LAST BLOG!!

 So it’s July 1^st and the last full day in the pharmacy together as a team! The time has flown by and been filled with endless life-time memories. The last few days here have been very busy! I was on MEDCAP 6 in the Philippines for days 3 and 4 and it was HOT!

To get to the MEDCAP on the first day, we mustered at 0530 and I got to ride the Japanese LCAC, which is like a giant hover craft. It was very loud and hot since there is no airflow inside. It reaches speeds of 60 knots when at full speed. The journey in the LCAC takes about 10 minutes but the whole process of transporting 100 people took almost an hour. Once we got to the pier, we had to pick up all our pharmacy supplies from the storage boxes and load them on the trucks. We then rode in vans to the MEDCAP site, which was at a school and only 10 minutes away. Our site was right along the coast and we could see the Mercy sitting out on the water. The morning went by quickly as we started seeing patients by 0800 and were extremely busy! We had lots of help though with 3 Japanese pharmacists and 5 or 6 local volunteers as translators. Someone came by at one point with bags of fried bananas, which of course were delicious! It was the perfect mid-morning snack. When we broke away for lunch, Chief surprised us by saying she had the hook up for us. We walked across the compound and were treated to fresh grilled tuna and rice. Sprinkled with onion and lime, it was AMAZING! Pharmacist Paul and I sat by the ocean and chatted while eating our delicious meal. We then went back to seeing patients for the afternoon and stopped around 0430. We then packed up and transported back to the pier where we had to wait an hour for our ride back to the ship in the hot LCAC. That night, I was exhausted! We had a muster time for 0630 the next day, which was is like sleeping in around here.

The next day I was up bright and early to get a hearty breakfast before the day. Since we were the only MEDCAP going out that morning, we were pleasantly surprised and happy to ride the band-aid boat instead of the LCAC. It was a sunny morning and the breeze from the boat ride was quite an enjoyable start to the day. When we arrived, we got the meds from the boxes again and immediately went to the site to start seeing patients. We were told that for lunch today we would get to go to a local restaurant and we were preordering to speed the process up. I knew then that it would be a good day! The Japanese pharmacists were back and ready for another day. They were imperative to our operation running smoothly and were so friendly and funny. They always asked questions when they weren’t sure about something and would tell us about meds and strengths they had that were similar to what we were dispensing. The morning flew by and before we knew it, we were closing up shop to head out for lunch. When we got to the restaurant, I was shocked. It was beautiful! It looked like a garden with ponds of water with fish and sea shells strung together hanging everywhere. We were seated in a pavilion area that had the sea shells hanging all around the roof. The server immediately started bringing out our food and we were amazed. It was so much food and looked like delicacies. We had crab, shrimp soup, bitter melon, pancit, fried calamari, and I had fresh pineapple juice. It was superb to say the least! After we stuffed ourselves, we slowly headed back to the compound. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to go back, just that we were so full we couldn’t move very fast. However, once we got back and got things rolling, the afternoon flew by as well. We started cleaning up a little earlier than yesterday because the locals were throwing us a reception. So once we got all our extra meds packed away, we loaded them in the trucks and drove them to the pier where they were unloaded and stacked away to be palatized for helo transport. We then all climbed back into the vans to head to the Sports Complex for the reception. The drivers got lost briefly but we still managed to get there. When we walked in the doors and saw the reception area, my mouth dropped. The locals put on this formal dinner reception with homemade food and everything. I was stunned. It seriously felt like a surreal dream. They immediately invited us to try some sticky rice and ice cream as well as explaining the culture of reception and that the set-up is how they do their annual town party. They had one lady singing and her voice was beautiful! There was also a roast pig set out and people greeting us everywhere. As few minutes later, the lights dimmed more and music started playing. They began a cultural dance and it was amazing. I can’t even describe all the details but the whole experience was surreal to me. After the dance, they started passing out appetizers and invited us to take a seat at the dinner table. The woman began singing again as they passed out cold bottles of water. After the song, one of the local officials spoke and thanked us for all our help and invited us to get some food from the buffet. We happily obliged since we knew our time here was limited. The food was AMAZING! I didn’t expect anything less though and was so happy to be eating real food. It seemed that as soon as I finished my plate, we were told we had to leave. It was so short and such a whirlwind of an experience I had a hard time comprehending everything that had just happened. Hopefully my pictures and video captured the experience. We went back to the pier and got on the LCAC to get back to the ship (no band-aid boat L).  When we got back, I was immediately informed of 2 events for that evening that I wanted to attend so I got a quick shower and headed back up to the mess decks.

Our entertainment for the evening was a group of kids performing a concert for us with their ukuleles. The set lasted about 30 minutes and was great! They even played Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are. They were fantastic! We then went into our weekly command mission update meeting sponsored by the Aussies so it was quite entertaining. That was then followed by a certificate presentation for all the people leaving in Subic Bay. There were quite a few people leaving in Subic so there will be a very new crew coming on before the Vietnam mission. The next few days are going to be fun-filled with lots of activities and busy with packing! We arrive in Subic Bay on July 2^nd and we leave for Manila on the 3^rd and fly out the morning of the 4^th. So as this mission and my first pharmacy rotation come to a close, I am so excited to be returning home and share my experiences with my friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks for following me throughout this journey and I’ll see you all states-side!