Luggage and Languages :)

Time for another Benin update:)
Well the good news is that my luggage finally arrived 5days after I got here!After being shown to a big room filled with lost luggage and claiming it-I had to go through the security check (which consisted of two men dressed up in Army costumes, they looked rather amusing-especially when they put their surgical masks and gloves on:) usually they poke at your bag however I must have looked suspicious since they asked me to open mine up so they could have a look inside. Unfortunately I had forgotten my padlock combination!They looked very unimpressed when I motioned that I could not open it-I managed to get the lady who was with me to come in and talk to them; she rattled off in French that I was a Mercy Ships volunteer, thankfully their very stern faces soon broke into smiles&I was so relieved when they let me take my bag:) It was like Christmas to have all of my own gear again!

The 6 theatres are amazing and have been really well organised-the equipment is all first world which makes it a lot easier for me as I already know how to work alot of it:) So far I have been in the Maxofacial theatre working with a lovely surgeon who has been here for 23 years, he came for 3 weeks originally and never left!Last week I worked in the General theatre with a Spanish Surgeon, I am learning both Spanish and French rather quickly as he asks for instruments and attempts to communicate with me in both languages! I am seeing amazing operations in theatre and learning alot, I asked one woman who was having a Throidectomy (a very disfiguring growth on the front of her neck) how she was feeling and she responded with a big smile "excited", it left me a bit speechless since I am so used to people saying "nervous"!The communication barrier is hard at times, however I have found it amazing how a smile and a hug can go so far!we also have translators to help us with the pre-operation check and when we pray with each patient before they go into the Operating room, it is really nice:)

The poverty here is still shocking me, the conditions that the people live in is quite devastating and also so humbling- it all makes me realise how very blessed I am to have grown up in New Zealand:) The housing here is a combination of basic huts made out of anything from tin, concrete and palm tree leaves. Most of the people dress in bright colours and outfits though which brightens up the place a lot!Five minutes out of Contonou (the capital) the roads are covered with potholes and their petrol stations consist of bottles filled up on the side of the road with funnels coming out of them, quite a site! This weekend I went with a group of people on a boat out to Stilt Village, it is a village of 20,000 people who live in houses that are propped up on stilts and their transportation are wooden canoes. It was amazing to see their market which consisted of women sitting in their boats with all of their produce around them that they were selling!The waterstation (where they were filling up their drums with safe water) was also a very busy spot:) The village was a 18kl boat ride from Contonou.

I am oncall a few times a week and you have to stay onboard all day. On sunday I was oncall so I attended the church service on the ward, what an experience!There was so much passion, the drums were going and the patients that could stand were up dancing with joy during the worship, their voices are beautiful-I did a lot of laughing, it was a very fun morning:)

You will understand how pleased I am that there are many people who are keen on running so I get to go out most mornings with a group of people-the warm Australian climate was great preparation for running here-even at 6am it is HOT!:) I look forward to the day I will run in fresh air again...the smells here are quite strong at times&I cannot believe some of the conditions people live in, I guess it doesn't always come down to choice though. We are often looked at with much interest and I hear the word "Yovo" being called out often, which means "white person" :)

I hope this finds you all well....
Missing everyone...
Will update you again soon on my West African Adventures :)

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.