1. I can roll out of bed in the morning 5 minutes before I need to be at work...because it takes me about 30 seconds to get there...take a few steps, down a flight of stairs, a few more steps and I'm there!
2. At any given moment, patients may burst out in songs, someone starts playing the drums, and voila: a dance party breaks out in the middle of the ward!
3. I occasionally got to have church together with my patients...and also got to play volleyball with the ones who were staying at the hospitality center (after they were discharged from the hospital...those who lived far away and needed to come back for dressing changes stayed there)
4. One hour of my shift was spent out on Deck 7 with the patients...taking in the sunshine, enjoying a beautiful view of the beach, and occasionally singing worship songs together!
5. At the beginning of every shift, we start the day off right by praying together!
6. Seeing the before and after surgery pictures....and the smiles that followed as the patients experienced physical (and often emotional and spiritual) transformations
7. It takes approximately 1 minute to get to: the post office, church, work, the coffee shop, the bank, the store (ship shop), the internet cafe, or to my friends' "houses"....because it's all on the ship :)
8. On those lovely nights that my friends and I decided to run on the dock, we would be joined by mice and cockroaches, which would inevitably get in the way of our jogging path every time...simple things like going for a run are so much more interesting when you live in Africa!
9. When walking down the street, you will almost always see a small child who happily greets you with "yovo, yovo bon swa" (good afternoon, foreigner)...with which you are supposed to reply "sava bien, merci" (I'm fine, thank you)
10. Someone cooks for me and cleans up the dishes after every meal! There are very few other places where you'll find that!
11. The most effective way to leave someone a message is done with a sticky note on their door! (let's be honest, getting a text just isn't as fun as finding a sticky on your door...and our phones don't work here anyway!)
12. I live/work with people from all over the world (US, Canada, Honduras, Dominican Republic, England, Holland, Germany, Italy, Ghana, Liberia, South Africa, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand...to name a few...I'm still missing a bunch)
13. I can wear flip-flops to work :)
14. There is always someone around to socialize with....even at the oddest hours of the night!
15. If I ever need to clear my head and get some fresh air, I can just go up to Deck 8 and have a nice view of the beach!
16. I can get a frappucino for less than a dollar (and it's real Starbucks coffee too!)..You can't do any better than that!
17. Lots of smiles, hugs and "I love you's" from the kiddos!
18. If a baby on the ward started to cry, I would just wrap them on my back and continue going about the day...worked like a charm every time! (The African mommas trained me well :)
19. Mercy Ships became so well known, especially in Lome...people would see us walking down the street and just say "Mercy Ships! Thank you!"...Also, crossing the Ghana and Benin borders was super easy...they would look at your Mercy Ships badge, say "Mercy Ships!" and stamp your passport!
20. The people I work with are also the people I eat with, live with, and travel around Africa with...it's easy to get close when you spend time together 24/7!
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