I'm on a boat!

...Well...technically, I'm on a ship...the only reason why I know that there is a distinction is because they tell you the difference in one of our Mercy Ships orientation manuals ('A ship has a main deck and a boat does not'). But, I just thought that the title would be fun...that, and I did promise a few people that I would entitle one of my blogs as such.

I have spent the last week vacationing and touring here in Tenerife, which came to an end yesterday. It was fun and interesting to see the sights and drive around. Driving here in Tenerife is very interesting! The people drive VERY fast and tail-gate quite a bit (no comments about my driving, please)...and it's hard at times to orient yourself, because you can't find a lot of the street names. But, I did it...mostly because I had to...it seems that they all drive standards here and having an automatic car is a bit of a luxury. And, since Tamara can't drive standard, and I do...I was defaulted as driver. So, yes...I drove in Spain. A scary thought for some of you, I know, but we made out just fine, no accidents...only a few honks. ;-)

Tamara and I stayed in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (the capital of the island, and also where the Africa Mercy is currently docked) for the first 3 nights, and then drove over El Teide (the volcano here in Tenerife) to Playa de Las Americas where we spent our last 3 nights. The contrast between the north and the south of the island are quite blaring. The north of the island seems to be a bit more accustomed to the local's way of life. Not too many people here speak English. It made it a bit interesting to try to converse with the hotel staff and anyone in the service industry...but do-able, none the less. Sure made me wish that I had brushed up on my Spanish before coming! Apparently 4 years in high school doesn't do you all that well almost ten years later when you haven't really practiced much! Despite the language barrier...I liked the area a lot.

Playa de Las Americas is a typical tourist resort area, I would say. I even heard someone refer to it as a 'tropical Las Vegas'. And, I suppose that it was, even though the weather here can be quite a bit chilly. Lots of hotels, lots of tourist shops along the beach front, and lots of tourists (a lot of them red after sunbathing). There, because they are catering to tourists, lots of the workers speak English. It's kind of funny, because I'd ask them, "¿Habla inglés?" (meaning, 'Do you speak English?') and they would respond with, "Un poquito." (meaning, 'A little bit.')...however, I would say that the vast majority of them speak more than a little bit. Most of the people could converse quite easily. Sure made me wish that I could speak more than just English.

Yesterday, I boarded the ship...got my ID badge, a key to my room, and got settled in. I have a 4-berth room, meaning 4 bunks, so a room for 4 people. Currently, the bunk above mine is still empty (although, I do believe that it will be filled later today), and the other two bunks are filled. I've met only one of my roommates - Bernice, an OR nurse from Brandon, Manitoba. Our other roommate is on vacation still. I will also dare to say that I've made a few friends. Last night, myself and 3 others went off ship to grab some ice cream...which also turned into having a snack of potatoes and mojo, as well as cheese and mojo, two very Canarian dishes. It was really nice to have others to do such a thing with and sit and chat.

Today, we were kind of given the day off to sort ourselves out, maybe go into town, and try to get into the rhythm of life here on the Africa Mercy. It started off with breakfast and a mini-meeting in the international lounge. At about 9 am, I ran into Miriam, the other pharmacist on the ship and she gave me a brief introduction to the pharmacy and the hospital here in the ship. So, I've met lots of people and I am afraid that I will forget lots of names (sorry, in advance!). At 10 am, I met up with a few others, and we ventured into town, mostly to get of the ship, but also to go in search of a few things.

Tomorrow, I start working...reading manuals, familiarizing myself with the formulary, looking up drugs that aren't so familiar (possibly because they aren't available in Canada), and basically just being around to help Miriam with whatever needs to be done in preparation for sailing and getting the pharmacy ready for the outreach in Togo. Needless to say, I'm getting quite excited.

Anyhow, just wanted to give you all a quick update, seeing as how I haven't posted in a week. I am sure that the excitement will keep building as more and more people come aboard and we get nearer to our sailing date. I'll be sure to keep in touch more, now that I have internet readily accessible!

P.S. Pictures to come later...I promise. So, keep your eyes peeled!