Week Five! May 12-18

Five weeks down, nine to go!

Ship Life

I have definitely settled into more of a routine and feel like I almost know my way around the ship. My dad would be proud of my use of "starboard, port, forward, & aft" to describe the location of something on the ship. This week included more games with friends, beautiful sunsets, and yummy food. We also had our first week of trivia on Monday night! We placed third (out of five teams), so not too shabby! I am hoping that is just the start of a successful international trivia career.

There are numerous restaurants to choose from in the area and I have yet to be disappointed with a meal! One common meal is some kind of "Zebu" which is a kind of cow and is very similar to the beef we are used to in the States. I have ordered Zebu brochette (skewers) a few times and it is always tasty! I also tried banana flambé at a restaurant this week, not putting two and two together that it would literally come out on fire. It was a fun dessert!

On the way back from the restaurant, five of us squeezed into the same tuk tuk (small cab vehicle) and had to capture the fun!

Friday was a light day in the OR, so some of us were surprised with the day off! When we were waiting for the rain to stop, Heather and I did another puzzle and then went off ship to the grocery store, bubble tea restaurant, souvenir store, and the market.

Our weekly farewell dinner was at L'Affiche, a restaurant in town with live music on Fridays. The shrimp pasta was delicious and the live music was very impressive!

I was on call Saturday, so I just did some laundry, read by the pool (before it rained some more), and then played more games in midships. We played Dutch Blitz, a dice game, Taboo, and "Psychiatrist." The crew departing this weekend had a delayed flight due to the weather, but a large group stayed up until after 10pm to give them a proper send off. It never does get easier saying goodbye to people each weekend who have become dear friends.

Today (Sunday) was one of my favorite days thus far. We took a van to Vacoa Village, a small beach/pool/restaurant hotel about a 1 hour drive from the ship. The road to get to the resort was quite bumpy, but it was part of the adventure. The seven of us went swimming in the ocean, walked on the beach, and ate a nice lunch. Heather and I wanted to share an American treat with our Malagasy friends, so we brought ingredients for s'mores and made a campfire on the beach! The weather was perfect and it brought me great joy spending the day with people who have become so special to me. Thank you, Jesus!

Surgery On Board

This week was the last week of reconstructive plastics while I'm here. Similar to last week, we removed large tissue masses from a few patients and reconstructed the eyelids of a couple other patients. One mass we removed from a patient's upper arm weighed almost 2 kilograms. I can't imagine the relief of not having to carry that extra weight anymore! Everything I've done in the OR has been interesting so far and I am excited for the surgical specialties that I'll still get to do (pediatric orthopedics, yay!). Heather and I were able to work in the same OR this week, which was a fun dynamic. Since all the nurses here do things slightly differently depending on where they're coming from, it was nice working alongside another Duke-trained RN.

As fun as Fridays are around the ship in our funky scrubs and having "waffle Friday," it also means we have to say goodbye to members of the OR team. Every Friday, those who are departing are recognized with a certificate and thanked for their time of service. I am hoping that many of these "goodbyes" are actually just "see you laters!"