Sunday, November 4, 2012

Hello, friends!

It has been too long since we talked.  The last few weeks have been full of the sort of ups and downs I have come to expect while living in such a unique situation.  I am thousands of miles from my friends and family, yet I see your pictures almost every day on facebook (after the 15 to 20 minutes* it takes to load).  A phone call can put me in contact with any one of you, but the 8 hour time difference means that one of us is usually working or sleeping when the other is able to talk.  While avocadoes and bananas are plentiful, new underwear and comfy shoes have to be ordered months in advance.  This is the only place I've lived where going on a run is more complicated than visiting the doctor.

Please don't misunderstand.  I love it here.  Last night, we had a little evening concert that featured a Gaelic fiddler, a youth praise band, handbells, a ukulele group, and West African drummers.  Earlier in the week, the we had our own little cooking competition based on the TV show 'Chopped.'  And this morning, I went down to deck 3 to have church with the patients and nurses.  I sat on a hospital bed, listened to a great message, and watched African patients and guests take turns cuddling a little white baby, while the pale, blonde Dutch nurse next to me held a beautiful little African baby on her lap. 

In summary: last week I cried myself to sleep one night and spent another night talking with friends, during which conversation I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants.  One day it is homemade pizza and bagels for lunch, and the next day it's mystery rice and some sort of fish soup.  I guess you could say that life here is very vivid.  I am very, very grateful for every bit of it.

Here are a few pictures.  Maybe you can look at them and pretend you're here for a moment.  I'd be very glad of the company.  :)



Guess who played with the ukulelists last night!  Me!  (taa-daa!)



This is a picture of our midships/cafe area.  We're having a harvest festival.  Of course, when you're an ocean away from Target and Wal-Mart, you have to get a little creative with your games...


This particular game is called 'rake the paper leaves with a fork.'  I'm pretty sure the storm trooper won.

Thank you for listening to me, for sending letters and pictures, for taking the time to read my little blog posts, praying for me, and just generally for being the amazing people you are.  You are a great comfort to me.

*Okay, so maybe not quite that long, but it is powerful slow all the same!

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