Australia

Well, I'm finally off the ship. The last day I just stayed on when we hit Darwin as it was a circus trying to get a thousand people off the ship and a couple hundred on.
In Sydney now, I just got back from taking the ferry across Darling Harbor to Manley Beach. It was so beautiful! This harbor probably is the most beautiful harbor in the world. After getting off the ship I stayed a day in Darwin and wished I could've stayed more. Very peaceful and quiet. Spent the day just walking around town picking up a few souvenirs, took a quick dip in the pool and went downtown for dinner. Ran into some of the women I worked with on the ship at a bar and grill called the Hog's Breath, they were having a few and one of them asked me to play my harmonica. I used to be just so shy about playing in front of people, now two different women have asked me to teach them what I know. I'll probably not see them again but got a few tips in. Last night was a challenge, after getting off the plane I had to wait in line for about an hour to get a taxi. It took me to the other side of town and into a hotel that the cab driver didn't even want to drop me off at. No internet, my cell phone wouldn't work so I called work and they had the agency correct things. So,now I am staying in a very nice hotel in the middle of downtown Sydney, walking distance to almost everything I need or want to do. It's winter here so it's a little cold but not bad at all. Just wish I had brought a nicer jacket than my DMAT jacket, but hey, I didn't have any idea I'd be coming here in the first place. Trying to soften the edges before I get back home. Wish I had more time here, there is so much to do, so much I'd like to explore about Australia. I'm hoping to meet up with one of the Australians I talked with on the ship to discuss international civ/mil collaboration. Funny thing, I ended up sitting next to two Aussies I worked with and one of them got the guys' phone number for me. How's that for luck? More pictures when I get home. Take care.

Timor Leste

The past few days have been pretty busy. Operation Mercy Wrap was a huge success,we had a lot of people on the mess deck with needles and thread, from the Commodore on down. I was surprised how people got into it. They had media up there filming and doing interviews. It was great to see everyone getting involved, even our partner nations, Australia, India and Canada pitched in and sewed up towels for blankets and shirt sleeves for hats. One pharmacist brought her really nice sewing machine and made some very nicely done bath bags. She also brought a lot of fleece and made about 14 blankets out it. The hard part now is getting them back up to the clinic up in the mountains where they are needed. Roads are practically non-existent and it takes several hours up a mountainside to get there. A lot of other places could use them but we want them to go where the need was noticed first.

Got to go to Mass at a Catholic Church in Dili on Sunday. Went with a group of about 30 people, it's the first time I've been off the ship since opening ceremony. It was very nice, and interesting. It's the first time I've ever gone to church and saw a soldier (Aus) with a semi-automatic rifle hanging off his shoulder as he was doing the standing, sitting, kneeling that we do in Mass. The congregation was large and international with the UN Peacekeeping Force still there. It was all in English and the choir was wonderful. I liked the chiming bells they ring at communion, just like it was when I was a kid. The priest asked everyone from the Mercy to raise their hands and the congregation applauded, it seemed they were happy to have us there.

Got my first helicopter ride today and it was awesome! I thought it would be more rough, but it was so smooth, we even had the doors open so I got some videos and pictures. When we landed these kids came up to greet us and there was this wonderful elderly lady who was just smiling, I asked if I could take her picture, she nodded yes and just as I pressed the shutter she reached out her hand in greeting. I shook her hand and she just hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks, she was so happy to see us. We went to a clinic (Clinic Timor)run by the coffee cooperative. They grow coffee for places like Starbucks. It is apparently run by some Cuban doctors. I met a nice young man from Cuba who was translating for us. They even had coffee and buns for us in one of the rooms. People were lined up outside the fence and the waiting room was filled. It is a beautiful area, in the not too far distance there were these very tall trees with a big canopy, just lovely. The coffee cooperatives and the cattle cooperatives are helping to fight the pervasive poverty in that area. Hard job to do for a whole country, but I think it is being done, little by little.
We picked up a young man to take back to the ship for cleft lip/palate surgery. He's 15 and he didn't have anyone with him. Imagine being whisked away by some large caucasians, probably never had been in a car much, only to be flown away to a white ship in the middle of the ocean, then having your first ride in an elevator! Can't imagine what is going through his mind. Operation Smile from Australia is doing the surgery, they've done some incredible work on this mission. The sad part of this mission is seeing the disease states in 20 and 30 year olds that we were seeing in 60 and 70 year olds in the Philippines. The result of years of instability. Hopefully that will change with some persistence and international collaboration.
Only a few more days before all of this part ends and I will be off the ship. Then the next phase of this, taking it all back to San Diego, begins. So many stories, so little bandwidth! Just tried to post pictures of all of this and can't so will do when I can.
Take care all.

