Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sorry I haven't posted in so long! I've been writing but unlike Kofi, my internet has had some issues.. Ironically, I'm currently on my MEDCAP and have better internet than on the ship. Hopefully I'll post something every day while I'm here to catch you all up with everything!!


Tuesday, May 29, 2012
 We’ve been at sea now for the past 4 or 5 days. The days seem to run together out here in the middle of the Pacific, but it sure has been a fun few days! We’ve been super busy in the pharmacy since we left port in Guam. The order of the countries that we’re visiting is Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia. So it seems ironic that we finished prepacking the medications for Cambodia first and Indonesia will be the last one we do. It all has to do with politics of course since Indonesia required that we purchased the drugs from them. Therefore, we won’t be able to prepackage anything until we get close enough to have the meds helicoptered onto the ship. So when that happens in the next day or two, we will be packaging all the meds for Indonesia in a 2-day period before our treatment excursions (called MEDCAPS) begin.
MEDCAPS stands for Medical Something Something Something. We’ve learned so many acronyms in the past week that I honestly cannot remember them all! Basically, it’s where a few staff from each department are assigned to a specific location to treat the people of that city or area. For Indonesia, there are 5 MEDCAPS in which all of them are 5-day overnights. So depending on where you are assigned, you will either be staying in a ‘hotel’ or a tent for that 5-day period. I say ‘hotel’ because it could pretty much be a few pieces of wood thrown together like a shelter. The MEDCAP I have been assigned to is staying in a tent and there are still debating as to whether they will be sending a porta-potty and solar shower with us. Yep, there’s a possibility that we will not be showering for 5 days and in fact, the best advice I’ve received is that it may be wise to bring baby wipes along. I certainly am not sure what I have gotten myself into with this trip but I certainly will come out on the other side just a bit more thankful for the things I have at home.
The baby wipes thing bring up a whole other issue I’ve had on this trip. The list that Project HOPE gave us was pretty accurate but there are more than a few important pieces of info missing. I have bought more items in Guam and on the store ship than I have on souvenirs so far! It’s been really frustrating because most of the items I’ve had to purchase, I could have just brought with me if I had known! So Brittany and Dayna, I hope you’re reading this because it will definitely help when you are packing J !  You will need a long-sleeve shirt. They require it for the abandon ship drills because they don’t want you to burn. Kofi and I didn’t have it (I refused to buy one just for the drill since I knew I wouldn’t be wearing long-sleeves again any time soon!), but someone definitely noticed and said something to us about it! Also, you will need to bring some of those wall hooks that you can just stick on. They use them everywhere for hanging clothes, towels, etc since there’s no closets or doors to hang it on. You need a safety pin for your laundry bag (most random thing ever) and high-efficiency laundry detergent. I may be able to list a few other pointers as the trip goes on but those are the big things for now.
So far, I’ve learned so much but can’t even begin to describe all of it. Most of it just comes daily as I learn about the military way to do things and how they continuously change their own rules. It’s definitely been fun and I’ve already met some great friends, but I do miss home when I let my mind wander and not keep busy. There are 3 gyms on board and a library (with free phone calls!!!) so I have definitely been busy when I’m not playing cards with my peers, working in the pharmacy, and roaming the ship! Although it’s been nice to be at sea for a few days to allow us to get acquainted to everything, I’m really looking forward to arriving in Indonesia to begin the real reason behind this humanitarian mission! Hopefully I’ll be posting again before I leave for my MEDCAP since I’ll be out in the jungle for 5 days…..