yo ho, yo ho!

A pirate's life for me! It's official! I'm on a boat! And I really like exclamation points! I've been here for the past 2 days, and it's been rather overwhelming to get used to everything. First-people are fabulous. There are crew from all over the world, so the first three questions out of everyone's mouth are:

1) Where are you from?

2) How long are you here?

3) Where do you work?

I've meet so many people; most are nurses, but there's lots of auxiliary hospital staff (like me) and sailing crew. I really love being on a ship. It doesn't feel claustrophobic, which is great, and it doesn't rock with the waves, so no sea sickness! Bonus! :) I'll try to load a photo later, but I can only get internet in certain places, and I don't have my photo cord. 

I have 4 roommates, 2 from Australia who are friends and are nurses in the same hospital, 1 from the US who's a travel nurse, and 1 who's from Australia originally but has been doing nursing in the UK for the past year. They're all super friendly, and we're all fairly new, so it's kind of nice to have people who are experiencing things at the same time you are (be it excitement, fear, or just being overwhelmed).

I've been working in the Pharmacy organizing inventory from the sail. The ship actually just arrived last week in Guinea, and so everything has to be packed up tightly so nothing spills while the ship is moving. It's been helpful to learn what and where everything is, but I'm looking forward to starting the regular routine. I'll be stocking the 4 wards with meds, and helping the Pharmacist fill prescriptions and such.

Everyone is gearing up for our big screening, which is how we determine which surgeries are scheduled and when. I'm not entirely sure how this works, but I'm sure I'll have more stories for you afterwards. I think I'll be escorting people from the different stations as they're checked out, and we determine if we have the resources to treat them. I hope I get to practice more French here, so we'll see how well that goes. :)

I'll be sure to update as more stories occur. Right now, everyone seems to be in a holding pattern until the chaos begins. Prayer requests I have at the moment are:

1) I would be able to continue settling in, and eventually get a sense of home, even if it is only for a few months

2) The screening. That people who need surgeries would be able to get here, and that the screeners would have wisdom on how to best treat people. Also, with that many people, it can be crazy, so I pray everyone would stay calm and the day would run smoothly.

3) That we would be able to impact the people of Guinea positively. It's been years since the last time Mercy Ships has been to Guinea, so I think people don't know what to do with us yet. I hope we can form a good relationship that will continue for many years.