This past week has been a very busy week for the pharmacy. Most of the time we will have a 3 or 4 day prep time when moving from one country to another; however, since the Nicaraguan port is only a few miles away, we only had one day transit time. I am told that what normally happens between countries is all of the medications that were used in the last country are brought back to the pharmacy where they will be sorted and counted. Then the pharmacy will create new pallets for each of the sites that we will visit. This process usually will take all of the 3 days en route to another county. Since we didn’t have that time, we have worked really long days and recruited many other volunteers from different departments throughout the ship.
After prepacking and labeling 19 pallets of medication and several long days, we are ready for some fun. The galley pulled out all of the stops on one of our last days in port and they served us steak and lobster one night for dinner, topped off with a delicious slice of blueberry cheesecake. Keep in mind that cafeteria food is never that great but that dinner was not bad. It was a welcome surprise after a long hard day.
One of the other ways we have to relax after a long day is to participate in any of the many exercise classes that we have going on throughout the day. There is a yoga class held on the flight deck around sunset. It is so beautiful. The sky is brilliant and the stretches really do a lot to help you unwind those tensed muscles. For those looking for more intense workouts there is the PX90 class. Now I haven’t been that tempted to go to that class after Julie told me how hardcore that turned out to me.
The class that I love to attend is Zumba. This exercise class is based on Latin dance steps which fits well in ouand is quite fun. Instead of being in a gym, everyone gathers in CASRAC (the triage, staging area). Our instructor turns on the Latin music and class starts. With this class you are constantly moving but it is so much fun since each person adds their own little dance step into the mix. We usually have a few onlookers stop as they pass by to see and to enjoy the class for a brief moment. The class is a really great aerobic workout and surprisingly enough, I wasn’t sore in the least the next day.
In addition to the exercise classes, the Fun Boss also sets up evening events for our entertainment. One night we played bingo. Some of the prizes were really nice but others were funny. The one person who won the ipod also won the portable DVD player as well but Lt. Victor did win a tee-shirt. All in all it was a fun night. Some of the other events that the Fun Boss set up are movies on the flight deck, Comfort Idol, and karaoke. It is a great way to meet other people in other departments as well as keep up the moral.
One other interesting thing of note is that we do have a celebrity on board (which I didn’t know about until I had already met him). I sat down to dinner with a few ladies from Project HOPE who were having dinner with one of the Navy physicians on board. We had a lovely dinner, and it was nice meeting his acquaintance. It was only after dinner that one of my other friends came up to me extremely jealous. I couldn’t understand why until she told me that the Navy doctor that I had just ate dinner with was Andy Baldwin from The Bachelor.
Dr. Baldwin is very popular on the ship. People are always stopping him to ask him to pose for a photo. Off the ship, he is highly sought after as well. One of the other Project Hope ladies, Diane has the pleasure of working with the patients and sending them to see the next available doctor. There were 3 young teenage girls who were waiting in line and were called next to see one of the women physicians. Diane went to escort them over to her, but they shook their heads and pointed at the Dr. Baldwin. They wanted to be by the “handsome doctor.” He really has made quite an impression.
Although we have worked very hard each day, we have had some fun and a chance to relax. The days are long and the work may be a bit tedious at points, I remind myself that I am still in the middle of the Pacific Ocean surrounded by blue waves and emerald green islands with dazzling sunsets and the gentle rocking to and fro each night as I close my eyes to sleep.
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