These are the best pics I could get of the crowd because I was like on a ledge lol and security wouldn't let me get any closer to the edge :(
Following us down the dock
After we docked there was an official dockside welcoming from the Cabinet Director for the Ministry of Heath in Togo and the President of the Council of Churches in Togo. We also brought down like 5 or 6 of our officials from the ship. Cool thing is I am in the Public Relations/ Communications dept so we were allowed off the ship to cover the event and everyone else had to stay on (I was the second person to step into Africa from the ship)! Again making us feel oh so important lol.
Director of Cabinet of Ministry of Health for Togo
All our crew watching from above
Fellow East Texan, Lewis, playing body guard lol
D while setting up the sound system for the whole event
Clemetine, a Africa Mercy crew member from Togo, carrying her home flag down the gangway.
So far Africa is as excepted in many ways but different as well. For one its hot and the smell is not great AT ALL. When its really hot it smells SOOOOO bad.
WTA- is Welcome to Africa it is what everyone says if you complain about something, like the heat, the smell, or my favorite “oh man that dude\chick just ripped me off…” lol.
Right around the corner from where we are docked there is a small open air market so it is an easy walk for us. Though its not a nice market at all, it is a local market so basically it is just food and ‘vendors’ selling junk. It is so funny walking around here though because people stare like you wouldn’t believe. Like EVERYONE. And the younger kids and teenagers yell ‘whitey’ in French or ‘American!’.Its really funny. Then random people will follow you forever trying to sell you stuff. No worries though everyone here is really nice. They say the Togolese really want peace so it isn’t scary.
Friday a couple of friends and I went to the Lomé city center, which is a little farther. It was so fun. The market there is enormous. It goes for miles and spills out into the streets. You can’t even walk! It is insane. It is really dirty tho. My feet were like black after we got done walking (I figured out why they said not to wear flip flops lol).
We also went to a Chinese restaurant too. I know that sounds funny but yeupp there is a really nice Chinese restaurant in downtown.
It is sooo Africa, like totally what you except to see. But, not totally what you except to feel, everything is pretty disturbing if you really think about it because the poverty is so in-your-face. Though we saw some stuff that was just really really sad and you won’t forget. For example, we were sitting at another place that was outside and there came a guy that was totally and completely naked walking around. Not a stitch of clothing. He was like in the street jumping around and stuff. He obviously had some kind of mental problem. But, what was really sad is that no one helped him. I guess all this time everyone just lets him walk around naked. Also he was covered in dirt and dust probably an inch thick. A friend that was with me that night said she saw him again Saturday so its not just a one time thing.
Saturday was nice because we all went out to hotels for swimming pools and the beach because we had a blackout on the ship. A blackout is where they turn off the electricity so that they can fix or clean something down there (idk exactly) so they arrange for shuttles to take us to different places. It was relaxing I guess. Expensive though, way too expensive. At the hotels everything is double prices than it is on the outside.
Being in the PR/ Communications dept I get to be a ship driver! There aren’t a lot of drivers and you are supposed to be 25 but they made an exception for me. It is really exciting. I can only drive for business purposes tho since I’m under age, oh and to church.
So this morning I drove my cabin girls and D to church in the city. When I say city I mean a big village lol not a city. I was pretty nervous at first but it wasn’t so bad. The worst part was that it rained really bad last night so there was only half a road for both ways of traffic. We made it; we got the Land Rover a little bit muddy though.
Church was actually kind of boring. We were all geared up for the cultural dancing praise and worship they do. Well, we ended up at a Presbyterian church so it was really calm, no dancing no clapping and they sat to sing. Not only that most churches have an English translation, not this one so we sat through two hours of stuff we couldn’t understand.
After church we went to an actual market, like a grocery store, indoors lol like Kroger or Brookshire’s. Weird thing, their food and stuff isn’t a whole lot cheaper than stuff is back home. I was able to get a red bull. That was nice :)
I wrote my first story over the arrival ceremony. I don’t think it will be published online or anything because it was more like a report than a story.
Anyways, so that is the last couple of days in a nutshell. There still isn’t a whole lot going on. But the surgery screenings start on Tuesday and the our first surgery is the 25th so there won’t be any more slow days for me I don’t think
Everyone please pray for our first week of screenings. Thanks for reading and press the follow button people! :)
Following us down the dock
After we docked there was an official dockside welcoming from the Cabinet Director for the Ministry of Heath in Togo and the President of the Council of Churches in Togo. We also brought down like 5 or 6 of our officials from the ship. Cool thing is I am in the Public Relations/ Communications dept so we were allowed off the ship to cover the event and everyone else had to stay on (I was the second person to step into Africa from the ship)! Again making us feel oh so important lol.
