The Beginning of West Africa :)

Well after 28 hours of flying I arrived in West Africa, sadly my luggage did not...um temporarily lost, however for some reason I was not suprised to hear it&was almost expecting I would not find it when I got there...silly I know...I am hoping it will arrive tomorrow when the next flight comes in. The beginning of the culture shock began in Brazzaville, Congo where we stopped on the way to Benin-the plane was very empty and a few people got off and within seconds it filled to the brim with African people-I was one of the 5 white people onboard&it was so strange to be in the minority but also very refreshing:) I spent the next 3 hours with my personal space being invaded by the lady next to me, who was actually a man...the beard was a slight give-a-way despite his/her layers of makeup!

Everyone onboard this ship is so lovely&friendly, I have made a good friend already called Beth who is South African&a real laugh-we ventured into town on saturday-it was very hot&overwhelming!The people of Benin are lovely&friendly-they are drawn to my hair I think-haha-we went to a phone shop to try and get a SIM card&the security guard took us in and treated us like royalty taking us to the front of the queue, it was very embarassing!I was a little nervous as there were people approaching us constantly but it was fine-I recieved my first marriage proposal from an old Benin man at the markets, told him I would consider it-think I'm going to wait for a better offer-see if they are willing to throw in some goats or furniture:)

The orientation of the ship has been really great&I am so humbled to see people who have flown across the world to come onboard to serve food, cook, clean toilets etc-there are so many roles yet they are all so important.

The ship has 8 levels& is quite amazing!They have everything here it seems-an internet cafe, library,a small gym, a Starbucks (the Americans cannot live without it!),a pool on the top deck!There are SO many activities!!!running groups (hooray!), french classes (which i have signed up for), and there always seems to be a party going on or a celebration for someones Birthday. There are 5 other people in my cabin-it is fine- people are leaving and arriving all the time its crazy!!!Getting used to the ships rocking...its is only slight but the higher up the ship you go the more you notice it!Great for sleeping:) 450 People from all over the world here...American, Canadia, Dutch, German, Sweddish, Australia, Nz the list goes on!

I will be starting in the Operating Theatres tomorrow-the OR Manager is lovely&they are so blown away that i am staying for 6months, most theatre nurses only stay for 2 weeks!

This morning I went to a local church-it was absolutely AMAZING!!!even the drive there was mindblowing-everyone here rides scooters&you don't need a license so you can imagine the chaos!They don't have to wear helmets either&there is no limit to how many people you can carry-the most I've seen is 5 people on one, an entire family:) Do not worry, I would not hop on one if you paid me!The church we attended took about 15 minutes to drive too from the ship-Mercy Ships has about 10 4wheel drives with their name on it so as soon as people recognise it they greet you instantly-they are so grateful for the work being done here&even in town they look out for you&make sure no-one is bothering you!The poverty here is astounding-the church was down a backroad&I am not joking when I tell you that to get to the building we had to cross stepping stones through a river that was running through the street!The church was basically a roof& the seats were planks on bricks-we were given deck chairs though to sit on at the front of the church!I think this was because we were visitors but also because the section where we would normally sit had a pool of water in it...haha yes there was a small pond in the middle of the church, the floor was dirt. Their worship was breathtaking, I've never seen such passion before in church-they were dancing and when the drums got going the atmosphere was electric! The woman were all dressed up in bright vibrant dresses with headgear-the children were my favourite-they kept falling asleep throughout the service:)

Well this is the beginning and I shall keep you updated:)

Disclaimer: I serve with Mercy Ships. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.