Arriving in Tobelo

I have been trying to post a blog entry for several days now, but the internet on the ship is not very reliable. It has been down for about three days now, so I am just going to continue to write and post whenever I get a chance.

Today we finally arrived at our first destination, Ternate. I got a tour of the ship’s bridge yesterday evening and got to see all of the navigation gear, the guy steering the ship, and the navigation maps, which gave me a better idea of where I am. I haven’t seen anything but blue water and the occasional distant island for about a week. Not that that is a bad thing.

While we have been underway, there have been many activities to keep everyone busy. Last Wednesday, we picked up 28 palettes of medication, which the entire pharmacy has been diligently sorting and pre-packing. By pre-packing, I mean counting out 30 or so pills and sticking them in a little bag to be handed out at the onshore clinics. About 15 people have been working on this task all day, every day, so you can imagine the amount of medication that we picked up. I received my work schedule yesterday and it looks like in the next 10 days that I will be going on two MEDCAPS (these are the onshore clinics). The first one is Friday. I will be going out with my preceptor, John, and I am very excited! Brian was just informed that he is leaving today for a 5 day overnight. I think he will be sleeping on an Australian ship docked about three hours away. Everyone on the ship is really excited to get started.

Brian and I gave a presentation on malaria yesterday. We focused on prophylaxis and treatment for non-medical personnel and why they should be taking their doxycycline. About 50 people showed up and I think it went pretty well.

I think the most interesting event, so far, has been the “Crossing the Line” ceremony. It is a tradition with all sailors when a ship crosses the equator. They have just started allowing civilians to participate. It involved making pirate shirts, performing in a talent show, and being woken up very early the next morning. There was a lot of PT (physical training) and I was very, very wet by the end. Before the ceremony I was considered a slimy pollywog, but now I am a trusty shellback! It was a lot of fun.