17 July, 2011, Pohnpei, FSM. We crossed the equator northbound on 27 June at longitude 129 deg heading to the lush tropical state of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. It began raining more frequently and the weather was hotter and more humid than at our previous stop in Dili, Timor Leste. Opportunities for stargazing were limited, but the night sky was lovely on a clear moonless night. The clouds are especially spectacular in this area of the Pacific at any time of day, making fantastic sunrises and sunsets, and frequent rain showers make frequent rainbows. Cleveland arrived at Pohnpei on Sun 3 July, and for various reasons was unable to anchor so she remained underway outside the reef at a slow speed during the entire mission stay. Life aboard ship became trying as severe water rationing was implemented. There were strong winds and rough seas outside the reef for the first few days, so recovering the LCU (landing craft unit) back into the ship was a nail-biting experience, and the crew was rewarded with cheers upon successful re-entries. My first trip ashore was for festivities in the port town of Kolonia on July 4th, which included the Pacific Partnership 2011 Opening Ceremony, a softball game pitting the Cleveland Navy team versus a Pohnpeian team (who trounced the Navy team), and the Navy band concert at the Spanish Wall stadium. We had a little time to check out the local markets in search of cold drinks, snacks, and shade. Did I mention how hot and humid it is here? Early on there were a few days with only a few rain showers because a cyclone north of here was sucking the clouds into itself, but once that moved away the expected pattern of showers every few hours re-established itself. There are beautiful flowers everywhere, and of course one of my favorites is the “ground orchid”, Spathoglottis plicata, the purple variety of which seems to planted nearly everywhere.
A limited number of medical personnel traveled by small plane to work sites in the other 3 states - Yap, Chuuk (previously know as Truk), and Kosrae, but both of my work assignments were in Pohnpei. The first site was about 45 minutes by bus from Kolonia through dense, lush tropical landscape to the Nanpei High School, where relatively new buildings were available to set up a clinic because the students are on summer holiday. The humid climate meant that we saw many patients, mostly children, with tropical skin ulcers and abscesses, some of which required cleaning and dressing in the wound clinic where I worked for one and a half days. The locals seem to take mid-day siesta seriously - only a few arrived after 1 PM, thus enabling us to complete our workdays without turning away patients, and there was even time on the first day for an impromptu volleyball game. The second site was the Pohnpei Hospital in Kolonia where we provided additional capacity to the hospital staff and held continuing education seminars. I spent one day cleaning and dressing wounds and giving antibiotic injections, and the second day in the patient registration/triage area. The hospital staff treated us to local eats including bananas 5-ways (fresh on the stem, fried, chips, fritters, and bread hot out of the cafeteria oven - divine!), yam chips, breadfruit chips, pineapple, avocado, papaya, coconut, and watermelon.
The Cleveland had a schedule change requiring departure for Honolulu a day earlier than originally planned, so I needed to cancel my last day of work to pack, complete disembarking procedures, and say hurried good-byes. My last LCU ride to shore was on the afternoon of 13 July (exactly 3 months after embarking in Tonga on 13 April). My sister Hilarie had arrived at our hotel a few hours earlier, so I threw my bags in the room and headed for the Closing Reception that evening at the US ambassador’s residence, which was a lovely end to the mission with a spectacular view of the reef, a buffet (including a huge roasted pig sent by a local chief), drinks, speeches, and native dancers.
So now I’m relaxing with Hils at The Village Hotel outside Kolonia. The Village is a charming, rustic thatched hut establishment in the jungle on a ridge above the lagoon, and we have a fantastic view of the reef from our hut. The jungle is rich with continuous motion and sound - rustling and falling leaves and coconuts, bugs and birds flying and singing, chickens clucking and crowing, lizards running up and down the trees, and raindrops from the frequent showers. And then there are those sounds of the night! We’ve gone on a day trip that included snorkeling with manta rays, lunch and reef snorkeling at a tiny island, visiting ancient basaltic ruins, and swimming in a waterfall. We’ve been to town to view and purchase local handicrafts. Hopefully tomorrow will be another day of snorkeling before we leave for Cairns, Australia on 19 July. I’ll finally be home on 26 July.
People have been asking the inevitable questions - “are you glad you did the volunteer mission?”, and “would you do it again?” The answers are YES. But I wouldn’t want to do the same thing twice, so “again” will have to be different. At this point in time I don’t know what is next for me, but I know that I had an extraordinary experience that most people won’t ever have or even know that they could have. I want to give my deepest heartfelt thanks to all of the people that I met and worked with from the Pacific Partnership, the USS Cleveland, the partner nations and host nations; to all of the patients who entrusted us with their medical care; and to the staff, mission volunteers, and donors from Project HOPE. You are indeed very special to me.
Wishing you all good health and cheer!
“Nurse Bridget”
Project HOPE Volunteer, Pacific Partnership 2011
www.projecthope.org
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Dusty Dili
27 June, 2011. Between Timor Leste and Micronesia, heading NE approaching the equator. We’ve completed the mission in Timor Leste and are underway to the Federated States of Micronesia. The conditions in Timor were different from the previous missions in several respects. This is the dry “winter” season in Timor (winter solstice occurred south of the equator), and Dili is on the dry leeward side of the island. So our days were hot, dry, very dusty (they haven‘t paved paradise yet), usually with a decent breeze in the afternoons to blow the dust over everything and everyone. It appears that most families cook over wood fires, trash is burned, and other fires of non-obvious origin are burning most of the time, so the air quality was bad from the dust and smoke. Little wonder that most of our Timor patients complained of cough and runny nose, because we were experiencing the same. Hydration was even more important here because the sweat was dried away before you realized you were sweating. Unlike the lush greenery of our previous mission sites, Dili’s landscape looks much like California’s coastal mountains in summertime. However, the personnel who traveled by helicopter to remote clinical sites on the windward side of Timor reported that it was cooler, moister, and a thick fog rolls in around 2 PM. Very few Timorese speak English, and unlike Pidgin, Tetum is not similar to English, so we relied on our interpreters to communicate with our patients. Most of our interpreters were university students - either local Timorese majoring in languages or Indonesian medical and nursing students volunteering with the NGO HOPE Worldwide (a separate group from Project HOPE). Unlike the previous mission sites, there were only a few dozen patients waiting for us to arrive each morning instead of many hundreds waiting, however the Timorese arrived at a steady pace throughout the day and we were usually able to see everyone that came to the sites. We saw over 1200 patients at the main clinic on last full day. The medical conditions differed also - e.g. many more upper respiratory complaints in Timor and fewer lower extremity wounds. I was lead nurse for the 3 days at the first Dili clinical site, so I was on my feet in the sun for the entire days trying to ensure that all nursing functions went smoothly - I now have full appreciation for my compression socks, 50+ SPF sunscreen, and a 3-liter Camelbak hydration bag filled with electrolyte solution. Our multi-national military and NGO nursing group are a delight to work with, and we gelled quickly considering that most only arrived a few days earlier during crew change in Darwin.
The Dili Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 7K occurred while we were here, and I volunteered with a multi-national first-aid team at the medical tent at the finish line. It was a big, festive event with several thousand runners/walkers/wheelchairs, including about 100 from our ship and hundreds of exuberant school kids. I heard that the men’s division of the marathon was won by a Kenyan while the women’s division was won by a Timorese. The race started at 6:30 AM around sunrise, and by the time most people were finishing the temperature was in the mid-80s. We treated more than a handful of runners for heat exhaustion, some of them requiring IV fluids for rehydration.
My liberty time in Dili was spent browsing through the local handicrafts market, which consisted primarily of hand loom weavings remarkably similar to those of Central America, climbing the 585 +/- 5 steps up to the statue of Jesus Christ standing on a globe atop a promontory overlooking the harbor, and enjoying refreshments on the beach or at a beach-side restaurant. The sunsets were spectacular red. See pictures on Flickr.
