Spontaneous Thanksgiving Picnic & Shopping Spree

It was Thanksgiving Day in America and a day like any other day in Madagascar.  My friend and I took a Land Rover into town to pick up a few things from the grocery store. We saw the same group of people that we routinely see outside the store selling fresh fruit just hoping to make a sale from the “wealthier people” that shop in the actual grocery store, versus street stalls and vendors. It is heartbreaking as a number of children and adults with some health concerns beg at the grocery store as well. They rub their bellies with their hands and mime an eating motion and say “chop chop” and put their hand out hoping for a handout. A few of those begging have some serious medical conditions and my friend and I are working on making sure they have been given a chance to have surgery on the ship. Even though the ship has been present in town for months and last year, not everyone knows what Mercy Ships does and that we could help them. There is also the potential that we cannot help them. The need is always greater than the resources, but we do what we can.

Years ago, I was on the team in charge of all the patients Mercy Ships accepted and declined. During that time, we had a drop box at reception where any crew member could drop information they received on patients in need. People are so desperate in the countries we serve, that it was standard for Mercy Ship’s crew to be approached in town by those in need.  We encouraged all the crew to collect any of the details they could on the potential patients, phone numbers if they had one, or where they were located when they saw them so we knew how to find them later if we thought we could help them.  I remember being handed pictures of those in need anytime I went off the ship in Liberia and Sierra Leone. There was always a crowd waiting outside the port gate in Liberia desperate for help. I was handed pictures of those with mangled limbs, faces, and bodies. Some of the pictures were quite graphic, but when you are struggling so intensely, you’ll do anything for help.  People were hoping and praying to get their needs, or those of a family member seen so they could get help. I cannot help but smile as I just recalled the time I got a 2 page, neatly printed paper with pictures of men with hernias of all sizes. A gem of a Swiss nurse had apparently been approached in town and people started dropping their drawers, desperate for help. There were hernias the size of melons and down to the knees on people. He organized all the pictures on a file with contact information and gave it to me. It was an honor for our team to reach out to help those patients. 

Enough of my rambling.  There is a little boy with mangled legs that is very small in stature that begs outside of the grocery store. He would be much taller if one of his shin bones wasn’t distorted and folded almost like an accordion.  I have seen him a number of times and one of the local interpreters has been reaching out to him and the others as well. Through her, we learned his name is S. He reminded me of two kiddos I had not thought of for a LONG time. Sahr in Sierra Leone 2011, and Yaya in Guinea 2013! Their stories of healing were incredible (See photos below). I cannot believe how much he resembles them. I am not a doctor, so cannot diagnose, but it sure looks like a type of surgery we are capable of doing on the ship. 

I wish I could scoop up all the people in need and take care of their worries, hunger, fears, and health concerns. I wish I could have had them all over for a meal. But since that is not possible, my friend and I decided to have a spontaneous “picnic” on the grass outside the supermarket with them. We purchased 20 little bags of yogurt in the store and decided to share with those that joined us on the grass. Yogurt here comes in a bag that one can tear the corner off of and eat directly out of the bag. It sort of resembles a Go-Gurt from the USA. We knew if we stood up passing out food we would be swarmed and overwhelmed. We approached a group of mamas and babies and my friend recognized S.’s mom. We sat down next to them nonchalantly. In my French, I asked where S was. He was on a blanket out of our sight napping. We slowly opened our grocery sack and showed one person the bag of yogurt and said “cado” which means gift, in French. Then little hands came out of everywhere wanting yogurt. We quickly ran out and counted how many people remained in need. There were at least 10 wanting food. My friend decided to go back to the store and purchase more. I sat on the lawn with my spontaneous picnic crew. My friend came back with 15 more bags of yogurt. Again, hands came out of everywhere reaching for the food. I was having a hard time remembering who I had given some to and who I hadn’t. I realized an older man took 2 and was back for a 3rd yogurt. I got upset at first, but then realized he was sharing with others down the road and it is not my job to judge. He was hungry and if this was all the food I may have access to for days, I would be desperate and do the same. A little boy with a grin that melted me was sitting next to me. He reached out his hand for a yogurt bag. Silly little guy. I saw his unopened yogurt bag behind his back. Ha-ha. I gave yogurt to a lady with a baby. She had some type of mass growing below her lip and under her skin. It looks like the size of a large grape at this time, but we don’t want it to get bigger. Our local interpreter friend has a heart like Jesus and has learned where this group of homeless people sleeps. She will help us get her name to see if Mercy Ships can help with surgery next year. I had one yogurt left and many hands reaching for it. My friend and I prayed with our eyes open and out loud and asked God to help us give the yogurt to just the right person. I surveyed the crowd. I could not recall who was hiding a second yogurt behind their back and who was in need. I handed it to a woman with a little baby. We waved goodbye to our picnic crew and we walked back to our Land Rover and headed to the local craft market and bazaar called Bazary Be or Bazar Be depending on Malagasy spelling or French spelling. 

