and heavy machinery. I am not terribly surprised there was a serious accident because the traffic here is insane. I don't see how they don't have very serious accidents every day.

These thoughts are super random as I typed this throughout the day today at random times. 

It is almost dinner time and then back to the hostel. We start the painting tomorrow with Ryan who is from South Africa. Days start at 6:30 am from here on out. Ugh!

Thank you so much Jodie for setting this up!!