We’ll be crossing the equator on the evening of Monday 27 June. The ship had a line-crossing ceremony for Pollywogs (sailors crossing the equator for the first time) on the southbound crossing between Hawaii and Tonga, but unfortunately for those of us who came aboard afterwards no ceremony is planned for the northbound crossing. Apparently King Neptune won’t recognize me as a Shellback in the absence of a ceremony or certificate. I foresee another equator-crossing trip in my future to remedy this. I’ll be spending mornings during our passage to Micronesia volunteering in the ship’s medical ward where I continue to see interesting illnesses and injuries. It’s hard to believe that the mission adventure is nearing the end and I’ll be home in a month’s time.
Cheers to all!
The Dili Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 7K occurred while we were here, and I volunteered with a multi-national first-aid team at the medical tent at the finish line. It was a big, festive event with several thousand runners/walkers/wheelchairs, including about 100 from our ship and hundreds of exuberant school kids. I heard that the men’s division of the marathon was won by a Kenyan while the women’s division was won by a Timorese. The race started at 6:30 AM around sunrise, and by the time most people were finishing the temperature was in the mid-80s. We treated more than a handful of runners for heat exhaustion, some of them requiring IV fluids for rehydration.
My liberty time in Dili was spent browsing through the local handicrafts market, which consisted primarily of hand loom weavings remarkably similar to those of Central America, climbing the 585 +/- 5 steps up to the statue of Jesus Christ standing on a globe atop a promontory overlooking the harbor, and enjoying refreshments on the beach or at a beach-side restaurant. The sunsets were spectacular red. See pictures on Flickr.
We’ll be crossing the equator on the evening of Monday 27 June. The ship had a line-crossing ceremony for Pollywogs (sailors crossing the equator for the first time) on the southbound crossing between Hawaii and Tonga, but unfortunately for those of us who came aboard afterwards no ceremony is planned for the northbound crossing. Apparently King Neptune won’t recognize me as a Shellback in the absence of a ceremony or certificate. I foresee another equator-crossing trip in my future to remedy this. I’ll be spending mornings during our passage to Micronesia volunteering in the ship’s medical ward where I continue to see interesting illnesses and injuries. It’s hard to believe that the mission adventure is nearing the end and I’ll be home in a month’s time.
Cheers to all!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Down Under Darwin
16 June, Dili, Timor Leste.
After a 2-day delay we departed Darwin, a lovely city in the region referred to as the “Top End” of Australia’s Northern Territory. The weather was pleasant, with sunny days in the low 80s and strong breezes in the morning, which diminished during the day. The sunsets were brilliant red, partly due to the smoke from controlled burns in the surrounding bush country during this early part of the dry season. I went on a day-long bus tour of the Litchfield National Park where the principal sights of interest are the numerous waterfalls and large termite mounds. It was safe to swim in the pools of some of the waterfalls but not others because salt-water crocodiles are able to swim upstream during the rainy season, and any remaining after the stream level drops must be relocated before swimming is allowed. We didn’t see any crocs that day but did see a verrrry large lizard on the stream bank - probably a land mullet or skink. The mounds are built by tiny grass-eating termites using soil, saliva, and feces to create a stone-hard, fire-retardant home. We also saw rock wallabies (small relatives of kangaroos). The botanic garden in Darwin has a large shade house for orchids, tillansia, and bromeliads, as well as orchids tied onto the trees. Only a few orchids were in bloom since the dry season has just begun. I expected the orchid collection to focus on Australian species but there was a wide range of genus and species present.
The Northern Territory has an active aboriginal art community, and the aboriginal art work in the NT museum as well as in the numerous aboriginal art galleries is especially enjoyable. There are several large outdoor markets with numerous food and souvenir vendors, and based on the crowd, the Mindl Beach Sunset Market on Thursday evenings is clearly the place to be. There was a great musician playing 4 large didjeridoos accompanied by a drummer, which convinced me that my next career should be as a didjeridoo musician. The Greek festival was a well-attended weekend event with arcade activities for the children, dozens of grills cooking meat for kebabs and yiros, delicious desserts, and lively dancing - opa!! I visited the Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Association for their Wednesday night dinner and entertainment. They were very welcoming, gracious hosts. I had hoped to find a boat on which to go sailing, but there were few boats sailing in the large harbor during the time we were here, even over the 3-day holiday weekend (they celebrated the Queen of England’s birthday). So the rest of my liberty time was spent with shipmates walking the downtown area, eating and drinking coffee at sidewalk cafes, and shopping. The fresh local barramundi fish (firm and sweet - much like Maryland’s rock fish) and shrimp were especially good. But Darwin is an expensive city, so 2 extra days in port were hard on everyone’s wallets.
The people of Darwin were very welcoming and friendly, but we were glad to leave for the 2-day sail to Timor Leste to continue our humanitarian mission. I’ll be lead nurse at the first medical site that will be set-up on a school athletic field in the capital city of Dili. Additionally, all of the PP 11 nurses will be participating in a running event - marathon, half-marathon, or 7K - either as runners or emergency medical staff. We had a large personnel change in Darwin, but the PP 11 embarkees in Darwin are gelling well with the personnel who remained on board after the first 2 rotations. We arrived at Dili today, so we‘ll be ready to go ashore and start work on Friday.
Cheers to all!!
After a 2-day delay we departed Darwin, a lovely city in the region referred to as the “Top End” of Australia’s Northern Territory. The weather was pleasant, with sunny days in the low 80s and strong breezes in the morning, which diminished during the day. The sunsets were brilliant red, partly due to the smoke from controlled burns in the surrounding bush country during this early part of the dry season. I went on a day-long bus tour of the Litchfield National Park where the principal sights of interest are the numerous waterfalls and large termite mounds. It was safe to swim in the pools of some of the waterfalls but not others because salt-water crocodiles are able to swim upstream during the rainy season, and any remaining after the stream level drops must be relocated before swimming is allowed. We didn’t see any crocs that day but did see a verrrry large lizard on the stream bank - probably a land mullet or skink. The mounds are built by tiny grass-eating termites using soil, saliva, and feces to create a stone-hard, fire-retardant home. We also saw rock wallabies (small relatives of kangaroos). The botanic garden in Darwin has a large shade house for orchids, tillansia, and bromeliads, as well as orchids tied onto the trees. Only a few orchids were in bloom since the dry season has just begun. I expected the orchid collection to focus on Australian species but there was a wide range of genus and species present.
The Northern Territory has an active aboriginal art community, and the aboriginal art work in the NT museum as well as in the numerous aboriginal art galleries is especially enjoyable. There are several large outdoor markets with numerous food and souvenir vendors, and based on the crowd, the Mindl Beach Sunset Market on Thursday evenings is clearly the place to be. There was a great musician playing 4 large didjeridoos accompanied by a drummer, which convinced me that my next career should be as a didjeridoo musician. The Greek festival was a well-attended weekend event with arcade activities for the children, dozens of grills cooking meat for kebabs and yiros, delicious desserts, and lively dancing - opa!! I visited the Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Association for their Wednesday night dinner and entertainment. They were very welcoming, gracious hosts. I had hoped to find a boat on which to go sailing, but there were few boats sailing in the large harbor during the time we were here, even over the 3-day holiday weekend (they celebrated the Queen of England’s birthday). So the rest of my liberty time was spent with shipmates walking the downtown area, eating and drinking coffee at sidewalk cafes, and shopping. The fresh local barramundi fish (firm and sweet - much like Maryland’s rock fish) and shrimp were especially good. But Darwin is an expensive city, so 2 extra days in port were hard on everyone’s wallets.
The people of Darwin were very welcoming and friendly, but we were glad to leave for the 2-day sail to Timor Leste to continue our humanitarian mission. I’ll be lead nurse at the first medical site that will be set-up on a school athletic field in the capital city of Dili. Additionally, all of the PP 11 nurses will be participating in a running event - marathon, half-marathon, or 7K - either as runners or emergency medical staff. We had a large personnel change in Darwin, but the PP 11 embarkees in Darwin are gelling well with the personnel who remained on board after the first 2 rotations. We arrived at Dili today, so we‘ll be ready to go ashore and start work on Friday.
