Oh Home Beloved

Oh home belov'd, where'er I wander
On foreign land or distant sea,
As time rolls by, my heart grows fonder
And yearns more lovingly for thee!
Tho fair be nature's scenes around me,
And friends are ever kind and true,
Tho joyous mirth and song surround me,
My heart, my soul still yearn for you.

The flow'rs around me may be fairer
Than those that bloom upon thy hills;
the streams, great, mighty treasure bearers
More noted may be than thy rills.
No world renown my humble village
Like these great towns may proudly claim
Yet my fond heart doth thrill with rapture
When'er I hear they humble name.

Ye valleys fair and snow capped mountains,
Ye peaceful hamlets 'mid the trees,
Ye murm'ring streams and crystal fountains,
Kissed by the cool, soft, balmy breeze,
Words cannot tell how well I love thee,
Nor speak my longing when I roam.
My heart alone can cry to heaven,
"God bless my own dear mountain home."
-Evan Stephens, 1854-1930

Couldn't have said it better- 4 more days :)

Timor Leste

Wow- where does the time go?! It seems like yesterday I was leaving to get on the ship and now I'm sailing on my way back home, it went by WAY too fast and at the same time I am SO ready to be going home.

Timor Leste was a beautiful country. It was a bit odd to have UN vehicles everywhere and armed guards around but the people were so friendly and welcoming. We were able to do a lot of good work there. I don't really have too many crazy stories from Timor, in the end it was kind of a nice gentle way to end the trip.

One of my highlights though was the opportunity to go with the chaplins on 2 different community relations projects. The first was to visit a whole pile of kids at a local orphanage. It was so much fun to get to meet them, play with them, and just be around such happy people. The kids had so much fun coloring, doing puzzles and playing soccer. We had the opportunity to leave them with school kits provided by Latter-day Saint Charities which was great to be a part of.

The second visit was to a women's shelter for women and girls who have been the victim of sexual abuse or assault. Many of the girls were in their teens and now had children as a result. The shelter was run by an organization who teach the girls work skills, give them an education and a place to live as many are outcast by their families or have to leave an abusive situation and have no where else to go. It amazed me though that the babies who were born into this situation almost have it better then many of the other kids on the island, they get food, medical care, their mother's are taught to care for them, they get an education (almost all of the kids spoke both Portugese and native Timorese and a few even spoke English). The women who run the organization were such a positive inspiration. I was also very impressed with how much these moms just loved their babies- many times babies concieved under such circustances aren't well recieved by their mothers but that was not the case here. All of the moms were so attentive and clearly wanted only what was best for their little ones. All in all it was a really amazing day and I came away really uplifted.

It seems like every country that I go to I come away thinking "That one was my favorite" and Timor was no different. It was great to see such a new country that is starting to get it's feet on the ground.

:)

The Love Boat

So the other night at work it was a bit slow and a few of the doctors were hanging out at our desk and the subject of, how shall I say it, the "interpersonal relations" on board the ship came up. Now I may have been a bit naive about the relations going on board the ship in that I knew they were going on but I had no idea to what extent. I was a bit surprised by what I had to learn.

So here's my Anne Landers style advice for anyone coming on board the ship

1- it's a small ship be aware that EVERYONE knows your business and nothing is private even when you think it is
2- please don't be the person that gets a reputation
3-PLEASE don't be the person who gets a nickname
4- don't be the cougar who's know for "initiating" the still teen aged crew members from partner nations
5- and please don't be the NGO group who have confused the ship with a frat house

because trust me when I say that once you have gone home you'd rather people talk about what a great nurse/doctor (or whatever) you were and NOT your reputation for "interpersonal relations".

Peace!

Amy J. :)

Indonesia

Wow- long time no blog- I've been busy- and lazy (couldn't be bothered to haul my computer around Darwin). So here's the recap of Indonesia which ended up being our longest mission site (technically it was 3 sites we were in Tobelo, Ternate and Ambon). I have a couple of stories from our time spent there that I'd like to share...

