Ahhh, Ship Life

As I look out the starboard side of the ship (aren't I impressive with all my nautical knowledge--that's the right side), I see a partially sunken, definitely not see-worthy vessel "docked" next to us. Apparently, this boat came in to dock because it was being taken out of commission and was just abandoned there. Within a few days, some very resourceful Liberians decided it would make a fine home. So, now a handful of Liberian men live there (I like to think they are pirates--but nice ones like Johnny Depp). We see them quite often, walking on the pier or swimming to shore with buoys in tow. We're told that piece by piece they remove items from the boat take them into Monrovia and sell them. They seem to be a peaceful enough group. I was very surprised the first time I saw them. However, I was even more surprised to see that quite often while their walking along the pier they are naked! Apparently, some of them can't be troubled to put on pants. I only mention this because yesterday while I was eating lunch one man was walking along the pier in a life jacket and nothing else! I really laughed at that! I guess he was given the choice: life jacket or pants, not both. Ahhh, ship life!

I have been on the ship for almost two weeks now and am definitely getting in the swing of things. The OR schedule has bulked up a little bit and next we will be running four ORs. The past two weeks we have run two or three. Next week we will have an eye team, an ortho team, and a VVF (gynecology) team here. The PACU is about to get quite a bit busier. I look forward to that. Paula left on Wednesday. I was very sad to see her go, but that is just another part of ship life. People are constantly coming and going. Gigi is the new recovery nurse that started on Monday. She will be here for one month. She and I have spent most of the week working out our process so we don't duplicate tasks or step on each others toes. It's a delicate dance that sometimes takes a few days.

The crew of the ship was under "ship arrest" yesterday because of the Liberian Independence Day (July 26th). National holidays always mean beefing up security, not that Mercy Ships is a target, but they would rather us be safe. There were rumors of riots being incited. However, because it was on a Thursday, many Liberians are putting off their celebrating/carousing until Saturday night. So, again on Saturday night, we'll be under ship arrest. I think I'll go onto the dock after dark and watch the fireworks. Anyone who has been around me on the 4th of July knows my love of fireworks!