I'm comin' up so you'd better get the party started

This weekend we went to the big market, called Danktokpa (At least, we think that's were we went! I didn't see any love potions or hippo heads, so it might not have been it). It was about a 45 minute walk from the ship. We had to cross the street several times, which is probably the most dangerous part of walking in Africa. There aren't those pesky "traffic laws" that govern how people function on the road. When you cross the street, you basically look both ways, take your life firmly in your hands, and run across, preferably while screaming in terror.


The market is not clean or nice. But it has a TON of stuff. There is a large variety of stuff there too. In shoes, they had everything from football (soccer) shoes, sandals, keens, tennis shoes, heels, and anything else you might think of. They were all in heaps on the ground. I didn't bother to take the time to look through. If they even have shoes my size, I'd still need to find two that match. The ground is all mud and dirt. At one point, my roommate Lisa and I looked down and were horrified to see a mouse. But this mouse looked like it was half drowned in muddy water and was suffering some form of mouse mange. We looked at each other wordlessly after watching it crawl under a FanMilk cart tire. Suddenly we both burst out with, "WHAT WAS THAT?" It was hilarious and nasty.


We found this stand that was selling head scarves. There was a waist high pile of them on the ground. The man kept flipping the whole thing over and over for us as we rooted through them. They were about 40 cents per scarf. The guy who was turning it was really surprised that I was speaking English, which I got a kick out of because he was also speaking English.





Saturday night there was a costume dance party. Lisa, Katie, and I went as Benin footballers. It was really fun. I hope we have another dance party soon!



Katie, Kelsey (going as a deckie), me, and Lisa




Today I got a card from my friend Chelsea's grandma! How cute is that? Chelsea is another crew member and her grandma asked about her friends and mailed some of us cards. It made my day! Thanks to her!

You can't always get what you want

Benin, mid-September

Back home, I hear that the leaves are turning. It's even snowed! Here, it is just getting hotter! The lighting in the evening reminds me of fall and I feel sad that seasons here consist of hot and rainy, and hot. While my parents were battling 22 degree weather with windchill of 0 (F, not C), I was sweating like crazy at the Benin vs Ghana football game. Wow!

We are all missing fall here. My lovely coworker Kendall was baking, and the cookies and muffins smelled like cinnamon. She organized them into almost a cornacopia design, and then we decided we absolutely MUST have some sort of fall Starbucks beverage. With my know-how of Starbucks drinks and Kendall's drive, we made quite passable carmal apple spices. Our next attempt has been pumpkin spice lattes. So far, the results were a little gross and weird, and the texture was similar to mucus, but I remain optimistic that we will find something that will work.

I was looking online at winter hats and longing to purchase one. It is silly, I know. Here I am, having the adventure of a lifetime, and I am sad that I can't buy a winter hat. Even if I wasn't in Africa, most people who know me can attest to the fact that I do NOT need another beanie (toboggan for my east coast friends). My argument that the hats I have been looking at are CUTE doesn't seem to quite cut it.

But you're gonna have to hold on

This week has been really hard on the ship. There are a lot of sick people, including my beloved bunkie. I felt sick too, but for different reasons. One of our security guards was hit by a motorbike while running in the morning so he is in the hospital. A large group of people left on Friday night and had to come back because their flight was canceled, thus leaving our overworked hospitality staff with the quandry of where to put them. Overall, people seem really discouraged.

Please pray for healing for all the sick and hurt people and a restoration of morale!

On a lighter note, I'm going to Ghana the last weekend of October. I'm very excited to see the country whose citizens call "the promised land." It should be lovely.

I don't have much to say besides all that, so I thought I would post some pictures.




The beach at Ouidah

The Point of No Return for slaves leaving Africa

Something that the Cotonou port should probably remove. Also the future "Grey Mercy" which you can ask me about if you really want to know.

Guess what most people here drive. Come on! Just guess!

Back of the ship

Down the dock.