Cheers to all!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Tusk Envy
2 June, underway between PNG and Australia. We’ve departed PNG with the confidence of accomplishment, but a feeling of uncompleted work. Accomplishment in knowing that we gelled as an international military and NGO team, but uncompleted in knowing that we turned away hundreds of patients that wanted our services at each of the 3 clinical sites in Lae. Seeing the crush of a thousand patients waiting for us as we arrived each morning was daunting, and prompted us to search for ways to streamline our processes and increase our efficiency while maintaining quality medical care, engaging in personal/cultural exchanges with our patients, and teaching/learning from our host medical counterparts. We had been pleased with ourselves when we saw 900 patients on the 3rd day in Lae, but on the last day we saw over 1700 patients at the 2 city sites we ran simultaneously - yet there were still hundreds who were turned away when the work day ended. Have I mentioned the heat and humidity? We gave emergency care to an older man who got in the queue at 2 AM and collapsed at 11 AM, apparently due to heat. We had some relief from the heat on the second to last day but that was because it rained for the first 2 hours - those of us working outside in pre-registration struggled to stay dry.
My last day was very fulfilling because I was assessing adult patients for back and knee pain (very common due to hard physical labor with few of the conveniences of first world countries) and, if not complicated by other medical conditions, giving them pain medication and teaching them strengthening and range of motion exercises. Whereas the patients at the countryside clinic brought us quantities of tropical fruits as gifts, the city patients brought us gifts of traditional necklaces and purses (bilum) carried by both men and women (see Flickr photos with bilum carried around the neck or used as a sling to carry a baby with the strap over the top of the head). The bilum colors and patterns signify the bearer’s tribe, and a few gift bilum were woven with possum fur. I was very honored to receive a unique necklace of shells with 2 boar tusks as pendants from a nurse who attended my back clinic (see Flickr photo). This necklace was declared the most impressive gift, and the men quickly developed tusk envy, even offering to trade a few bilum for the necklace. A unique gift from a nurse - no trade!!
I represented Project HOPE at the closing reception held on Cleveland’s flight deck for distinguished PNG visitors including government officials, business and civic leaders, and Australian military residents. It was a pleasant opportunity to talk to local residents about life in PNG since our liberty options on shore were limited to the Lae Yacht Club and the Melanesian Art Center (actually a cultural gift shop). Cleveland arranged with the Lae Yacht Club to allow a limited number of personnel to visit its gated facility during the last several days in port. A large covered deck overlooks a small marina (all power boats), and the galley and bar were open to purchase refreshments. A club member who owned one of the liberty boats hired by Cleveland to shuttle us to and from said that the wind is too light in the bay to interest most sailors. We did see a few locals sailing tiny outriggers, but I forgot my camera that day L so no photos to show you. The craft center was packed full of interesting masks, statues, jewelry, bilum, paintings, carvings, drums, etc. from various tribes and provinces in PNG. Sadly no photos of the center to share but I have photos of the pieces that I bought (see Flickr).
Our liberty port of Darwin, Australia is 5 days away, and there we’ll be saying farewell to the Canadian dental team and most of the Aussies who’ve been aboard for the first 2 rotations, as well as Army reservists and 4 HOPEies who joined us for the 2nd rotation. We’ll be joined by their replacements for the final mission rotation to Timor Leste and Micronesia. While in Darwin I'll be going on an organized day tour to Litchfield National Park, and plan to visit one or both yacht clubs in Darwin. My liberty buddy to the clubs (a requirement to go ashore in a liberty port) also owns a sailboat so we're hoping to catch a ride on a boat with a club member. It’s hard to believe that I’m at the half-way point of my trip and 2/3 through the medical mission. During the first 3 weeks I questioned my sanity for volunteering to be on this old ship for 3 months, but now for better and for worse it is an adventurous home.
Cheers to all!
My last day was very fulfilling because I was assessing adult patients for back and knee pain (very common due to hard physical labor with few of the conveniences of first world countries) and, if not complicated by other medical conditions, giving them pain medication and teaching them strengthening and range of motion exercises. Whereas the patients at the countryside clinic brought us quantities of tropical fruits as gifts, the city patients brought us gifts of traditional necklaces and purses (bilum) carried by both men and women (see Flickr photos with bilum carried around the neck or used as a sling to carry a baby with the strap over the top of the head). The bilum colors and patterns signify the bearer’s tribe, and a few gift bilum were woven with possum fur. I was very honored to receive a unique necklace of shells with 2 boar tusks as pendants from a nurse who attended my back clinic (see Flickr photo). This necklace was declared the most impressive gift, and the men quickly developed tusk envy, even offering to trade a few bilum for the necklace. A unique gift from a nurse - no trade!!
I represented Project HOPE at the closing reception held on Cleveland’s flight deck for distinguished PNG visitors including government officials, business and civic leaders, and Australian military residents. It was a pleasant opportunity to talk to local residents about life in PNG since our liberty options on shore were limited to the Lae Yacht Club and the Melanesian Art Center (actually a cultural gift shop). Cleveland arranged with the Lae Yacht Club to allow a limited number of personnel to visit its gated facility during the last several days in port. A large covered deck overlooks a small marina (all power boats), and the galley and bar were open to purchase refreshments. A club member who owned one of the liberty boats hired by Cleveland to shuttle us to and from said that the wind is too light in the bay to interest most sailors. We did see a few locals sailing tiny outriggers, but I forgot my camera that day L so no photos to show you. The craft center was packed full of interesting masks, statues, jewelry, bilum, paintings, carvings, drums, etc. from various tribes and provinces in PNG. Sadly no photos of the center to share but I have photos of the pieces that I bought (see Flickr).
Our liberty port of Darwin, Australia is 5 days away, and there we’ll be saying farewell to the Canadian dental team and most of the Aussies who’ve been aboard for the first 2 rotations, as well as Army reservists and 4 HOPEies who joined us for the 2nd rotation. We’ll be joined by their replacements for the final mission rotation to Timor Leste and Micronesia. While in Darwin I'll be going on an organized day tour to Litchfield National Park, and plan to visit one or both yacht clubs in Darwin. My liberty buddy to the clubs (a requirement to go ashore in a liberty port) also owns a sailboat so we're hoping to catch a ride on a boat with a club member. It’s hard to believe that I’m at the half-way point of my trip and 2/3 through the medical mission. During the first 3 weeks I questioned my sanity for volunteering to be on this old ship for 3 months, but now for better and for worse it is an adventurous home.
Cheers to all!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Betel juice
24 May. Lae, PNG. Finally went ashore in PNG to work. Like many industrial ports, the area around the docks is rough and certainly not scenic. The country-side really is beautiful - lush, green, very high mountains, most of which are tree-covered. However, some of the ranges are green but have no trees, perhaps more recent volcanic ranges. The cloud formations hanging over the mountains add a dramatic effect. The rain showers offer many opportunities for rainbow sightings.
The people are very nice and friendly. But it’s very poor. It’s a 1-hour bus ride on the Lae Highway to the Wampar Clinic. There are many roadside market stands, and although there is bus service, there is a near constant stream of people walking along the side of the road. We travel the roads in a convoy with armed national defense and local security. An American woman confirmed how unsafe it is in this area - armed robberies, carjackings, roadblocks set up by armed thugs. The reports of violent crime seem such a contrast to the smiling, waving throngs yelling “Hi” and flashing us the index finger (meaning we‘re #1 good). I watched a video of the Opening Ceremony made by one of our attendees and noted that the ceremonial dancing in PNG is much more primitive/less refined than the dancing in Tonga and Hawaii. The traditional dress is interesting and rather minimal - the women are topless (and the effects of gravity are obvious) and the men’s loincloths are skimpy.