First of is the story of my friend Santi (she turned into everyones friend). Santi came on board in Jakarta with her aunt and was here to see if we would be able to operate on her congenital cataracts that had made her blind and stopped her from being able to read and write (she previously could before they got bad) and also stopped her from just being a normal kid. She got to hang out with us from Jakarta to our first mission port of Tobelo (about a week) where we were finally able to operate on her left eye. During our time with Santi we learned a lot about her, she's a HUGE Shakera (spelling?) fan and has the "Latina" style of dancing down to a tee- she even taught us some moves. Santi was also one of the most patient and thankful kids too- I mean how many 7 year olds when faced with eye drops that sting- a lot, jump into position on their bed, hold their eyes open, don't freak out when the drops go in and after you're done say "Thank- you" in a foreign language and then run off to play?! Speaking of the foreign language she practically had English learned by the time she went home. Fortunately for Santi her first surgery went so well that the doctor's decided it was safe to proceed with her second eye and only hours after having surgery she was up and about- dancing for the other patients who had had surgery as well trying to make them laugh or smile and feel better. I think this kid has a future in medicine or maybe show-biz who knows but whatever she does she'll be able to see her family, read, write and get an education and I'm thrilled for her.

My other story is about another girl who is not as lucky as Santi. She also came on board for cataract surgery but once here we knew that surgery wasn't going to be an option. She was 15 years old but looked a bit like a 90 year old woman. She weighed just over 50 pounds and in doing a history with her family we learned that she was diabetic but they had very limited access to insulin and even when they did have insulin they had no way of testing her blood sugar so no idea of how much to administer. When she arrived her blood sugar was over 3x the normal limit, I spent one very long night shift working with our pediatricians to try and safely get her level to something closer to normal. This was another time when I had to think to myself- "If she lived in North America, she'd be a healthy teen with a relatively normal life". Diabetes isn't like a cleft lip where we can come and in one day change the course of a kids life. Diabetes is every day, day in and day out and it's expensive- there aren't many organizations out there that I know of that have figured out how to combat this disease in the third world. We managed to get her levels down and were able to get a 3 month supply of testing strips and insulin. So we put a band aid on a problem for 3 months- then what? She was so far gone that I don't know how she'll end up doing- even if someone miraculously were to send her to America and give her state of the art care I don't think she'd come back from 15 years of no treatment. At the end of the day her family was so grateful that we'd tried, that we'd given them something- a small amount of hope for the next few months and after that I guess it's in someone elses hands who knows better then me.

Indonesia was a beautiful country with some really beautiful people. The part of Indonesia that we ported at is more remote but more beautiful and unspoiled because of it. Of all the places that we've been to so far I think that Indonesia and in particular the outer islands would be somewhere that I would come back to. Fortunately for the people here the government is starting to make them a priority. PP2010 was a part of an Indonesian festival called "Sail Banda" that was recognizing the potential of the smaller Indonesian islands in the future and I think that potential is huge. So if you're looking for an amazing place to visit, with gorgeous diving- check out Indonesia. (I'm starting to sound like a vacation add so I'll stop now!)

Cheers!
Amy J:)

In the Navy...

You sort your trash... (or "rubbish" as our resident Brit calls it)

• This took some getting used to and it goes something like this: when finished a meal you have to separate out your left over food from the plastic, paper and possibly metal on your plate. You then have to go and dispose of each into the proper receptacle. The paper gets burned, the plastic gets carted around until we're in port and it can be disposed of and the food gets ground up and chucked over board- free food for the fishies. The whole sorting thing is not such a big deal it's just really annoying if you get stuck behind someone new who hasn't figured out that it goes faster if you sort at the table BEFORE you're standing in front of the cans with 50 irritated people behind you.

You get used to...

• Seeing guys wander around your place of work with automatic weapons. Made me stop and do a double take the first time, now it's just a normal thing. At least they don't bring them to the dinner table.
• Always wearing shoes. It's out of the work shoes and into the flip flops that double for shower shoes because in communal living you just don't put your bare feet on the floor (let alone the shower floor)- cannot wait to be bare foot on carpet.
• Showers. There is no such thing as a bath tub here (not even a baby one- we had to McGuyver something out of a toy bucket). One of the first things on my list when I get home- possibly before I unpack, will be to take a long, hot, bath.
• Polite guys. For the first week or so I got a tiny bit weirded out by the constant, door opening, "yes ma'am"ing etc. Then I got so I liked it, I really think that guys back home should have to join then Navy just to relearn some of these things that should be the basics.
• Wearing the same clothes...all the time...every day. The military are in their uniform and I am in mine. It consists of khaki or scrub pants and a blue t-shirt (sometimes a blue polo for variation). At first it was liberating to not have to think about clothes every morning and while that is still true I may never be able to look at this color of blue the same way ever again.

You never get used to...