Hole in the wall. If someone could just photoshop my finger out of there, it would be a pretty cool picture. (Hint hint)

I keep your photograph

Not sure why these pictures are so small, but here are some pictures from the game:

African concessions

I want a fuzzy football hat.

Final score!

Ahhhh! The photo for which we were posing when the game winning goal was scored.

It's me, Katie, and Megan.

I should know that you're no good for me

SAFETY AND SECURITY: U.S. citizens should avoid crowds, political rallies, and street demonstrations and maintain security awareness at all times. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1066.html





(I was sitting about three rows above the man with the yellow umbrella)

Disregarding the State Department's advice, several large groups of Mercy Shippers when to the Benin vs. Ghana football game. This game was a HUGE deal for Benin, because if they lost, they were out of the running for the African Cup. The atmosphere was electric with excitement.

A group of us went to the game in a Mercy Ships vehicle. We slowly drove through the masses, drawing a lot of attention because of our car and our complexions. A police car cut through the crowd in front of us, so the guy who was driving followed it. It headed past the long lines of people towards a gate, and so did we. We got to the gate and were waved in behind the cop, which we all found impressive. However, Katie and I wanted to buy jerseys and one of the other girls in the group didn't have a ticket, so we ventured out of the gate and back into the crowd.

Katie and I got our jerseys pretty quickly and the other girl got her ticket, but then some of the girls wanted to buy Ghana wrist bands. As we were standing by the blanket with all the merchandise on it, a guy grabbed my hand. He wanted to talk to me. He introduced himself as David and asked my name. I told him I didn't want to tell him my name. He wanted to know where I was from and I said America. He asked when I was going back and I said that I wanted to talk to my friends now. Katie started talking to me at that point, but David stuck around and we had a similar conversation a few minutes later. Persistent, these fellows. The girls FINALLY struck a deal that they were happy with and we headed back towards the gate. We passed the line by and cut in without waiting, just like the Americans we are.

We got some pretty good seats for about a minute until all the people in the cheaper seats rushed down to see the teams get out of their buses. We didn't like the crowd so much so we snuck around the side and sat up in a less crowded area. Arguments and one full on fight broke out in the areas around us, but none got close to us and were all stopped by the police or other fans before things got too out of hand. Most people were just excited to see the game. We waited about two and a half hours for the game to start. There were at least three separate bands for Benin, all playing their own songs and doing their own separate thing. The relatively small Ghana section never stopped dancing. (As an aside, Ghanaians have the most national pride of any people I've encountered thus far. I have the opportunity to go to Ghana in a couple of weeks and I'm quite excited to see "the promised land" as they call it)

Benin, the underdog going in, dominated the game. We guessed that they were in possession of the ball about 75% of the time. But no one scored. As the time ticked towards an end, we were getting a little bored. The scoreboard time was officially up, but the refs for whatever reason let the people play for a couple of minutes after it was over at the end of both halves. Katie, Megan, and I turned around to pose for a picture and in that moment, Benin scored. The stadium erupted in shouts of joy. It was amazing and very cool.

We waited a few minutes before heading out. Everyone was patting our backs and trying to talk to us about the great victory. We made it to our car and out of the stadium rather quickly. Everyone was waiting around to see the bus with the players drive out.

It was all so much fun and an amazing experience. Just so you all know, I was in a large group of people that included several men and we were all very aware of our surroundings the whole time. There was never a moment when I felt in danger. So don't worry, my lovely friends and family!

Today I got a letter!

Please pray for my shipmates. There are some illnesses going around, and there are actually three people who got malaria on their trip to Ghana.

P.S. I wanted to make sure you all know that Mercy Ships always informs us of safety threats. For example, they have posted several places that there are no safe beaches in Benin and are always reminding us of the dangers of taking zemidgans. They didn't say anything about the football game.