The Wampar Clinic has 2 small buildings, which we augment with 5 MASH-type tents. The people do hard manual labor, so most of the adults have complaints of back and knee pain along with other medical conditions. Malaria and tuberculosis are not uncommon. Some children have serious hearing loss due to untreated ear infections. Dental hygiene is minimal, so the dental team is busy with extractions. The teeth of many adults are a bizarre red color due to chewing betel nut (do you remember “Bloody Mary” from Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific?). The darkest teeth I saw were the color of red beets! The betel quid that they chew is a mix of betel nut, mustard stick (a type of pepper plant), and powdered lime produced from coral. It’s a stimulant, stress reducer, and hunger suppressant. We saw a man on the roadside spit a giant red stream during our return bus ride - yuck, betel juice!! But they also grow healthy tropical fruits, and the patients bring us delicious coconuts, papayas, lychees, bananas, guavas, oranges, and sugar cane. Our work days are unbelievably hot and humid, and after seeing over 900 patients/day we are totally drained. But some of our Aussie colleagues, ever the party animals, turn on tunes on their iPhones and entertain us with sing-alongs on the return bus ride. Our day-on/day-off schedules are paced, and we’re encouraged to rejuvenate on our day-off (meaning do your laundry and take a nap). We had a treat the other night when we couldn't return to Cleveland by the LCU and they brought us back on the 2 RIBs (rigid-hulled inflatable boats) - what a blast, those puppies fly through the water! The wild wind on our faces was a huge relief from a very hot, sweaty day.
Cheers to all!
The people are very nice and friendly. But it’s very poor. It’s a 1-hour bus ride on the Lae Highway to the Wampar Clinic. There are many roadside market stands, and although there is bus service, there is a near constant stream of people walking along the side of the road. We travel the roads in a convoy with armed national defense and local security. An American woman confirmed how unsafe it is in this area - armed robberies, carjackings, roadblocks set up by armed thugs. The reports of violent crime seem such a contrast to the smiling, waving throngs yelling “Hi” and flashing us the index finger (meaning we‘re #1 good). I watched a video of the Opening Ceremony made by one of our attendees and noted that the ceremonial dancing in PNG is much more primitive/less refined than the dancing in Tonga and Hawaii. The traditional dress is interesting and rather minimal - the women are topless (and the effects of gravity are obvious) and the men’s loincloths are skimpy.
The Wampar Clinic has 2 small buildings, which we augment with 5 MASH-type tents. The people do hard manual labor, so most of the adults have complaints of back and knee pain along with other medical conditions. Malaria and tuberculosis are not uncommon. Some children have serious hearing loss due to untreated ear infections. Dental hygiene is minimal, so the dental team is busy with extractions. The teeth of many adults are a bizarre red color due to chewing betel nut (do you remember “Bloody Mary” from Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific?). The darkest teeth I saw were the color of red beets! The betel quid that they chew is a mix of betel nut, mustard stick (a type of pepper plant), and powdered lime produced from coral. It’s a stimulant, stress reducer, and hunger suppressant. We saw a man on the roadside spit a giant red stream during our return bus ride - yuck, betel juice!! But they also grow healthy tropical fruits, and the patients bring us delicious coconuts, papayas, lychees, bananas, guavas, oranges, and sugar cane. Our work days are unbelievably hot and humid, and after seeing over 900 patients/day we are totally drained. But some of our Aussie colleagues, ever the party animals, turn on tunes on their iPhones and entertain us with sing-alongs on the return bus ride. Our day-on/day-off schedules are paced, and we’re encouraged to rejuvenate on our day-off (meaning do your laundry and take a nap). We had a treat the other night when we couldn't return to Cleveland by the LCU and they brought us back on the 2 RIBs (rigid-hulled inflatable boats) - what a blast, those puppies fly through the water! The wild wind on our faces was a huge relief from a very hot, sweaty day.
Cheers to all!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Lae, PNG Harbor
20 May Lea, PNG. The 5-day passage to Lae, Papua New Guinea (PNG) went quickly (I mistakenly thought our destination would be Port Moresby). We kept busy by entering patient data from Tonga and Vanuatu into a computerized database, attending meetings (including a refresher session on wound care with emphasis on a condition called “Yawls” - lesions in children caused by an infectious tropical agent similar to syphilis), and packaging medications for the PNG mission. I had a tour of the ship’s bridge - the navigation and steering center. I assisted in the ship’s medical ward by assessing patients, giving injections, dressing minor wounds, and removing sutures. But there was also time for relaxation - movie night on the flight deck. Yes, they set up a giant screen on the flight deck and showed “Just Go With It”. When was the last time you watched a movie under silvery clouds (that gave us a brief shower) and a full moon lighting a silvery sea, steaming along at 12 knots? The ship celebrated the 103rd birthday of the Navy Nurse Corps, along with International Nurses Day. All of the nurses on board were proud to stand for speeches, pictures, and cutting of the cake with a ceremonial sword by the ship’s captain and the mission’s commodore.
We arrived at Lae on a rainy day with 0.5 mile visibility, which was considered unsafe for anchoring, so we circled outside of the anchorage for more than 24 hours before setting the hook on a beautiful clear morning. The port is busier than I expected, with numerous freighters present. The temperature and humidity today are lower than in previous ports so we’re encouraged that climatic conditions might be more tolerable for work here. The scenery in the harbor is beautiful - steep, rugged mountains with cloud-shrouded peaks (I was told that the tallest peak in PNG is 10,000 ft and gets snow). I’m imagining epiphytic orchids in the tree tops being kept cool and moist by the cloud cover. The ship’s liberty scouts visited a botanical garden today as a possible tour destination, but a tour there will not happen for various reasons. My contact told me that only a few orchids were in bloom - by his description probably Dendrobium - so I’m not as disappointed to not be able to visit as I might have been. My first work day isn’t until Sunday so I’m limited to the lovely harbor view until then. Some pictures will be on Flickr.
Cheers to all!
We arrived at Lae on a rainy day with 0.5 mile visibility, which was considered unsafe for anchoring, so we circled outside of the anchorage for more than 24 hours before setting the hook on a beautiful clear morning. The port is busier than I expected, with numerous freighters present. The temperature and humidity today are lower than in previous ports so we’re encouraged that climatic conditions might be more tolerable for work here. The scenery in the harbor is beautiful - steep, rugged mountains with cloud-shrouded peaks (I was told that the tallest peak in PNG is 10,000 ft and gets snow). I’m imagining epiphytic orchids in the tree tops being kept cool and moist by the cloud cover. The ship’s liberty scouts visited a botanical garden today as a possible tour destination, but a tour there will not happen for various reasons. My contact told me that only a few orchids were in bloom - by his description probably Dendrobium - so I’m not as disappointed to not be able to visit as I might have been. My first work day isn’t until Sunday so I’m limited to the lovely harbor view until then. Some pictures will be on Flickr.
Cheers to all!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
New Calédonie - très chic!
15 May somewhere between New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea. We had about 10 hours of rough seas during the passage from Vanuatu to New Caledonia (and apparently we were also nearly over the epicenter when the recent earthquake struck), so we were especially glad to reach our liberty port. Picture 2.5 days of French chic in the South Pacific. It’s a French colony of 300,000 residents on a path to independence, its residents are French citizens, and the official language is French. Nearly everything is expensive, and the food is magnifique. The downtown area of the capital city Noumea near the commercial port where we docked is a mix of shops, nice buildings and slums. It’s vibrant during the day but not a desirable area to be after dark. The ship had also arranged for frequent free bus service from early morning to late night to the lovely beach communities, so there were plenty of interesting places to go throughout the day and evening. I got a darling French haircut and hat, a few other stylish clothes within my meager budget, tasted gelato second only to our friend Massimo’s brand “Gelato Massimo”, and ate the most divine French pastries. Unable to stand another cup of the ship’s coffee, I bought a French press (here labeled a ‘coffee plunger‘) and some good coffee, and I’m gaining a fan club in the officer‘s mess. I enjoyed the city tour arranged by the ship, which also included a French wine and cheese tasting. The tour guide, one of only 17 Americans living in New Caledonia, pointed out the many reminders of WWII. The weather was a pleasant change from Tonga and Vanuatu - humid but cooler. Liberty in NC was good for the body and soul.