• The noise. Seriously since getting on board this ship back in May I have not had a single quiet moment. There's always an engine or boiler running, the A/C is on, the ocean is outside, it's raining, the kids are crying, the helicopter is taking off from the roof over the dining hall, there are a thousand other people eating in the same room and to speak to the person across the table one must shout. I work nights and when I'm trying to sleep during the day there are constant overhead announcements of the comings and goings of the higher ups, announcing the start of flight quarters, the end of flight quarters, followed by the ever popular helo refueling announcement. Ooh and did I mention the bell?! Anytime that 2 of the higher ups (I won't mention which ones) come on or off the ship they ring a bell, a very loud and slightly irritating, baby waking bell. It's so annoying that someone actually stole it (no idea who- the perp has yet to be caught and if he/she ever is they're in BIG trouble) and for half a day the bell was blissfully gone, however it turns out they have a spare. Ear plugs don't help- tried that. Anyway all this means is one of the first things I'm going to do when I get home is find somewhere quiet and relish in it! (probably while in the bath)

Navy life ;)

Amy J.

A few of the places I've been to..

An Indonesian boy enjoying the "fort" we made from the nurse's desk

Me hanging out at Angkor Wat

With some CRAZY Cambodian kids

And with a total sweetheart in Vietnam

Enjoy!

At sea, and crossing the line

So long time no write on the blog- I've been busy, and sick. I got a really nasty cold our last day in Cambodia and ever since then have had a lovely hacking cough thanks to my reactive airway. It's been great- my bunk mates are all nurses and analyze every morning if I'm sounding more or less phlegmy. So in the time since we've left Singapore I've been doing a lot of napping and trying to get feeling better.

Last weekend was spent in Singapore which was a lot of fun (accept for the being sick part). It truly is an amazing city and really beautiful. Almost creepy how beautiful- no trash, no garbage, no homeless, perfectly manicured and you could eat off of the floor of the subway- but if you did you'd get fined because eating on the subway isn't allowed. Neither is chewing gum, spitting and more then a few other things. Adds up to a safe and clean city but feels a bit like a theme park after awhile. The food there was amazing as well- there are several different ethnic neighborhoods that all have authentic food and a "food court" with "fast food" is a whole different concept then what you see in North America. I have to say that I like Singapore's fresh made non-greasy version better.

This week has been spent at sea getting to Indonesia. We were in Jakarta for a couple of hours on Tuesday to pick up supplies and more personal and now we are back at sea. It's been weird to be at sea and sailing east- the sun is in the wrong spot every time I go outside. We've been headed west up until now and so to go outside and the sun be in the wrong place is a bit disorienting. I'm also excited to head out at night now that we're in the Southern Hemisphere and see the stars.

This is truly starting to feel like an international project, right now on board we have personnel from the Army, Navy, Air force, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and even Chili. In the past we also had Japanese on board. It's nice have other "non-Americans" to share the experience with.

Now on to crossing the line, I'm really not allowed to say too much about it but suffice to say this "Canuck Wog" has now become a shellback through a process involving lots of jello, sea water, crawling, calisthenics, and I may never think of "row, row, row your boat" the same way again. I'm off to steel beach 2.0 to celebrate and then back to bed. Ciao.

Amy J.

Cambodia- the more serious side

The other side of Cambodia is the one that is more serious and why we're really here and that is to help the people. We have been WAY busier here then we were in Vietnam as we don't have the same restrictions that the Vietnamese put on things. Pediatrics has been full just about everyday and we also had Operation Smile on board for about 5 days doing insane numbers of surgeries.

We have been able to make a big difference to some of the people here. One of the doctor's did a cleft lip repair on a gentleman who was in his 30's- that will be life changing for him. We have also been able to repair cataracts on a few children who will now be able to see the world around them and have a much better future.

I had a really great day at my medcap (medical civilian assistance program). I was once again paired up with the pediatricians and also had a nurse from the Cambodian Army to hang out with. We had a really great day and were able to see over 1100 people at the medcap- about 200 of which were kids. On my lunch break myself and another LDSC member taught some of the kids to play "freeze tag". I'm always amazed that kids are kids no matter what language they speak or where they're from. We eventually had to shut down for the day when the people waiting to be seen starting to get aggressive and it was no longer safe for us to be there. It was a shame because we could have seen a few hundred more but sometimes that's life around here.

There have also been the cases that we couldn't help. We had a little 18month old who came on board to have burn scar revision and once she arrived here we found out that she also has a severe heart defect- severe enough that it was unsafe to do her surgery and she had to be sent home. If we had a pediatric anesthesiologist we would have been able to do something but we don't. There is a little guy on board now who is one of a set of twins- his brother had surgery and he was along because Mom was here- and once on board we quickly noticed how small he is. Not even 12kg and he's 5 years old. So he got admitted and has been checked out. Turns out he has a blood disorder that were he in North America would be chronic but treatable and he'd have a fairly normal life. Here he probably won't make it to his 10th birthday. There was also a kid who came on board for abdominal pain that he's had for a year or so- but there was no doctor to see so this was his first chance to be assessed. He has cancer- multiple tumors in multiple sites that isn't treatable at this point- fortunately we were able to get him referred to a hospital in the capital that might be able to do some palliative radiation and at least keep him comfortable.

