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.