We said our good-byes in New Caledonia to personnel who had joined PP 11 for only the first rotation of the mission, and we were joined by fresh new faces for the next rotation. Three HOPE nurses arrived, plus a family practice physician and a pharmacist. They’re trying to get their sea legs during a rough start to the 5-day passage to Papua New Guinea (PNG). There is some apprehension about the upcoming mission as Port Moresby in PNG is considered by travelers to be one of the more dangerous places to visit, and we're unlikely to be allowed any liberty. A shame because there's a botanic garden with an large orchid section, and PNG is the center of the orchid universe. But we’re hoping that the humanitarian purpose of our visit affords us a peaceful time in PNG.
Cheers to all!
We said our good-byes in New Caledonia to personnel who had joined PP 11 for only the first rotation of the mission, and we were joined by fresh new faces for the next rotation. Three HOPE nurses arrived, plus a family practice physician and a pharmacist. They’re trying to get their sea legs during a rough start to the 5-day passage to Papua New Guinea (PNG). There is some apprehension about the upcoming mission as Port Moresby in PNG is considered by travelers to be one of the more dangerous places to visit, and we're unlikely to be allowed any liberty. A shame because there's a botanic garden with an large orchid section, and PNG is the center of the orchid universe. But we’re hoping that the humanitarian purpose of our visit affords us a peaceful time in PNG.
Cheers to all!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
RAS
10 May somewhere between Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The RAS (Resupply At Sea) is quite a complicated affair. Today’s RAS was performed in clear weather with winds of 18-20 knots. The Cleveland approaches parallel to the supply ship and shoots 2 guide lines to the supply ship. A measuring line is threaded along the forward guide line to keep the 2 ships a specified distance apart (looked like 150 feet), and the refueling lines are then suspended from the aft guide line. The cargo to be transferred has been placed on palettes, netted, and arranged on the aft deck of the supply ship. Cleveland’s 2 helicopters take turns hovering over the supply ship’s aft deck while the supply ship’s crew attaches the cargo net tackle to a hook on the underside beneath the cargo bay. The pilots then swing the helicopter over Cleveland’s flight deck, set the cargo on the deck with guidance from the flight deck crew, and then the heli’s crew in the cargo bay release the tackle. The helicopter pilots and crew seem like ordinary mortals when you meet them but they must be adrenalin junkies to do that maneuver over and over until all of the cargo has been transferred. Actually the cargo crew is also a rescue swimmer, and he said rescues are even more exciting than cargo transfers. Cleveland’s flight deck crew dash around on small forklifts to bring the dropped cargo forward, and then the ship’s personnel form a human chain to pass the chow and mail boxes into the mess deck. It’s a happy day to see boxes of mail, fresh fruits and vegetables. Pictures will be on my Flickr site.
Cheers to all!
Cheers to all!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Coral, and fishes, and wrecks, oh my!
9 May departing Santo, Vanuatu. I spent a couple of days of liberty going ashore to explore the sights. I’m accustomed to traveling alone so it’s annoying to me to comply with the navy security requirement to have 1 or 2 liberty buddies - you must be within eyesight of your buddy(s) at all times except in the bathroom. So finding someone(s) who want to leave and return to the ship when you do, and do what you want to do ashore can be a challenge (switching partners after departing the ship is not allowed). But we’ve all got the same rules so cooperation is necessary. The first day my liberty partner mistakenly changed too much money into local currency, so we shopped until we dropped, meaning that I bought a cacao pod and a papaya at the fruit market, a hand-painted sarong, tea, toothpaste, chocolate cookies, and a Cadbury chocolate bar (I was in major need of a chocolate fix!). Shopping is limited - despite there being many small variety shops in Luganville, they carry nearly identical merchandise. My liberty partner the second day wanted to go to Catholic mass before the snorkeling trip. Men and women sit on opposite sides of the main aisle and the singing was beautiful. We then met up with a group to go to a lovely resort for Sunday brunch and snorkeling. There were Cattleya and Dendrobium orchids growing on the trees at the resort. The Dendrobium were blooming with pale green and purple flowers. I asked a couple of local women what they call the flower, and after conferring with each other they responded “orchid”, so there’s no interesting Pidgin name for an orchid. The sky had turned cloudy and the breeze had kicked up by the time we got out on the water but the snorkeling sights were still great. Not as many fish as I expected but very good quantity and variety of corals, most of which looked quite healthy. Pieces of wrecked airplanes from WWII were visible, including propellers with and without engines, and assorted pieces of fuselages. Coral growth on a cross-section of fuselage resulted in an interesting structure. We finished off the day with my second trip to the excellent French restaurant for escargot appetizer and warm chocolate souffle dessert.
We’ve finished the first segment of the 3-part mission, and left Vanuatu today. We’re heading for a few days of liberty in Noumea, New Caledonia, which is a former French colony. Some personnel will be leaving for home and will be replaced by new faces. Santo was a great experience - lovely people, very long lines of patients, remote villages, helicopter rides with spectacular scenery, good snorkeling. The most unusual medical condition I saw, probably for most others as well, was leprosy lesions on a woman’s face (as pointed out by an Australian physician who has seen previous cases of leprosy). I’ve started spending a couple of hours on my non-work days shadowing the ship’s independent duty corpsman (medic) in the medical ward, which is similar to an urgent care clinic, to get additional experience. He’s a good instructor and I’m enjoying it.
Cheers to all!
We’ve finished the first segment of the 3-part mission, and left Vanuatu today. We’re heading for a few days of liberty in Noumea, New Caledonia, which is a former French colony. Some personnel will be leaving for home and will be replaced by new faces. Santo was a great experience - lovely people, very long lines of patients, remote villages, helicopter rides with spectacular scenery, good snorkeling. The most unusual medical condition I saw, probably for most others as well, was leprosy lesions on a woman’s face (as pointed out by an Australian physician who has seen previous cases of leprosy). I’ve started spending a couple of hours on my non-work days shadowing the ship’s independent duty corpsman (medic) in the medical ward, which is similar to an urgent care clinic, to get additional experience. He’s a good instructor and I’m enjoying it.
Cheers to all!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
WOW!!
5 May Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. Saturday and Sunday were 2 of the best days of my life. I was part of a 16-person medical team that went by 2 helicopters (MH-60S Knight Hawk) to work remote clinical sites. The 2 villages are on the coast and otherwise accessible only by boat (beach landing) or foot/horse. Some logistical complications on Saturday led to the helicopters landing on the black sand beach some distance from the originally planned site. So we hiked with the supplies about 10 minutes to the village nearest our landing, and set up clinic in a tiny church, with registration outside under a huge mango tree. A member of the tribe used a shell to call the villagers to the church to announce that the clinic would be held there. The people were shy but after the first brave ones stepped forward we had a steady stream of patients all day. I collected childhood vaccination and malaria infection information for a country database. In the process I started learning some Pidgin English spoken by the locals (“Wanem nem blong you?” means “What’s your name?”). They served us a lunch of yams, manioc, taro greens, pork, plaintains(?), and coconut, which we sampled to supplement our MREs. Their ailments were similar to those we saw in Tonga - ear infections, joint pain, repetitive motion injuries, skin infections, dental and eyesight problems. Lack of dental hygiene results in rotten teeth, and the working conditions for the dentists and dental techs were difficult because the patients needed to be seated in folding camp chairs that we carried in. The landing logistics were solved for the second day and the helicopters landed on a grassy plot at the originally planned site. We hiked a short distance and set up clinic in 2 thatched huts and a church under large trees in a village common area just 40 yards from the breaking surf. The patients were waiting for us that day and there was no hesitation to stepping forward. You couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces all day long. Again our hosts prepared a lunch for us, and we shared a few extra MREs with them. We were fortunate to have a vacationing young couple from Tasmania assist us as interpreters - they had heard while in Luganville that we would be coming to the area and they kayaked in to help since they’ve become fluent in Pidgin. At the end of the day there was a kava ceremony where the tribal chief presented our team leader with a 7-foot long carved barbed spear to honor our visit. I’m sure that the villagers, like the medical team, will talk of these days for years.