It's always the cases that we can't help that have stuck with me. We've helped so many kids and made such a difference but it's the one's that we have to send home with nothing that stay in my memory the most.

The chaplains here on board have a favorite story and it's the one about the kid walking down the beach covered in star fish that are drying out in the sun- dieing and the boy is picking them up one at a time and throwing them back into the ocean. A man comes along and says "what are you doing- there are millions of star fish on this beach- you can't save them all" and the kid picks up a star fish- tosses it into the sea and says "made a difference to that one".

Cambodia- The fun side

Whew- so it's been awhile since I've posted- the internet has been down- again. We arrived in Cambodia some time last week- I've lost track when and since then it's been one thing after another. I've decided to break up my blog posts into 2 parts rather then try and do it chronologically. So the fun side of Cambodia. First of all just about everyone speaks really good English- I was talking to one of our translators (who is also a nurse) and he shared that he first learned to speak it back in the early 90's for the first election that was held after the genocide. (that was the one and only mention I have heard of the genocide from anyone- a whole generation was killed but they don't dwell on it or feel sorry for themselves over it).

I was able to go on liberty with 3 others- Lizzy (an LDSC member and fellow peds nurse), Anderson (one of our fabulous peds coremen- she has a first name I just don't know it) and Mike (an army guy in the scullery who is LDS). We had such a great day. We found a tuk-tuk driver (motor bike with buggy style seats attached to the back) who spoke good English and we paid him to drive us around for the day. We fed monkeys (the following day someone got bitten by the monkeys and now feeding them is not allowed but we did fine), we visited a local market and found souveneirs, we visited a Buddist temple which was beautiful and also ate some really good food. Turns out that a tuk-tuk is the best way to see a country, it's open to the air, it drives slow enough that you can see things and get pictures, and is just all round good fun- like when it stops working on the way up a hill and Mike has to get out and push. We had a really good day and it was so great to be able to see some of this beautiful country- Mike has decided that someday he wants to live here.

Another amazingly fun opportunity I had was to go on a tour to Angkor Wat- one of the 7 wonders of the world. It was a tour organized by the MWR folks here on board the ship (also known as "the fun boss") and involved getting on a bus just after sunset- riding for 9 hours through the Cambodian country side (road trip anyone?!) and then touring the various temple sites for a few hours and then back to the ship by 0230. The bus ride was long but so worth while, we were also fed really well- I was expecting to have a muffin and juice box thrown at my head on the bus for breakfast but we stopped at a hotel and had a lovely buffet- so worth the money. Once we got there the temples were SO amazing- words really cannot describe- I will try to post photos when the internet is being agreeable or once I'm in Singapore. It was inspiring to see things that are so old and so well built and have so much history and meaning behind them. The people here are so proud of Angkor Wat and their history. Our tour guide was amazing- so knowledgable and well spoken about his religion and history. It was the opportunity of a lifetime and so great to be able to check #437 off of the bucket list.

The little things

So in the past few weeks I've had to learn to appreciate the little things in life (and some of the big ones). In the category of the big ones is getting moved to officer's berthing (I may have done a happy dance and kissed my key card). I get the news about an hour after I got back on ship from my Vietnam medcap and was so excited that I moved that very night. Officer's berthing is glorious and wonderful, I now have a proper twin sized bed that I can actually sit up in without braining myself of the bunk above me. I have lockers that are bigger AND drawers!! There is so much space it's amazing. There are more showers for fewer people and instead of being scalded and sand blasted by the showers I actually have normal temperature water that flows gently. Also I'm now in a room with just 7 of my new best friends instead of 59- if someone turns the lights on and is loud when I'm sleeping I now know who to yell at. I'm so glad that I spent my 3 weeks in enlisted berthing because now I truly appreciate the wonder that is officer's berthing. If I had just gone straight into officer's I think I would have not appreciated it and found things to complain about- but now I'm just happy about it.

Also a little thing that I appreciate is the Navy's obsession with cake. At first I wasn't sure it would last but we have run out of fresh fruit, junk food, chocolate milk, fresh vegetables and through it all the cake continues to be omnipresent at all of my meals. Really- at all of them, breakfast included. I'm not sure where the cake is coming from- I don't want to ask but I know that it makes my day when they bust out a new icing flavor. (So far my favorite was peanut butter). Whatever the reason for the cake obsession I will continue to appreciate it and enjoy- although I have now limited myself to cake at only one meal per day.

