Now I know that many of you think I'm a saint and that I am working all the time....hey I heard that!!! Actually there is an active social life on the ship and since I have partaken of it heavily last weekend, I thought I would share.
Meals come at regular times on the AFM. Breakfast 6:30 to 7:30 (pancakes on Wednesdays), lunch 11:30 to 1:00 and supper at 5 to 6:30. The only variation is the weekend when breakfast is 30 minutes later and you fix lunch at breakfast as the cafeteria doesn't open at lunchtime. In the cool of the evening after supper, the families with small children tend to gather on deck 8 which is open to the air. The kids have several choices of what to do. There is a round above ground pool (just put up last week) and a jungle gym that was erected last year, as well as many riding toys (which I have seen some not so young crew ride). I think that it is wonderful for the 50 or so kids to have this area as they do not have a backyard or traditional playground anywhere in Cotonou.
The rest of the crew who are not working tend to gather in the midships lounge where the Starbucks and Internet cafe is located. Starbucks is open for about an hour and a half most evenings and I must admit, many of us are just devastated on the few nights that it is not: ) We have to have a trained barista to operate the coffee machine and it is a volunteer job, so occasionally it won't be staffed and there we will stand with our coffee cups (we have to bring our own cups to cut down on waste). It would be amusing to watch if I weren't one of the devastated. After coffee, one can usually join a card game or find someone to walk the dock with. We had a British dentist here for a few weeks who was quite the game master. One night he had a group of about 30 or 40 of us hooting and hollering as we played a game where you ended up sitting in each others laps (the record was 8 people in one poor soul's lap) as you tried to make your way around a circle of chairs, yours truly won...whoo hooo. Myself and a few friends usually end the night up on deck 8 aft enjoying the breeze coming off of the ocean before retiring to bunk at about 10:00.
Last weekend I ended up with a very busy schedule! Friday night after work, the ward nurses went out to eat at Livingston's which is an English Pub. It had many of the traditional food items (I got a thin crust pizza which I thoroughly enjoyed) but the surroundings where definantly African. Saturday morning, a group of us went to a large craft market (about a 45 minute walk from the ship) and spent a few CFA. Then, at 3:00, I went on an organized crew activity to Obama Beach. We are not allowed to swim as the currents tend to be pretty strong....but we did some high wading, watched people, drank coconut milk from fresh coconuts and then had the fellow who brought them chop them open for us so we could eat the nut part. That was a little scary as he whacked into the middle of the coconut with a machete while holding it in his hand...I just knew that us nurses where going to be called into action but he never misjudged the force required to cut half way rather that all the way through to his hand. We then partook of a fairly traditional African meal before adjourning to a bonfire and then limping home to gratefully take showers at about 10:00 at night. I enjoyed all of the meal except that I have to say, I am partial to chicken with a little more meat on it. The chickens around here are called "bicycle chickens" as they are always running about. They tend to be....shall I say a little scrawny. Of course, then I felt guilty for not fully appreciating the meal as there are so many who would have considered it a feast. Just so the night wouldn't end on a boring note, one of the Land Rovers broke down and we had to find a rope and tow it back to the ship in the dark hoping that no scooters would try and cut between the cars.
So Sunday, I had planned to go to the local church I had gone to previously, but couldn't get a ride....so....I went to Bab's dock. what a lovely piece of the world! We took a boat ride through a mangrove swamp and ended up in a large, shallow brackish lagoon. A Belgium couple have built a dock with a restaurant which was just lovely. It was so wonderful to hear birds again. I don't know where the birds are in Cotonou, but I had only heard one since I have been here until then. There where loungers, hammocks, kayaks, and even a sailboat to enjoy. The younger set played water volleyball while the rest of us napped, turned over, and napped some more. The peacefulness was only occasionally broken with a shriek when one of the numerous lizards decided to scamper over a sunbather. I got to where I didn't mind them so much unless they decided to stop and bask. We had hamburgers and french fries for lunch which where perfect (even if there where no buns....did you know that much of the world doesn't have bread with their hamburgers?) They also made a nonalcoholic drink from hibiscus flowers and lemongrass which was really good and refreshing. We just had the most relaxing, wonderful day away from the ship and got back at 6PM just in time to have supper and go to church at 7:00.
Then it was work on Monday and Tuesday. I worked evenings this week, so Tuesday morning I got to visit the dental clinic, the eye clinic and the hospitality center. I will post more about those later. Wednesday morning, I went back to the orphanage. It is so impressive (and very cute) to see how scheduled the nuns have the children. We arrived at about 9:30 and played with the young ones (about 2 to 4 years of age) for a few hours before lunch. They where given large bowls of a reddish gruel (can't think of a better word) which they ate every bite of. After presenting their empty bowls they where given a glass of water. They then pulled off their underpants (some of them needed help) and walked to the next room where there was a line of pottys. As we left to go back to the ship they where each sitting patiently on their potty until it was time to go and take their naps.....where where the nuns when my kids where young???? I saw Ibrahim, the young boy I posted about earlier. He is such a pleasant chap and I'm sure he will have many visitors when he comes in April for his surgery.
So that was my week. Life in a small community such as the ship has proved to be wonderful in so many ways. You can almost always find a playmate or prayer mate (depending on the need) and there are a variety of stimulating activities....but I do have to admit....sometimes.... occasionally...... truly only once in awhile...... it feels like you can't fart that someone is going to smell it.
On a more sober note. Please pray for Wessegui. She is one of the VVF ladies. She is an older women but just such a delight. I think her VVF surgery was successful, but she has an infection somewhere in her body and is having a difficult time. As always, thanks for any and all prayers.
No comments:
Post a Comment