The 30-40 minute helicopter ride each way was awesome. Santo is primarily rugged mountains, with the tallest peak 6000 ft elevation, and covered with dense jungle. The pilots gave us thrilling rides zipping around the ridges and out over the ocean, but the photos through the windows aren’t as great as the actual view because the doors to the cargo/personnel compartment had to be kept closed due to the cargo. Dense clouds on one of the trips made finding a safe route through the mountains a challenge for the pilots. The propellers stirred up the sand for a free dermabrasion during the first day’s beach landing not more than 20 yards from the breaking surf, and it took a while that night to clean the black sand out of our hair and ears. I’m fairly certain that I saw blooming epiphytes in some of the tree tops but I can’t be certain that they were orchids.
Monday was a liberty day and I went ashore with some of the dental folks to a lovely resort to relax, swim in the pool, and have a massage. Dinner at a French restaurant was a treat - escargot appetizer and warm chocolate souffle for dessert were divine. An adventurous person in our party ordered the “flying fox” (fruit bat) entrée, which was served with head on and big teeth showing - looked like a pterodactyl on a plate. She said it tasted like chicken, of course.
I worked patient registration/triage on Tuesday and Wednesday at the hospital in Luganville. This hospital is larger and has more services than the hospital in Vava’u. The days were draining as we saw nearly 800 patients on Tuesday, the weather was oppressively hot and humid, and I was coming down with a massive head and chest cold (respiratory illness seems pervasive on the ship). But the Navy rock band showed up on Wednesday to play for a couple hours near our outdoor triage area, and that definitely added a cheerful touch - my patient and I sang along together to Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” as I took her vital signs (I'm surprised that she seemed to know some of the words), and the patients in the registration queue laughed as the nurses and corpsmen played air guitar and danced the twist and bump.
I’m laying low for a day with this respiratory crud and hope to enjoy shore leave the next day or two.
Cheers!
The 30-40 minute helicopter ride each way was awesome. Santo is primarily rugged mountains, with the tallest peak 6000 ft elevation, and covered with dense jungle. The pilots gave us thrilling rides zipping around the ridges and out over the ocean, but the photos through the windows aren’t as great as the actual view because the doors to the cargo/personnel compartment had to be kept closed due to the cargo. Dense clouds on one of the trips made finding a safe route through the mountains a challenge for the pilots. The propellers stirred up the sand for a free dermabrasion during the first day’s beach landing not more than 20 yards from the breaking surf, and it took a while that night to clean the black sand out of our hair and ears. I’m fairly certain that I saw blooming epiphytes in some of the tree tops but I can’t be certain that they were orchids.
Monday was a liberty day and I went ashore with some of the dental folks to a lovely resort to relax, swim in the pool, and have a massage. Dinner at a French restaurant was a treat - escargot appetizer and warm chocolate souffle for dessert were divine. An adventurous person in our party ordered the “flying fox” (fruit bat) entrée, which was served with head on and big teeth showing - looked like a pterodactyl on a plate. She said it tasted like chicken, of course.
I worked patient registration/triage on Tuesday and Wednesday at the hospital in Luganville. This hospital is larger and has more services than the hospital in Vava’u. The days were draining as we saw nearly 800 patients on Tuesday, the weather was oppressively hot and humid, and I was coming down with a massive head and chest cold (respiratory illness seems pervasive on the ship). But the Navy rock band showed up on Wednesday to play for a couple hours near our outdoor triage area, and that definitely added a cheerful touch - my patient and I sang along together to Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” as I took her vital signs (I'm surprised that she seemed to know some of the words), and the patients in the registration queue laughed as the nurses and corpsmen played air guitar and danced the twist and bump.
I’m laying low for a day with this respiratory crud and hope to enjoy shore leave the next day or two.
Cheers!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Santo Opening Ceremony
29 Apr Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. The Opening Ceremony on Santo was quite different in many respects from the Closing Ceremony in Vava’u. The ceremony was held outside of the chief’s community hall. The hall was built of all imaginable materials - the roof was corrugated plastic covered with dried palm fronds secured by chicken wire, the walls were solid wood, lattice wood, woven pandanus, bamboo, and cloth, and the floor was concrete. I thought the simple but rich textures were a lovely contrast to the dull gray concrete block buildings erected in the former East Germany during the Soviet occupation, which Hilarie, JoAnn K, and I saw 3 years ago on the Christmas Nutcracker Tour led by Helga and Jack of Posh Journeys.
Today’s ceremony started with a tribal dance by native ni-Vanuatu (Melanisians) wearing loincloths, palm fronds, leaves, headgear, painted torso and face, and performed in a tight cluster facing inward while chanting and pounding the ground with long sticks. There was also a pig on a leash, and from Michener’s description of the importance of the boar in ceremonial tribal culture in “Tales of the South Pacific”, I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be a good day for the pig. And so it wasn‘t, as the pig was sacrificed to honor the occasion while we watched. I believe it would be served at a feast in the evening (I‘m eating fish onboard Cleveland, thank you). The sun then broke from behind the clouds, and there were many speeches honoring the hosts and guests. The people of Santo are still very grateful to the US Navy and Army for defending the island during WWII, and for the lasting improvements they made to the Luganville area that are still enjoyed today, e.g. fresh water catchments and filled marshland that reduced the mosquitoes. The ceremony was concluded with a reception line in which the Pacific Partnership personnel formed a line and the locals walked the line shaking the hand of each of us. Thus I got to say hello to all of the local attendees personally. Compared to Tongans, the ni-Vanuatu Melanisians are much darker, shorter, and thinner, and seem more reserved although certainly friendly. I’m putting some photos on my flickr photo stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/babs-pp11.
Cheers!
Today’s ceremony started with a tribal dance by native ni-Vanuatu (Melanisians) wearing loincloths, palm fronds, leaves, headgear, painted torso and face, and performed in a tight cluster facing inward while chanting and pounding the ground with long sticks. There was also a pig on a leash, and from Michener’s description of the importance of the boar in ceremonial tribal culture in “Tales of the South Pacific”, I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be a good day for the pig. And so it wasn‘t, as the pig was sacrificed to honor the occasion while we watched. I believe it would be served at a feast in the evening (I‘m eating fish onboard Cleveland, thank you). The sun then broke from behind the clouds, and there were many speeches honoring the hosts and guests. The people of Santo are still very grateful to the US Navy and Army for defending the island during WWII, and for the lasting improvements they made to the Luganville area that are still enjoyed today, e.g. fresh water catchments and filled marshland that reduced the mosquitoes. The ceremony was concluded with a reception line in which the Pacific Partnership personnel formed a line and the locals walked the line shaking the hand of each of us. Thus I got to say hello to all of the local attendees personally. Compared to Tongans, the ni-Vanuatu Melanisians are much darker, shorter, and thinner, and seem more reserved although certainly friendly. I’m putting some photos on my flickr photo stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/babs-pp11.
Cheers!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Arriving in Vanuatu
Thurs 28 Apr. We arrived this morning at the island of Espiritu Santo (“Santo”), Vanuatu under a gray sky, and set anchor at 0900. The ellipticle in the mini-gym on the bridge once again provided a good view of the action. We had blissfully calm seas and light winds for the entire transit from Tonga, although some personnel still got sick either from the conditions or their scopolamine patch. Transit time was spent doing physical training (PT) or mission training, e.g. use of medical equipment, preparation for helicopter transport, etc. We were confined to berth quarters one afternoon during military exercises so we turned our berth into the “girlie” spa, and did a facial/hair make-over, gave each other shoulder/neck massages, and watched a DVD movie. I haven't had this much fun with "the girls" since my days living in the dorm at Mary Washington College. Any other spare time was spent reading or walking the flight deck to enjoy fresh air and natural light. Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself in the middle of the Pacific walking the flight deck of a Navy ship, nor preparing for helicopter transport to a remote medical site, which is my nursing assignment for Saturday and Sunday (more on that afterwards).
My brother John gave me a copy of Michener‘s “Tales of the South Pacific“ to read on this trip. Michener based the book on his time on “Santo” during WWII. The musical “South Pacific” is also based on the islands of Vanuatu. I just looked at the Project HOPE Public Affairs Officer’s (PAO) aerial photos taken from the helicopter when we first arrived this morning - this is definitely a tropical paradise. This is becoming a popular destination for wreck diving so I’ll be interested in seeing what the town Luganville has to offer when we have a liberty day.
