I'm on a boat

That's the only appropriate title I could think of for this post. This is long, but there are pictures, finally! Life on the ship.  

To start, my room. I am in a six-berth cabin with 5 others on Deck 3. 4 are nurses and my bunk mate is in Sales. Which means she works in Starbucks and makes a great Chai latte, and comes to tell me when the store gets graham crackers in, cause they go fast! She also has been incredibly helpful as I settle in here.

 

I live on the top bunk. Bed to ceiling is all mine! Until this weekend when my roommate heads home for a while to do more training to serve long-term with Mercy Ships. Then I am hopping down to the bottom, which will hopefully eliminate several of the less graceful moments of my day as I try to get in/out of bed.

As I walk out of my door, I am 8 steps to the hospital. Which is oh so nice, especially when I am working a day shift :) I wake at 0650.

 

This is my new ward/ICU. It is now full of patients, but I snuck a few when we were in for orientation last week. I pleasantly surprised at all we do have here, I was expecting to learn to have to work without, I'm just learning to work differently on a few things. I will get the hang of it eventually! (Upon editing this post, I just finished my first ICU shift and it felt like home :)

One row in the wards.
Caregivers sleep on a mattress under each bed. TIA

Our "Walmart Cart"

My new ICU

Learning our new monitors

We head up Deck 5, which is my reference point for everything. This is reception, right after you come up the gangway onto the ship. Captain's notes tell us any important notices, from the captain, of course!

Right beside reception is the galley and cafeteria. Where we eat delicious meals. I happened to catch it empty, but that is rare. It is usually filled with doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, families, and our Congolese day workers. It's noisy and you hear 30 languages all at once. But you can sit down next to anyone and be welcome- love it!

 

Another very important part of the ship- the Café. Starbucks is served here- lattes, cappuccinos, Americanos, mochas- I frequent this locale. They also serve Belgian waffles, crepes, and chocolate croissants on special days :) Those are the days you sleep in, cause you know you can still get breakfast!

It is also the site for celebration gatherings-
ice cream, baby gender reveals, and birthdays!

 

 

Right next door is the ship shop- which I don't have a photo of. They sell essentials, and some comforts such as graham crackers, baking supplies, and occasionally Oreos!

Deck 6 is the laundry room, crew galley, internet café, International Lounge (where we have all our community meetings with all of the crew), and lounges for playing games and gathering with friends.

Deck 7. May be my favorite. Inside is the Queen's lounge where we have already had some movie nights. With popcorn. But the deck is where I love being. My spot is port side, toward the stern (like my sailor lingo?!) there is a small table with a chair that looks out over the port. I love to take my coffee, journal, and book there to watch the barges and ships come in and out with their loads. Smaller fishing boats come in after a days work, dwarfed by our massive vessel. The waves lap gently against the ship, the movements barely noticeable. As I spent many hours on my porch in C'ville, I'm sure I will spend many hours here.

The other side of Deck 7 (starboard side) is where we take the patients each day, to breathe some fresh air and let loose some bottled up energy!

If you climb one more to Deck 8 you will find the ladder to the pool. From the pool deck you can look across the other side towards the expanse of ocean. The waves crash against the rocks on this side and even the largest vessels look small on the horizon.

While I am still learning the ways of the ship, it gets easier to find my way each day. Together with all the crew, this is a unique community to live in. And each day I like it more.  






Last weekend we ventured off the ship! Saturday a group of us went to the market. We caught a Mercy Ships shuttle to the train station, then 'footed' (walked) to the market. It was neat to see more of this city we are living in. There are very fancy hotels and banks nestled right against run down shops and garbage piles. The market was immense. We probably only made it through about half of it- it was overwhelming! Next time we may go with something in mind to buy and explore more.

Mercy Ships posters are everywhere-
we are greeted "Bonjour, Mercy Ships?"

$300/night I have heard!

On our way back we stopped at the grocery store, named Casino. I loved it. I found so many American products that were familiar- tomato sauce, cheese (Laughing Cow!), Ben and Jerry's, yogurt, pasta. It is good. They are expensive, but not outrageous for an imported food. And those days when you just need something from home, I bet I'll be willing to pay any price!

 

Our last stop was the gelato store, N'Ice Ice. They had so many flavors and I'm sure will be a frequent stop of ours. There were several cafes/bakeries/patisseries we passed on the way back that I am itching to try- maybe I can talk a friend or two into it this weekend!

Hope this gives you a little glimpse of what my new 'home' looks like!