The Shirts Off Our Backs Sewing Bee

At last night's Operation Brief (where we discuss all of the activities we've done and discuss upcoming plans) we were told about a clinic up in the mountains where it actually gets pretty cold. The doctor up there said that many babies get sick and eventually die because they don't have baby blankets and caps to keep them warm. The people are so poor they cannot afford material to make them. So, Jan Kline, a nurse with Project Hope, and I put our heads together to see what we could come up with. We cannot use government supplies without going through the proper authorization, and we don't have time for that process before we leave, so we tried to think of what we could do with what we have on hand until we could find a better solution. We found out that we could use items that were going to be thrown away, so we wondered if there were any old blankets, towels etc. that might be around. The laundry happened to have some old towels they were just going to incinerate so we asked if we could use them. They're not very pretty, they're a worn out brown, but would definitely keep a baby warm. So, we cut some triangles and took a sewing repair kit, the kind you would keep in your purse, and sewed them into the corners of the towels to make some hoodie type bath blankets. We called them "Mercy Wraps". Then I cut the sleeve off of my "I Love Nursing" t-shirt, put a basting stitch through one end, pulled it up, stitched it together and made a little baby cap. Looked kind of funky but serviceable. Jan came up with the idea of going down to the pediatrics ward to try it on one of the babies. Fit great. Well, things took off from there. We got permission from the Commodore to announce at the Ops brief that tomorrow night we wanted to have a "sewing bee" to make some of these up to take to the clinic until we could get some proper ones acquired, it takes a long time to get things shipped here sometimes. So Jan went off to make the powerpoint and I stayed in the ward room to finish sewing our prototypes by hand. As I was sitting there a couple about my age came in and sat down and we were sort of watching the television. We started talking and it turned out to be a gentleman and his wife who work here, they were waiting to take a boat back to shore after touring the ship. When he found out what we were doing he offered to transport the caps and "blankets" to the clinics for us. So, there we had supply and transportation taken care of, all we needed now was some buy-in from the staff. The ops brief went well and the Commodore said to make a special announcement tomorrow for folks to bring a t-shirt and help sew these things. I told the surgeons to "show their stuff!" Then the Commodore said "Suppo (the supply guy) we will have ice cream for those who sew won't we?" Great! Then I had a pharmacist tell me she has a sewing machine, and maybe some extra fleece for blankets, so that will make it even better.
Jan and I are going to try and visit a couple of orphanages that this gentleman knew about. He said the nuns there would be so grateful for anything, these people are probably the most impoverished in SE Asia. Hopefully we can help set something up to help them long after we leave. They really need it.
Now if I can only find some thread around here!

Volcano!

Heading for Timor Leste. Today off the starboard side of the ship we passed an active volcano. I don't know the name of the little island but it sure was spouting off smoke. This is the "Ring of Fire" after all, and one of the most geologically active places in the world. Even though it is exciting seeing something like an active volcano it makes you think about where you are and the hazards you face on a mission like this. Being on the ship I thought "what if that thing blew" What types of risks would we be facing"? Even if it wasn't catastrophic, exposure to the ash and sulfur dioxide could cause respiratory issues. That's something to consider when dealing with health-care issues of the citizens of this area. Not only from volcanoes, but more from the pollution caused by burning off the forests for cash crops, what they use for cooking fuel and the exhaust from the ubiquitous motorcycles. It has become a real problem in this part of the world and the wind can carry it to other countries. Last time I was here I could see the rising smoke from the airplane.
Timor Leste is a new country that claimed it's independence from Indonesia in 2002. There's been a lot of instability and much of the infrastructure has been destroyed in the struggles, so there is great need here. TB and dengue fever are problems here. They Xray the patients before coming on board, but at the in -country medical sites that is not so easy. Stress is put on the importance of using deet to keep the mosquitoes at bay as there is no prophylaxis for dengue. We take medication to prevent malaria, but that doesn't protect you from dengue. Other risks are possibly getting parasites, some which don't present with any symptoms. Most are easily treatable if caught early, but we have seen some interesting and heartbreaking cases. One, a 17 year old boy in Vietnam had been a normal teenager until about a year ago. When he came to us he was on a stretcher, couldn't walk and had other neurological problems. Upon having a CT scan, it was discovered that he had a pork tapeworm in his brain causing encephalitis. We were able to help him get treatment through the Vietnamese government, but it is a sad case.
We'll spend about two weeks here doing medical and civic projects like building a community center, then it's off to Darwin where I'll start my journey home.
Take care