In case you had trouble finding my photos on Flickr, here’s the weblink address http://www.flickr.com/photos/babs-pp11. And you can see the PAO's photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/radder86.
Cheers to all!
My brother John gave me a copy of Michener‘s “Tales of the South Pacific“ to read on this trip. Michener based the book on his time on “Santo” during WWII. The musical “South Pacific” is also based on the islands of Vanuatu. I just looked at the Project HOPE Public Affairs Officer’s (PAO) aerial photos taken from the helicopter when we first arrived this morning - this is definitely a tropical paradise. This is becoming a popular destination for wreck diving so I’ll be interested in seeing what the town Luganville has to offer when we have a liberty day.
In case you had trouble finding my photos on Flickr, here’s the weblink address http://www.flickr.com/photos/babs-pp11. And you can see the PAO's photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/radder86.
Cheers to all!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wallowing along
24 Apr somewhere between Tonga and Vanuatu. The heat finally broke in Tonga on Friday, our last liberty day, so I snorkeled on a cloudy rainy day with thunder, lightening, and 25 knot wind gusts. We were a merry band of 14 Aussies, 2 Kiwis, and 4 Americans. Our host captains did their best to make it a great day for us by choosing a protected snorkeling spot, serving lunch on the boat instead of a beach BBQ, and keeping the rum punch flowing. The fish and coral don’t care about the weather so there was plenty to see. I don’t think it was my imagination that the coral didn’t look as healthy as on my trips in 1998 and 2005.
On Saturday morning we stowed and secured our belongings, and at 1500 we left Vava’u for Vanuatu. I decided to multi-task by working out on the elliptical in the mini-gym on a bridge overlooking the ship’s bow, while watching the crew hoist the anchors. Soon we were headed out the channel into the open Pacific. There was a glitch 3 hours underway, which kept the engineers busy for a few hours, but all seems fine since then. Thankfully the Pacific is living up to its name so far - peaceful - calm seas and about 12 knots of breeze. The Cleveland’s class of ship has a wallowing motion like an alligator, hence her gator logo/mascot. So she rocks slowly back and forth, more to port than starboard, while the bow swings from side to side, and the rocking seems to pause now and then. Definitely an odd motion, unlike any sailboat that I‘ve been on. I wore my wrist seabands for the first 24 hours to avoid seasickness, but have removed them for now. Getting around ship isn’t too difficult in these conditions so I hope they hold. There are 2 straps to hook vertically across the rack (bunk) opening to prevent you from rolling out in rough seas. The elliptical faces starboard so when she heels to port you need to hang on to the handles to keep from being pitched off the back. But the view is fantastic - blue water with occasional whitecaps, puffy clouds on the horizon, and no land in sight!
The mess has run out of salad greens, so it’s canned/frozen vegetables until resupply. I hope the apples and grapes don’t run out as they are the only fresh fruit available now. I’ve put some photos on a Flickr site (this should be the link to my photostream): http://www.flickr.com/photos/babs-pp11/ . It was miraculous to be able to upload them considering the bandwidth limitations, but they’re unorganized until I figure out how to do that.
Cheers to all!
On Saturday morning we stowed and secured our belongings, and at 1500 we left Vava’u for Vanuatu. I decided to multi-task by working out on the elliptical in the mini-gym on a bridge overlooking the ship’s bow, while watching the crew hoist the anchors. Soon we were headed out the channel into the open Pacific. There was a glitch 3 hours underway, which kept the engineers busy for a few hours, but all seems fine since then. Thankfully the Pacific is living up to its name so far - peaceful - calm seas and about 12 knots of breeze. The Cleveland’s class of ship has a wallowing motion like an alligator, hence her gator logo/mascot. So she rocks slowly back and forth, more to port than starboard, while the bow swings from side to side, and the rocking seems to pause now and then. Definitely an odd motion, unlike any sailboat that I‘ve been on. I wore my wrist seabands for the first 24 hours to avoid seasickness, but have removed them for now. Getting around ship isn’t too difficult in these conditions so I hope they hold. There are 2 straps to hook vertically across the rack (bunk) opening to prevent you from rolling out in rough seas. The elliptical faces starboard so when she heels to port you need to hang on to the handles to keep from being pitched off the back. But the view is fantastic - blue water with occasional whitecaps, puffy clouds on the horizon, and no land in sight!
The mess has run out of salad greens, so it’s canned/frozen vegetables until resupply. I hope the apples and grapes don’t run out as they are the only fresh fruit available now. I’ve put some photos on a Flickr site (this should be the link to my photostream): http://www.flickr.com/photos/babs-pp11/ . It was miraculous to be able to upload them considering the bandwidth limitations, but they’re unorganized until I figure out how to do that.
Cheers to all!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Fond Farewell to Vava'u, Tonga
21 Apr 2011, Vava’u Tonga. Can it be true that the Vava’u Tonga mission is winding down already? I spent most of the past several days working in the diabetes clinic testing blood glucose levels, checking blood pressures, and talking to patients about diet and exercise. We improvised with the supplies at hand to clean an older man's ears that were heavily impacted with wax. He left with a big smile because he could hear again. But now the last patients have been seen and it’s time to move on to Vanuatu. The Closing Ceremony was held today at a public school where repair work was done by as part of the civic mission. Speeches were made to honor all participating nations (Tonga, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and the USA), the US Navy band played, the Tongans sang and performed traditional dances, and a luncheon feast was served. It was a bright sunny day with no breeze and wilting heat/humidity, but there were smiles all around. I admit to a wave of homesickness as I remembered my two previous trips here with Fred and wished he was here again with me to see the happy Tongans.
Food is always a good item for cultural exchange. As much as we were interested in tasting Tongan food, the Tongan staff at the hospital were interested in tasting “that food you get in the brown bags”, i.e. our lunch MREs (meals ready to eat). So on the last day at the hospital I offered up my MRE to a couple of curious Tongan nurses, and I ate the fresh fruit that they brought for us (pineapple, bananas, papaya, coconut) - I know I got the better end of that exchange.
From my volunteer hours at the RotaCare clinics in Santa Cruz and Monterey I know the important contributions that the volunteer interpreters make to the medical care of our patients. The same was clearly true in Vava’u. The interpreters included the hospital staff, Latter Day Saints missionaries (young American and Tongan men and women), American Peace Corp volunteer(s), English-speaking family members of patients, and English-speaking patients themselves who stayed to help at the clinic after their own treatment. We had a few simple phrases about diet and exercise translated to the Tongan language to use for diabetes and hypertension teaching materials for those patients who don‘t speak English.
My last day at Vava’u will be an all-day sailing and snorkeling trip to Ovaka Island and Swallows Cave. I hope the reefs are as healthy now as they were in 1998 and 2005. The next challenge will be living aboard while underway. I hope the seas are calm as I’m not looking forward to navigating the steep stairs in rough seas. My berthing area is aft, and 1 deck below the mess hall and 3 decks below the computer room. I think it will be a 5-day sail, arriving in Vanuatu on 28 Apr. Cheers!
Food is always a good item for cultural exchange. As much as we were interested in tasting Tongan food, the Tongan staff at the hospital were interested in tasting “that food you get in the brown bags”, i.e. our lunch MREs (meals ready to eat). So on the last day at the hospital I offered up my MRE to a couple of curious Tongan nurses, and I ate the fresh fruit that they brought for us (pineapple, bananas, papaya, coconut) - I know I got the better end of that exchange.
From my volunteer hours at the RotaCare clinics in Santa Cruz and Monterey I know the important contributions that the volunteer interpreters make to the medical care of our patients. The same was clearly true in Vava’u. The interpreters included the hospital staff, Latter Day Saints missionaries (young American and Tongan men and women), American Peace Corp volunteer(s), English-speaking family members of patients, and English-speaking patients themselves who stayed to help at the clinic after their own treatment. We had a few simple phrases about diet and exercise translated to the Tongan language to use for diabetes and hypertension teaching materials for those patients who don‘t speak English.