We arrived in Cambodia on Monday and so far it's been great. The people are so different from the Vietnamese. I have to say that I am very impressed with the quality of the translators that have been provided- most of the actually know how to speak English and many of them are also medical professionals who are able to accurately relay information and concepts, not just words. Here's hoping for a great time here and I will continue to post as often as the abominably slow internet will allow.

Amy J:)

Vietnam- the rest of it

So due to the complete and total lack of internet and also being really busy I have been unable to update in awhile (the following post was written on June 14th- I just didn't get to post it that day). We are talking SLOW internet here- the worst I have ever seen, it takes about 40 minutes just to load a site that is incomplete. This has been fine since I’ve been crazy with work finishing up in Vietnam. I did the math and worked 70 hour weeks for the 2 weeks that we were here- I’ve done nothing but nap ever since.

Back to where I left off- last Sunday I had a medcap (medical civilian assistance program) and it was really amazing! I had to get up at 0400 in order to eat breakfast and get on the banana boat by 0510. Then it was a 40 minute boat ride to get to land and the pier. Then it was through customs, onto a bus, after which we drove 40 minutes to get to the school where we would be set up for the day. I ended up working with the pediatrician and one of the family nurse practitioners and acted as their mini-triage and general traffic control agent. It was really amazing to get to see all of the people that we were able to help (almost 600 that day). At first I would get really annoyed at all of the women who would try to butt to the head of the line and didn’t want to wait their turn. But then it occurred to me that they were trying to get their child in to see a doctor- possibly for the first and maybe only time in their lives. After that I was able to be a little more patient with them. We also had amazing translators who were invaluable that day. We didn’t get back on board until about 2000 that night so it was a long day. I also got to experience the joys of the military MRE (portable food packs that have NO expiry date) it was surprisingly not disgusting but I’ve had some abnormal gastric rumblings ever since so I don’t think it agreed with me very well.

I also had the opportunity to go on liberty in Vietnam. This was totally unexpected and a great reward for all of the hard work that we were doing. I ended up going with a bunch of the Navy and Air Force people that I work with on pediatrics and we had a blast. First it was down a very scary moving stair case to get to our boat that was 5 stories below us (later that day someone broke their foot after the stair case rolled over it). Onto the little boat and into shore. We had a bus that dropped us off at a hotel and then we took cabs from there. It was really fun- the hotel had an elevator that we were all a little bit too excited to ride on after all the stairs we have on board. We ate some really amazing food, strolled through the fruit market, the knock off market (Louis Vuitton for $40- I did not buy any) and got chased by little old ladies selling trinkets. (Really she chased us all over town on a scooter.) The best part though was the ride home- the Vietnamese who provided our transport bus decided that we needed entertaining and so it was a disco style bus complete with flashing lights, music videos and Vietnamese singers singing American pop songs that are well over a decade old- it was great!

All in all Vietnam was an amazing experience- we were able to do a lot of good especially given some of the restrictions put on things overall. It was a good trial run for Cambodia and the coming sites.

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!!

So Monday morning I woke up to a site that has been 2 weeks to get here. There was the coast of Vietnam- the port city of Qui Nhon to be exact. So far we haven't seen too many patients, it's been a bit slow to get the medcaps (on land assessment clinics) up and running. I will be able to go help out at a medcap next Sunday which I'm really excited about- hopefully by then things will be running smoothly. Yesterday we admitted our first peds patient- a little 3 year old girl for a cleft palate repair and I felt bad for the poor thing because she came onto the ward and immediately had about 10 nurses and coremen all staring at her. We were all SO excited to have our first patient. Today we got about 4 more, one is this adorable 6 month old who is all smiles and laughter- I love pediatrics. Vietnam also provided all of their own translators which has been really nice because it means we have them on nights too.

It's been so interesting to me how much I've learned about military life in the last 2 weeks. I thought I knew quite a bit but until I came here I had no idea how much of a different culture it really is. I appreciate that they still have evening prayer on the PA system every night before taps (aka- bed time/lights out/2200/ 10pm). I think the TV being the "Armed Forces Network" is totally bizarre. All of the adds are geared to service members- which makes sense- but for a civilian to watch is weird because none of them are relevant to me- no McDonald's adds here. I have learned a new word- it's "volun-told" similar to "volunteer" but with some subtle differences. I'm starting to get so I actually know what all of the insignia on everyone's collars mean. Shockingly I have now made my bed for over 20 consecutive days because if I don't make it my bedding will be relocated to the lost and found and I will have to explain to the beefy security guys why I didn't make my bed. Amazing how fast you'll start to do something when properly motivated.

