My last week on
the mission was as usual filled with a lot of rewarding, memorable and fun
moments. I, together with the other pharmacy personnel on the ship spent most
of the week organizing the medications and supplies for the various MEDCAPS
for the impending mission in Cambodia. The ship also held a lot of events over
the week to mark the end of the mission in Philippines. Among the events was a
musical concert hosted at the Mess hall of the ship on Saturday the 30th of
June 2012. An ensemble of Filipino children treated us to an array of
danceable and head-nodding tunes from traditional Filipino flutes called
Ukeleles. These children exhibited remarkable dexterity and fluidity on the instruments and set the crowd agog when they ended the show with a
rendition of Bruno Mars’ "Just the way you are". It was followed by the week's Missions update hosted by the Australian contingent. These weekly updates keeps us abreast with the progress of the entire mission and provide us with
pertinent information concerning the mission. Our hosts provided with a lot of
comic relief and interesting information about Australia and the mission as a
whole. This weekend’s update was concluded with presentations of certificates
for those of us leaving the mission in the coming week. Alexis, Zara and I were
honored to be among those presented with certificates by the mission commander
and the commanding officer of the ship. We were scheduled to dock
at our liberty port in Subic Bay, Philippines on the late afternoon of 2nd
July 2012. Our preceptor, Zara along with other personnel at the pharmacy
department kept us entertained on the morning of this day by organizing a
pharmacy Olympics at the pharmacy. Among the sidesplitting events of the
Olympics were: “Bowling with coconuts” and “Drawing on a rubber glove”. We were
then invited to partake in a colorful Navy tradition called “Manning the Rails”
an hour before we docked at Subic Bay. In this event, Navy personnel clad in
their ceremonial white attire line up along the rails of their Naval Ship
whenever they dock at a Naval port or pass another Navy Ship. It was indeed a
breathtaking scene and an honor to be allowed to be part of this esteemed
tradition, standing along the rails with these distinguished men and women of
the Navy for about an hour till we docked at Subic Bay. The whole Pharmacy
gathered at a plush restaurant in Subic Bay called Gerry’s Grill when liberty
was granted in the evening to enjoy some sumptuous Filipino cuisine and say our
goodbyes. We really had a good team going on at the pharmacy department and
morphed into a tight-knit and very efficient group.
"Bowling with Coconuts"
Manning the Rails
I got up on the
morning of 3rd July 2012 at 0400 hours and got ready for our morning
muster at 0500 hours. We checked out from the various departments on the ship
after the muster and got on the early morning shuttle to the Capital, Manila, from
where were scheduled to depart to the U.S the next day. Manila is a busy and
bustling city where the traditional Filipino transportation systems of Jeepneys
and tricycles are ubiquitous. Our bus was stuck in traffic for about an hour
and a half on the popular Manila Street, Edsa, enroute to our hotel. I took this
opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of this busy city from our bus. We
visited the popular Mall of Asia, among other sites after a few hours of rest
at the hotel. It was refreshing to see a display at the forecourt of this huge
Mall in honor of the our July 4th Independence Day. I willingly
acquiesced to the requests of some of the Filipinos at the Mall who wanted a
picture of me alongside the statues of iconic Americans like Michael Jordan,
Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley in this display. I arrived in the U.S on July
4th 2012 after an 18-hour flight from Manila to Washington Dulles
Airport enroute Tokyo, Japan.
At the Mall of Asia
It has been a
privilege, an honor and a priceless opportunity to be part of this mission. I
have through this mission witnessed the goodness of mankind when resources and
expertise are pulled together to come to the aid of underserved populations
around the world. I have derived a lot of satisfaction from putting my
shoulders to the wheel of this noble humanitarian mission to bring relief and
smiles to the faces of thousands of people. I have on this mission also interacted
with beautiful people and cultures that I ordinarily will not have been in touch
with. I feel blessed to have been on the mission!
I will like to
extend my utmost gratitude to Dean Alan Mckay, Dr. Dawn Havrda, Nicole Clindinst
and the entire staff and faculty of the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy for the diverse roles they played in making this mission possible and most rewarding for
us. I will also like to thank everyone who followed me on this blog. I hope I was able to bring you along on this most fulfilling ride through my blog posts. I am changed, charged, challenged and hungrier than ever to succeed because
of my experiences on this mission!
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