You should know now that I feel the loss

Yesterday I got to shadow the PT and OT. It was really cool. I got the afternoon off and searched and searched for Ward E. Finally I found it, hidden among actual rooms and completely outside the hospital section of the ship. Mariechen, the Occupational Therapist from South Africa, talked to me a little while before she ran off to the Ghanaian embassy. After she left, I shadowed the physical therapist, Megan.

I really enjoyed seeing what they did. Megan basically played with this little girl who is recovering from surgery to release scar tissue from burns. The girl kept trying to use her good arm to do the activities, and Megan would tease her and make her laugh until she would use her recovering arm. It was hard watching them bend her arm though. The girl didn't speak much English, but she did know "small small," which she was able to say through her tears as they gently forced her arm to bend farther. Megan also looked at a man whose arm had been broken eight months ago. He had radial nerve damage so a large part of the muscles on his arm were wasted away. He was very determined to recover.

It was really neat to get to go down there and see all this. I fully intend to do it again soon.

Yesterday a day worker was killed. He was a translator, and yesterday was his day off. His zemidjan was hit by a car. I saw some of the day workers when they found out. They were sobbing. It was really sad.

For the sake of ending on a positive note, here is a picture of some of my friends. From left to right, Jamie (Hospitality expert), Kendall (fellow Sales diva), me (Coffee and foam manager), and Katie (Cookie and cake manager).

Everywhere I'm looking now

There is something weird on the ship. We're painfully aware of the fact that we are in Africa living in a really poor area. Yet we forget. People are just as much slaves to their vices. Diet Coke espically. We ran out of that last month. I saw some serious dejection in the faces of many people. Some of the food in the store is expired. It's crackers and stuff, so it's not like it is spoiled. It is just stale. But then some people get all concerned about it. I want to say, "Guys! We're in Africa! Seriously. Who cares if the Ritz bitz are a little stale? Would you rather get some mystery cracker in town?" We're a little spoiled here.

Things we need in the States:

-Ritter Sport bars

-Youki soda, particularly Pamplemousse and fruite de cocktail

-Fanmilk, as well as more liquids in bags

-Stroopwafels (The Dutch can really do sweets. Seriously.)

-Dancing in church

Random fact:

Most gas stations are roadside stands that have gasoline in glass bottles. This is because the vast majority of vehicles are motorcycles. They just stick a funnel in the gas take and pour it on in.

Also, I have never seen so many well dressed, classy women riding motorcycles in my life. It's awesome.

Please pray for Togo. That is were we're having the next outreach, and their elections are happening two weeks after we get there. They typically end up bloody. Foreigners aren't typically involved, but it's a concern.

This picture is of me feeling concerned that they have a whole menu section for poisen:

On a completely unrelated note, I've decided to learn French. Fortunately I can do that on the ship!

I'm stuck in Folsom prison

On Saturday I went to prison.

Fortunately, it was with a group from the ship (You can all relax now). It is something people from the ship do every Friday with a local prison ministry. We all met early to get briefed on the day and pray. The girls were all told to wear long skirts. We gathered in cars and drove out to one of the many nondescript walled compounds that dot the city, espically near the docks. We piled out of the cars and gathered. After some chatting and milling around, which are essential pre-activities in Africa, we were herded through a massive iron door into a small room. There was a fence, and when our name was called, we could go around the fence into the other part of the room. After that, we went through a smaller iron door and were officially in prison. The men's area was packed with men of all shapes and sizes. Some wore colored jumpsuits which meant they were prisoners who worked for the prison. They all watched us as we paraded to the sections of the prison we decided to visit.

There are three sections: Men, youth (teenage boys), and women. I chose to visit the women with Katie, Michelle, Chelsea, Bonny Jean, Kendall, and several other women. The women's facility was less crowded, but it was extremely hot because the high walls prevent airflow. There were women sprawled out in various stages of sleep and lazyness. There were cooking fires and clothes hung up to dry. And then there were the children.