I am also amazed at how I have learned to adapt. I went from sleeping by myself in a queen sized bed, and sharing a bathroom with one other person to sleeping in a 6'x2'x2' bunk in a locker room with 60 of my new best friends and sharing 5 showers with 119 people (you do the math). We affectionately refer to the locker room (aka "A" berthing) as "the Fridge" because the A/C is cranked- which I love, many others however do not. And as weird as it is to perpetually live at girls camp it hasn't been that hard to get used to. It's also more then a bit strange to live 3 floors down from where you work, and 81 stairs down from where you eat. If you're working a night shift and need to do laundry- no problem just run switch it over, the laundry is 2 floors up. I thought the closeness of it all would make me claustrophobic but it hasn't been that bad.

Amy J:)

At sea... in the Philippines

So we're back at sea now and originally we were to sail north of the Philippines and then drop down to Vietnam. However there is currently a storm north of the Philippines and in the interest of not having everyone get sea sick- the decision was made to sail through the Philippines. We changed course yesterday and then this morning saw the first of the islands. All day on both sides of the ship we have been watching the beautiful islands of the Philippines go by. I can't believe how many there are! The other thing that came out today was the big guns- since we are so close to land the "force protection" guys are out in force keeping an eye on all the little boats passing by making sure that none get too close to us. It's very comforting to know that the Navy takes the safety of this ship and all it's crew so seriously.

Otherwise it's been groundhog day as usually with the exception that there are more people around. We've been getting trained to death in anticipation of our arrival in Vietnam and I'm so excited to get there and actually start caring for patients.

One thing I am looking forward to is going to happen on Sunday. The Mercy is going to take part in a fairly rare maritime maneuver - that is the RAS or refuelling/restocking at sea. It was originally developed as a top secret WW2 drill to keep the carriers at sea for longer periods of time. Basically what is going to happen is another ship will pull up beside us, hook onto the ship with some sort of rope and then supplies etc will be shuttled from one ship to the other while both are still moving full steam ahead. Supposed to be very cool to watch, the helicopters will also be moving supplies between ships. I'm really excited to get to see it and will hopefully get some good pictures.

Amy J:)

Good-bye Guam

Wow Guam was great- but hot! I was totally a wilting Canadian by the end of the weekend- wish me luck in Vietnam- it's supposed to be even hotter. Thankfully God invented SPF 100 which I have found in a sweatproof/waterproof formula it has been and will continue to be a blessing.

We picked up a whole compliment of new people here- almost doubling our numbers and today you knew it. Suddenly there were lines for the mess deck and bathroom pile ups in the morning. It's a bit crazy but I guess we'll get used to it in a hurry. On the plus side more people on board means more people to share the workload- making beds on pediatrics (something that would have taken the old crew at least all day) took the new much bigger crew only about 30 minutes! Sweet!

One cool thing I got to see in Guam was our quiet protectors that have been watching over us so far this trip and will continue to watch over us as we proceed. We had heard rumors of their existence but once here we actually saw proof. I'm not allowed to really expand on them (or take pictures) but it is a great comfort to know that we are being watched over and protected. I am so grateful to those who are quietly doing that job with so little fanfare or even recognition.

I also got to talk to family on the phone this week and it was great to hear everyone's voices and that all are doing well. As much as I love my new "ship family" it's always good to hear from everyone back home.

It's back at sea this morning and this time I haven't even noticed the rocking at all. Some of the new people point it out and then I realize that it's happening- SO glad I haven't been sea sick! Here's hoping that the rest of the week will go quickly and be busy.

Amy J :)

This is me and Kent and Lizzy in Hawaii, a picture of the USS Arizona in Hawaii, one of Guam and also one of the band at our "Steel Beach Party" I have a slow internet connection so I apologize for not posting more!

Guam

Wow, so much going on! Thursday morning we woke up to the amazing site of the island of Guam emerging from the mists. I never knew that the site of land could be so emotional or exciting. By the time we finished breakfast we were docked. Guam is beautiful and green and SO hot and humid- you step outside and are immediately drenched in sweat.

We spent most of Thursday on board the ship working and sorting supplies. Then in the afternoon we were able to head off the ship and go to the beach! We road the shuttle into town and walked the short distance to the beach. It was gorgeous the surf broke far out on a reef and so you could walk waist deep in bath warm water for a long ways and it never got deeper. Once the sun went down it stayed hot and we headed off to eat supper and then it was back to the ship for the night. We had a huge check in of staff and some of them didn't get settled in until 0300 and so everyone is tired today but it's okay- more beach tomorrow.