Director of Cabinet of Ministry of Health for Togo
All our crew watching from above
Fellow East Texan, Lewis, playing body guard lol
D while setting up the sound system for the whole event
Clemetine, a Africa Mercy crew member from Togo, carrying her home flag down the gangway.Wed night when everyone was settled a few of us were standing outside on the dock and I had the most overwhelming thought, "We are Africa, this is home for 6 months. I live here" Wow... Just sayin
So far Africa is as excepted in many ways but different as well. For one its hot and the smell is not great AT ALL. When its really hot it smells SOOOOO bad.
WTA- is Welcome to Africa it is what everyone says if you complain about something, like the heat, the smell, or my favorite “oh man that dude\chick just ripped me off…” lol.
Right around the corner from where we are docked there is a small open air market so it is an easy walk for us. Though its not a nice market at all, it is a local market so basically it is just food and ‘vendors’ selling junk. It is so funny walking around here though because people stare like you wouldn’t believe. Like EVERYONE. And the younger kids and teenagers yell ‘whitey’ in French or ‘American!’.Its really funny. Then random people will follow you forever trying to sell you stuff. No worries though everyone here is really nice. They say the Togolese really want peace so it isn’t scary.
Friday a couple of friends and I went to the Lomé city center, which is a little farther. It was so fun. The market there is enormous. It goes for miles and spills out into the streets. You can’t even walk! It is insane. It is really dirty tho. My feet were like black after we got done walking (I figured out why they said not to wear flip flops lol).
We also went to a Chinese restaurant too. I know that sounds funny but yeupp there is a really nice Chinese restaurant in downtown.
It is sooo Africa, like totally what you except to see. But, not totally what you except to feel, everything is pretty disturbing if you really think about it because the poverty is so in-your-face. Though we saw some stuff that was just really really sad and you won’t forget. For example, we were sitting at another place that was outside and there came a guy that was totally and completely naked walking around. Not a stitch of clothing. He was like in the street jumping around and stuff. He obviously had some kind of mental problem. But, what was really sad is that no one helped him. I guess all this time everyone just lets him walk around naked. Also he was covered in dirt and dust probably an inch thick. A friend that was with me that night said she saw him again Saturday so its not just a one time thing.
Saturday was nice because we all went out to hotels for swimming pools and the beach because we had a blackout on the ship. A blackout is where they turn off the electricity so that they can fix or clean something down there (idk exactly) so they arrange for shuttles to take us to different places. It was relaxing I guess. Expensive though, way too expensive. At the hotels everything is double prices than it is on the outside.
Being in the PR/ Communications dept I get to be a ship driver! There aren’t a lot of drivers and you are supposed to be 25 but they made an exception for me. It is really exciting. I can only drive for business purposes tho since I’m under age, oh and to church.
So this morning I drove my cabin girls and D to church in the city. When I say city I mean a big village lol not a city. I was pretty nervous at first but it wasn’t so bad. The worst part was that it rained really bad last night so there was only half a road for both ways of traffic. We made it; we got the Land Rover a little bit muddy though.
Church was actually kind of boring. We were all geared up for the cultural dancing praise and worship they do. Well, we ended up at a Presbyterian church so it was really calm, no dancing no clapping and they sat to sing. Not only that most churches have an English translation, not this one so we sat through two hours of stuff we couldn’t understand.
After church we went to an actual market, like a grocery store, indoors lol like Kroger or Brookshire’s. Weird thing, their food and stuff isn’t a whole lot cheaper than stuff is back home. I was able to get a red bull. That was nice :)
I wrote my first story over the arrival ceremony. I don’t think it will be published online or anything because it was more like a report than a story.
Anyways, so that is the last couple of days in a nutshell. There still isn’t a whole lot going on. But the surgery screenings start on Tuesday and the our first surgery is the 25th so there won’t be any more slow days for me I don’t think
Everyone please pray for our first week of screenings. Thanks for reading and press the follow button people! :)
Woah! This is really interesting. I'm def following your travels. I'd love to go some day.
ReplyDeleteHi! Found you through the 20 somethings blogger group. I saw your post about Mercy Ships and my best friend Allison Green is a nurse there! You guys are definitely in my prayers!
ReplyDelete