Let me take a moment to explain prison in Benin. You are guilty until proven innocent. Many people haven't even had a trial. And many people have been falsely accused and put in prison without a trial. Most inmates don't know when they will get out. I'm not sure exactly how the children get in prison. My guess is that either the women are pregnant when they go into prison, or they have to take their children with them because there is no one else to care for them. I noticed that all the kids that I saw were girls.

Most of the children got a huge kick out of us. One girl didn't need any time to get over shyness. She sat on all of our laps at least once and loved getting hugs and dancing around us. I thought she was pretty great, even when she started bending the pages of my Bible pretty badly. After Bonny Jean hid it under her skirt, things got a lot better. This little girl lifted up her dress at one point and exposed her herniated belly button. I was horrified as I'd never seen one before, but fortunately my nurse/awesome bunkie Katie had seen it and told me what it was. Apparently it's very common for kids to have that here. According to my other roommate Lisa, they think it's because the kids get carried on the mothers' backs so they don't develop stomach muscles as well. I had another little friend who was probably three. She would hide from me so I'd hide from her and then we'd jump out. She never warmed up enough to get hugs and everything, but she seemed to like us well enough.

Katie got one little girl to love her. The girl was stoic and basically stared at us. She didn't change expression, even during singing or when I made faces at her. Then Katie came along and sat with her. Next thing I notice is that the girl is in Katie's lap laughing as Katie tickles her. When it was time to go, she held Katie's hand and almost cried as we left. It was very hard to watch.

I, I want to wish you well

One of the hardest parts of living on a Mercy Ship is that you get really close to people very quickly. Then they leave. So you make wonderful friends from all around the world, and in a relatively short period of time, they leave. And no matter how close you were, you may or may not see them again. Ever. So I am going to strive to commemorate the departure of at least my roommates, because it's sad.

Lauren: (The one on the left. The one on the right is Michelle!)

I only knew you for a week or so, but I'm sure we would have been fast friends had we actually hung out. You seemed fun.

Sonja:

You are so sweet, and you have a gentle spirit. I really appreciate how you would always tell me about what you learned in church and how you engaged with God about it. You're great, and I'll really miss you!

Irina:

Our relationship defies explanation. And I think that's okay. You are remarkably sweet, and also you're really fun and crazy. I will not miss getting hit so much, but I will miss you and all the fun we had.

Say say oh playmate, come out and play with me

I was asked to be a cabin checker yesterday. Most people get asked that eventually. This means that during fire drills I have to go check five cabins or so to see if the people are there and account for them. I was all excited to start my new job with the next firedrill on October 1, but then I got an email that said that I was to be "ashore" for the firedrill. Basically, they are practicing for an emergency on a weekend when crew wouldn't be there to do their jobs, so my number came up to not be available. So maybe next time I will get to heroiclly knock on doors and say, "Cabin checker." One can only hope.

I'm so happy because my Canadian friend Michelle changed her departure dates so she can sail! She and I have started to go for walks at night. She's been here two and a half months and she knows where stuff is in the city. She's also not very intimidated by the crazy experiences of walking in Africa. Last night there was this train thing coming down these tracks that we were going to cross. We've walked by those tracks a lot and have never seen the train. It was like a tiny train engine with a really loud horn that could control its speed really well. It had to be able to. People cross those tracks and drive on them and there is no way they could just barrel down them and not kill people. Anyways, there was all sorts of honking and there were a TON on people and I was really intimidated. But Michelle was all calm and not so much nervous. She's a stud. Also on the sail will be Bonny Jean and Chelsea (hi Chelsea!). They are two wonderful America girls who work in the dining room. Pretty much awesome, these girls. Kendall, my lovely fellow sales staffer, will be there as well. It should be a good time.


A couple of weeks ago I went to Ouadah. This little fellow was enjoying asking for food from our group members, although he never ate any of it.





As I bent over to put him down, my nalgene fell out of my backpack. He picked it up and put it where anyone would if they were carrying a Nalgene:







So cute.