Last week we had an amazing Asian/ Pacific Islander cultural celebration. They had dances, food for lunch and singing. One of the ship's surgeons shared her history of being born in Vietnam, leaving Vietnam when she was only 9 years old after the war and has since joined the Navy and gone on to become a surgeon. This trip is the first time in 35 years that she will return to her home country and be there to help. It was so inspiring to hear her share her experience.

More work today, more beach tomorrow, and church on Sunday it's going to be a busy week.

Amy:)

At Sea

So I've been without internet since leaving Hawaii mostly due to the fact that once you're in the middle of the Pacific Ocean there aren't all that many satelites pointing at you and therefore you have no internet. Oh well- makes me appreciate my grandmother's era when there were these things called "letters" and you had to use the "mail system"

Life at sea has been great if a little bit monotonous at times. It starts to be a bit like groundhog day- up at 0600, breakfast at 0645, muster at 0730, "sweepers" (I'll explain more later) at 0800, then it's getting whatever tasks done for the day, lunch at 1100, dinner at 1630 and bed by 2200. And if you have nothing else to do it's up to pharmacy to count pills, yes hand count pills. We have counted millions of pills in the last week but fortunately the pharmacy CO believes in movies, popcorn and gummy bears- so we show up. The weirdest thing of all was crossing the date line- I did not have Friday last week, it just ceased to exsist for us.

I have also found a few increadibly surreal moments on board. On Sunday we had a "Steel Beach Party" where we all headed up to the flight deck (aka: Helicopter landing pad) and had a BBQ- amazing food, water gun fights, the best live big band I've heard in years (yes we've got our very own LIVE band on board). It was a chance for people to wear shorts (I of course was dressed in my best "say no to skin cancer" outfit) and suddenly I stopped and looked around and thought "we're in the middle of the Pacific Ocean- eating barbeque like it's a normal day- the nearest land mass is China" and it just struck me as so bizarre.

Anyways I have so much more to share but must be brief since it's going to take an hour to upload and there are ten people behind me wanting to get online. So know that I am well- my legs hurt like crazy- some sadistic man decided it was a good idea to put female berthing on the bottem level and the mess deck on the top, and the rocking of the boat makes doing anything more challenging but all in all it's great- I have many new friends and will write more the weekend when we're in Guam.

Amy :)

Hawaii

So after flying for many hours- I ended up paying for an upgrade to first class which was SO worth it- I arrived in Hawaii. Best part of landing was seeing the Mercy from the air- I freaked out and my poor seat mate on the plane had to put up me for a few minutes. Stepped off the plane and my dry Canadian skin started soaking up the humidity- my hair is also loving it. I arrived on the same flight as a fellow LDSC member and we were greeted by a few more who are going on the trip. We ended up going into Waikiki (apologize for my misspelling of all Hawaii names). We walked the beach and ate supper on a patio- I'm pretty much in love with all of the tame pigeons that fly into the restaurants. After which we went to Walmart to stock up on a few remaining essentials and then headed to the boat (I mean SHIP!!!) I'm getting myself into lots of trouble with calling the ship a boat.

All I have to say about Mercy is that she's gorgeous! Bigger then I thought but at the same time the stairs aren't as bad as I thought they'd be although ask me that again in a week. I have a tiny bunk which is actually long enough for me to sleep on- yay! I ended up hitting that point of being so tired I couldn't sleep so was able to get unpacked and showered last night and then tried to go to bed. Didn't work so well- I was plenty comfortable but had "new house syndrome" all the different sounds and light levels and then wait is my bed moving? Why yes it is- swaying to the motion of the ocean- so I was awake for much of the night. Which was fine until I was in church today and had a massive headache so took some drugs and napped in the van and am now feeling much better.

I have to say that so far all the people I have met have been amazing!! I have already made a few new friends and can't wait to get to know people better and meet some of the navy personnel. So far they have all been very friendly- always saying hi in hallway and helping out with hauling our massive amounts of luggage when we first arrived on board. Anyways I'm currently sitting in the home of a lovely couple who invited us to church and then to their home for lunch afterward and the food is AMAZING and they have internet. So I'm going to sign off and go finish my lunch but just wanted to give a quick update and let everyone know that I arrived safely and am loving everything already.

