Thursday, June 17, 2010

long day... :-)

Yesterday was quite a day...

7am - wake up, get dressed without waking the others and head up to breakfast (toast and tea)
7:45am - International Lounge on forward Deck 6 for crew devotions with a visiting speaker. Good session
8:30am - Queen's Lounge on aft Deck 7 for New Crew Training. The Captain briefed us on the safety systems on board, what to do during fire drills (hint), how to submit safety concerns, and workplace and maritime safety.
10am - coffee break where the new crew met the deck and engineering officers. Never knew that so many people were responsible for the AC, lights, engines, and safety systems!
10:30am - back to the Queen's Lounge for more training. Learned about the off-ship programs and hospital programs.
Noon - lunch. Lunch is almost always leftovers from the dinner before. Just repackaged into some other dish. There isn't enough room in the galley fridges to store leftovers for use several days later.
12:45pm - Hospitality office for department devotions. These are good times to talk and relax with the other girls.
2pm - start pressing tablecloths and guest cabin bedding...all afternoon. I think I'm the only girl who doesn't mind it so much. (I will NEVER iron my own sheets... we do it for the guest cabins, but this experience has taught me that I will not take the effort with my own sheets when I run my own home!)
3pm - afternoon break. Run around to the Purser's office, the HR department, and Finance office to fill out paperwork and turn in forms and set up accounts.
3:15pm - back to the ironing press.
4:30pm - set up the midships Deck 6 area for a reception that night. Place cookies on trays, arrange fancy napkins and coffee cups, get the juice and water pitchers ready to be filled after dinner.
5pm - dinner. The best meal I've had so far. Coconut rice, canned peas (not my favorite, but they're OK), curry chicken, fresh pinapple, and an African mango a little smaller than a football (these things are ginormous and are so amazing!!!!) Took my food up 3 flights of stairs and out to Deck 8. Pulled a plastic chair off the stack and sat overlooking the stern towards the ocean. Gorgeous view, the sun was starting to set (it's fully down by like 7pm). Much needed time alone.
6pm - walked the dock with Abi, Jenny, and Melissa (another girl I met in January at Mercy Ships orientation. She works in the off-ship dental clinic)
7pm - shadowed Caitlin from my department as she gave a new crew tour. It takes almost an hour to do the tour... this ship is huge and there are a lot of places to show new crew.
8pm - settle down in the Deck 5 cafe with my laptop to do some blogging. Satellite connection is super slow and it keeps kicking me off the internet. Jenny and Abi walk by so we decide to watch a movie together. We end up talking afterwards until 11pm! I'm so glad they're here!
11:30pm - collapse in bed and set the alarm for 6:30 this morning...

So yeah. My days are pretty full... I get off this weekend for both Sat and Sun. On Saturday I'm going to a local orphanage and on Sunday afternoon I'm going to an annual craft fair in Lome. I'm so excited to get off this dock--haven't been off the ship except to walk the dock and take trash to the container at the end of the pier... getting a little antsy...

*Life is good. God is awesome. Coffee keeps me sane.*

2 comments:

  1. What a day!! Sounds amazing, especially the dinner on the deck.
    I don't think I'll have to experience ironing sheets to decide I wont't do it... but for special guests maybe?? Hmm, I think not.

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  2. Sounds fantastic! Neat way to serve God and others.
    Your blog has really inspired me in my dreams of missionary work. :D Thanks.

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