My last day at Vava’u will be an all-day sailing and snorkeling trip to Ovaka Island and Swallows Cave. I hope the reefs are as healthy now as they were in 1998 and 2005. The next challenge will be living aboard while underway. I hope the seas are calm as I’m not looking forward to navigating the steep stairs in rough seas. My berthing area is aft, and 1 deck below the mess hall and 3 decks below the computer room. I think it will be a 5-day sail, arriving in Vanuatu on 28 Apr. Cheers!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Mission begun
My first clinical day was 15 April at the local hospital. We arose at 0415 for 0500 muster in the Well deck to board the LCU landing craft that would take us ashore. The LCU rests on an interior wooden deck within the stern of the ship. After the personnel and equipment board, the ship ballasts down to flood the interior deck and float the LCU so she can back out and be on her way. Local buses met us at the dock for the short drive to the hospital. Clinic was set up, and after prayers and singing, patient registration began. Most of the nurses including myself registered patients. After registration, patients were sent to the appropriate group for their care: Adult Medical, Pediatrics, Dental, Optometry. A field suite for minor surgeries was also available. Paper records are kept by the hospital but our mission uses a PDA electronic records system. As part of my PDA training I sat with the doctors while they examined patients and entered their notes and pharmacy orders into the PDA. The teams were multi-national including personnel from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Tonga. Although the children are now taught English in school, many adults don’t speak English so the interpreters, locals and Mormon missionaries, were an important addition to the team. The patients were very grateful for their care.
Most likely heat/dehydration has upset my intestines so I had to miss clinic today and stay on the ship with Imodium, electrolyte drink, and probiotics. It’s been difficult to adjust to the heat. Although much of the ship is air conditioned to the high 70s, the rest of life is in the 80s while we wear long pants, dark shirts, sturdy shoes and socks, and a backpack, and often stand in the sun for long periods. Any shade is a god-send. The constant roar of the ship’s HVAC is wearing. But I’ll adjust to all of this. I’m living in a Female Berthing area in a locked room currently with 9 other women, and it is more comfortable than most. Bunks are stacked 3 high. Everyone is very collegial and respectful, which is important for such a small space where people work different shifts and are coming and going at all hours. The residents clean the their berthing areas including the heads so that was part of my duty today since I stayed on ship. Navy food is pretty good. The MRE (meal ready to eat) for lunch yesterday was interesting - I was lucky to trade for a tuna meal.
More later. Best to all.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Déjà vu Vava’u
13 April 2011. Malo e lelei from Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga. After 4 flights and hours of layovers, I’ve arrived at the first mission port for Pacific Partnership 2011. The people you meet while traveling have interesting stories, e.g. Roger who grew up in a missionary family in Papua New Guinea and now is a businessman in southern Australia traveling to Vava’u to look for additional business opportunities. And the young English couple with a Lonely Planet travel guide in hand who’ve been traveling the world for the past 18 months. The 7-passenger plane from Tongatapu to Vava’u, stuffed to the max with baggage, made for a spectacular low-altitude flight over the islands and reefs. But now I’m in Vava’u for the 3rd time (first 2 times with Fred and friends on bareboat sailing charters), and got the scoop on the current conditions from the Navy advance team over dinner. Ah, the tropics, where the chocolate melts and the sweat pours! Went to the local crafts market to buy a precious hand-fan, as well as shell and coconut husk jewelry. Now it's hurry up and wait for transit to the ship. The landing craft were unloaded this morning before a crowd of curious locals. To inquires from the locals about the purpose of my visit, they respond that they'll be coming to the clinic for treatment of whatever ails them, so I'm looking forward to meeting them again within a few days. More later.
Cheers,
Bridget
Cheers,
Bridget
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Making lemonade
Santa Cruz, CA. I’m almost ready to leave on my volunteer nursing adventure in the South Pacific with Project HOPE and the US Navy. The bad economy is handing out lemons to recent graduate nurses - meaning it's almost impossible to get a job without considerable nursing experience. So I’m unemployed, but making lemonade from those lemons by doing volunteer nursing. I truly enjoy volunteering at the RotaCare free community clinics in Santa Cruz and Monterey - wonderful volunteer staff and patients. When I decided to become a nurse I knew I also wanted to do international volunteer work, especially in tropical countries where Fred and I like to vacation. But why Project HOPE? At the Fungus Fair I met a retired physician who told me about his good experiences on 2 international volunteer missions with Project HOPE (thanks, Denis!), so I decided to look into their volunteer opportunities. Fred and I have twice sailed in the beautiful kingdom of Tonga, so when I saw that Project HOPE would be going to Tonga with Pacific Partnership 2011, I knew I must apply for a position. I assumed my international volunteering would be after I had worked for awhile. But why not now?
So on Wed 13 April I meet the Project HOPE team on the amphibious transport dock USS Cleveland in Vava’u, Tonga, location of the start of the 3-month humanitarian civic mission referred to as Pacific Partnership 2011. The Navy describes the mission thusly: "Pacific Partnership is Pacific Fleet's annual mission to improve interoperability for crisis situations, humanitarian and civic assistance, and disaster relief. The main body of the U.S. assistance is arriving on the amphibious transport dock ship USS Cleveland (LPD 7). Pacific Partnership is a team effort between partner nations and host nations, which invite the multinational force to provide medical, veterinary, dental, and engineering subject matter expert exchanges. Pacific Partnership 2011 is the sixth iteration of this mission." Partner nations include Australia, New Zealand, France, and Japan. Additional host nation locations will be in Vanuatu (28 April-10 May), Papua New Guinea (19 May-1 June), Timor Leste (14-25 June), and Micronesia (3-15 July). There will be shipboard transit time between countries, and liberty stops in New Caledonia (11-14 May) and Darwin, Australia (8-12 June). I’ll be a Community Health Nurse with Project HOPE, so my experience with the RotaCare clinics will serve me and my new patients well. Sweet lemonade!
You can read more about the mission at the following Project HOPE sites:
Blog http://www.projecthope.org/news-blogs/In-the-Field-blog/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ProjectHOPEorg
Twitter http://twitter.com/projecthopeorg
Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/projecthopeorg
and the US Navy site:
http://www.cpf.navy.mil/pp11/
I plan to update this blog at least once in each country as internet access allows. Hopefully I can upload some photos or put them on a Flicker site (more on that later). So until Tonga ...
Cheers,
Bridget
So on Wed 13 April I meet the Project HOPE team on the amphibious transport dock USS Cleveland in Vava’u, Tonga, location of the start of the 3-month humanitarian civic mission referred to as Pacific Partnership 2011. The Navy describes the mission thusly: "Pacific Partnership is Pacific Fleet's annual mission to improve interoperability for crisis situations, humanitarian and civic assistance, and disaster relief. The main body of the U.S. assistance is arriving on the amphibious transport dock ship USS Cleveland (LPD 7). Pacific Partnership is a team effort between partner nations and host nations, which invite the multinational force to provide medical, veterinary, dental, and engineering subject matter expert exchanges. Pacific Partnership 2011 is the sixth iteration of this mission." Partner nations include Australia, New Zealand, France, and Japan. Additional host nation locations will be in Vanuatu (28 April-10 May), Papua New Guinea (19 May-1 June), Timor Leste (14-25 June), and Micronesia (3-15 July). There will be shipboard transit time between countries, and liberty stops in New Caledonia (11-14 May) and Darwin, Australia (8-12 June). I’ll be a Community Health Nurse with Project HOPE, so my experience with the RotaCare clinics will serve me and my new patients well. Sweet lemonade!
You can read more about the mission at the following Project HOPE sites:
Blog http://www.projecthope.org/news-blogs/In-the-Field-blog/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ProjectHOPEorg
Twitter http://twitter.com/projecthopeorg
Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/projecthopeorg
and the US Navy site:
http://www.cpf.navy.mil/pp11/
I plan to update this blog at least once in each country as internet access allows. Hopefully I can upload some photos or put them on a Flicker site (more on that later). So until Tonga ...
Cheers,
Bridget
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