Amy :)

Freaking out

So last night it finally dawned on me that it was my last in my own house and in my own bed. Needless to say I spent about 3 hours lounging in the tub (my last proper bath- it's Navy showers from here on out) and then this morning had a very hard time crawling out of my queen sized pillow top bed. I still don't think it's quite hit me yet what I'm about to do and I'm sure when it does I may start to hyperventilate.

Packing is done. I'm sure I've forgotten something important but can't figure out what it is... passport- check, toothbrusth-check... I was awake in bed at 0200 mentally reviewing what was in what bag and was it on the packing list and did I pack enough (or too much for that matter). And please oh please let the airport scales be the same as mine because my bags are perfectly proportioned in size and weight (according to my scale that is). My room is a tiny bit of a disaster- looks like a bomb has gone off but I really don't have time to make it clean and honestly right now- just don't care anymore.

My cousins took me for dinner and movie on Wednesday. Was so much fun to get to see them and have a proper girls night before leaving. We went to "The Back Up Plan" and I haven't laughed that hard about anything in a long time. My sister and I are planning on hitting a movie tonight before she drops me off at the airport- I want to try and get into "Iron Man 2" I'm such a movie lover that the idea of missing the entire summer blockbuster season is killing me. Oh well I'll have a massive rental night when I get home. And now I'm rambling so I'm going to go and finish packing, say goodbye to my shoes (practical ones only allowed on the boat) and then try to fit my box into the back seat of the Jetta- it may not happen so wish me luck.

Amy J:)

So you want to do humanitarian work

The last 5 months of my life have been a tiny bit hectic, they went something like this...

• found out I wanted to go on Pacific Partnership 2010
• figured out if I could afford to go (darn mortgage!)
• got together my resume (getting references without starting rumors is impossible)
• sent application
• sent in copies of degree, license etc.
• obtained criminal record check (took 6 weeks)
• renewed passport by mail
• got told could not renew passport by mail (4 weeks later)
• drove to Calgary and renewed passport in person (driving:3 hours, in line: 30 minutes, passport renewed: 2 minutes)
• completed phone interview
• completed Skype interview
• tried to obtain "a letter from your privileging authority outlining scope of practice" which is a delightfully vague requirement and it turns out that there is no such thing in all the province of Alberta which is fine because at the end of the day I didn't need it (2 months)
• received 3 immunization boosters resulting in sore arm (lasted 2 days)
• picked a malaria drug which turned out to be easy: my choices were the one that's side effect is night terrors and insomnia, the one that causes sunburns and rather unpleasant gastric effects or the one that costs $5 a dose: I'm going for almost 5 months you do the math
• tested negative for TB and HIV (no great surprises there)
• realized that I have to somehow pack 4 months of shampoo, toothpaste, contact solution etc into one collapsable duffle with wheels- it's a good thing I'm a good packer
• attempted to find a collapsable duffle with wheels (turns out a baseball bag is just the thing!)
• had all my roommates decide to move out (may have had minor breakdown at this point)
• following negotiations involving a dryer repair man, had roommates decide to stay (happy dance!!)
• drove to Utah to attend orientation (round trip of 22 hours driving)
• Met many fabulous people at orientation and parked in what is without a doubt the cleanest parking garage on the planet (below the conference center)
• purchased many useful things while in Utah including collapsable duffle with wheels and 5 months worth of vitamins in daily packs
• obtained travel visas for 3 of the countries I will be visiting, bless Uncle Rick and the referral to Visa Universe (4 weeks)
• filled out more forms than I even remember signing (something about people being able to take my photo, and there was something about an emergency contact in there too)

Meanwhile on the home front there was also much stress which I will not elaborate on here but suffice it to say I regained about 10 of the 30lbs I had lost last year (did I mention that I stress eat?) Good thing that I'm heading to a boat where I get to take 10 flights of stairs everyday!

All in all total cost of prepping for my trip: No idea- lost track

Being able to say I've committed 4 months of my life to helping others:

PRICELESS!!!!

T-14 days and counting!

The Adventure Begins

So last Friday (March 19) I got the email that I had waited over 3 months to get... the news that I would be spending my summer volunteering with Latter Day Saint Charities on board the USNS Mercy as a member of Pacific Partnership 2010. This mean that I will be spending May through September on board a big boat being a nurse for the people of Southeast Asia.

At the request of family and co-workers I am going to attempt my very first blog (all feedback and comments on how to make this better will be much appreciated!) My plan is to give regular updates and photos of my goings on as internet access (apparently a bit sketchy on the boat) and my Navy/church permission allows me (apparently the Navy can be a bit picky about what gets posted online about it- with good reason).

So this is my first post mostly just to see how it works out and play with some of my settings. Hopefully they will be more interesting from here on out.

Amy:)