Leaving Singapore

Back on the ship. Came in a little early to miss the rush of people tomorrow morning. I sure needed that break. The Botanical Gardens are a must-see if you come to Singapore. I walked from the hotel and wasn't sure if I was going the right way or not some of the time but I eventually got there. Hot and so humid you literally drip all day when you are outside. Totally worth it though, very peaceful and incredibly lush. I also ventured out on the MRT which is incredibly busy and crowded but at the same time clean and super efficient. Something we could learn from. They place a high value on public safety, health education and just plain courtesy and kindness. I enjoyed reading their newspapers to see more of the international news than we can easily get in one paper back home. Wished I had more time to visit the hospitals and health clinics but I guess I'll just have to come back for that. I watched Malaysian, Korean, Chinese, Indian, English, German and French TV. One of my favorite things was hearing the band in the lounge playing "Okie from Muskogee", they really love 70's music here and play reruns of Macguyver. Great food here also.
The next stop will be East Timor, I don't know how long it will take to get there but at least a few days. We are anticipating much more need there as those folks have been through a lot in the past several years.
We are supposed to have a crossing the equator ceremony in a few days for those of us who this is their first time crossing, and I heard it's not for the faint-hearted.
Take care all.

Singapore

In Singapore, starting to feel human again. Yesterday was a challenge trying to get off the ship, the room I thought was confirmed was unavailable and all of the phone lines were down on the ship. The internet has been notoriously slow so there I was, stuck on the ship, everyone had left for liberty and I had no communication with the outside world. I was not a happy camper to say the least. I decided upon the advice of someone who said "you just need to get off the ship!", to take a cab and try and find a room. Self-sufficient as I think I am, it was a daunting task to tackle finding a room in a foreign country by myself. It was hot, I was tired and I didn't know if I would have to go back to the ship or not. I ended up sharing a cab with two other people from the ship and ended up getting a room at the hotel I was originally booked at. There was also the issue of how I was going to use this time, could I afford it, and what was I going to do by myself in Singapore? I decided to just take it easy and not try to do and see everything. I got a bite to eat at this great little Japanese restaraunt where the gentleman that owns it gave me his and his wife's phone number in case I found myself needing help while in Singapore. It was quiet and the food was great. Did some channel surfing and watched a Mayasian version of Punked! called Watanabed! Funny, same premise. Today I slept in, had a late breakfast walked down the street exploring a bit,found a grocery store and got a few thinngs and then came back and decided to lay out by the pool. It was great, did a little swimming which felt good and got a little sun. There's tons of shopping around here, I guess that's the main attraction. After the pool I got some acupressure done on my neck and back then had my hair cut. Just a day to take care of all those little things. After that I went on a big adventure and took the bus to Plaza Singapura to try and find a b-flat harmonica. I was told there was a Yamaha music store there. Found the store but they only had C and G harps, got a C one anyway. Got a couple of hang ten shirts for a really good price, no wonder people like to shop here. Tomorrow I hope to go to the Botanical Gardens to see the Orchid Garden and then maybe to Little India. Didn't even take my camera today so maybe tomorrow I'll bring it to get a few shots of Singapore.
One of the things I love about Singapore is the mix of cultures, it's wonderful. And, easy for me, most people speak English and it's very safe for a single woman to travel. It is an incredibly clean city and very green and lush. I know it's going to be difficult going back to the ship after this! Grateful for a much needed break. Take care all.