I had wanted pictures in this market for a long time. Our local friend forgot to ask to take pictures the other day on her routine shopping trip, so my friend and I decided we could repeat my “photo” shopping trip from a few weeks ago in this market. I wanted to capture the beauty of the market’s colors, shapes, textures, and all, to remember it. I could do without a number of the smells for sure, but that’s half the experience. We started with the butcher in the market. I approached him and asked if we could buy a picture. He agreed. He got into our request and started sharpening his knives for us, thus the video. I handed him the equivalent of a few cents and he was ecstatic. There were very tiny chickens with barely any meat with their feet still attached being sold, along with a pile of flies swarming around. There were some types of hoofs on display for sale as well, but I didn’t want to pay every butcher for a picture. 

Next we moved onto grains. I love the colorful arrangement of the grains on display.  We approached the store owner and asked if I could buy a photo. He said no money was needed and let us take photos. We were thanking the store owner when I saw a frail looking petite woman out of the corner of my eye. I feel my thigh was bigger than her entire waste. She looked weary, defeated, worn out, and like she’d had a hard life. I didn’t have to imagine her life was hard. Life is hard for most here, by our standards. She made the motion that I am getting very familiar with. She rubbed her belly with her hands and mimed an eating motion and mouthed “chop chop.” She did not approach us; she just stood at a distance. My friend and I looked at one another and approached the woman. Somehow I am the interpreter when we are in town. My French is mediocre at best, but it’s better than nothing. I asked if the woman was hungry and I knew the word for rice, so I asked if she wanted some rice and told her we would buy it. She looked shocked, or maybe my French was so bad, she had no idea what we were saying. My friend jumped in and pointed to lentils and beans with the vendor where we had just taken pictures. We told the store owner we wanted .5 kilo (1.1 pounds) of each of those along with the kilo (2.2 pounds) of rice. I know the word for eggs in French, so asked the lady if she’d like some eggs. She nodded her head. I had just seen the prices for eggs when our new butcher friend was showing off his skills. I asked the shop owner how much eggs cost, to see if it was a good price, or if I needed to walk back across the market for the .13 cent or .16 cent eggs. My friend and I remembered salt and oil would be good to get for the woman as well. It wouldn’t do any good to give her the rice if she couldn’t cook it. The woman stared at us, without words as we paid for the items and handed them to her. She folded her hands in a praying motion, brought them to her lips and head, and gave a little bow, as if expressing deep thanks. My friend and I thought fruit would be lovely for her along with her grains. I asked her if she wanted fruit. My French vocabulary expands a bit more when it comes to fruit vocabulary and we were able to purchase her some bananas. She declined the pineapple, or looked at us with disbelief, that we would actually buy her pineapple. We paid about .66 cents for an entire bunch of fresh bananas. I do not even barter for costs on these items, they are ridiculously cheap by our standards and what good is it for me to bless the hungry woman and deny those selling it their full requested price to provide for their own needs. While we were waiting for our change from the banana vendor, a lady selling lychee offered us a taste. My friend loves lychees so gladly accepted. I am extra cautious to not overwork the guardian angels of my intestines, so I was going to decline. But, I saw how the fruit was peeled, so thought I would be safe to try it. A lychee is red on the outside and white on the inside. For some reason, I feel it has the texture of an eyeball. No, I don’t in fact know the real texture of an eyeball, but that is beside the point. I tasted it and noticed I don’t care for them anymore than I did when I tried my first one on a street in London in 2010. The store owner did not offer the frail woman with us any lychee, so I pointed to our friend. It made my heart happy that the vendor offered our friend 3 lychees where we were each only given 1. The woman thanked the store vendor. 

I continued my role as a second-rate interpreter and my friend kept supplying the cash. I was afraid to tell my friend that I was pretty sure our friend in need wanted a new shirt as well as the food we were purchasing for her.  My friend looked at me as if asking, "What next?" I confessed to my friend that I felt our new friend wanted a new shirt. She said, “why not?” We went back to the vendor who sold us the grains and I asked him where we could buy a shirt like the woman was wearing. He pointed me in the right direction. When we arrived at the vendor’s booth, I greeted the vendor and told her we desired to purchase a shirt. The vendor started showing us shirt options. She pulled a pink colored shirt down from the display and handed it to the woman. The shirt was HUGE compared to her, but I imagine most clothing is too big for her. I am pretty good at saying colors in French, so asked the lady what color of shirt she wanted. I wanted to make sure she got a shirt SHE wanted, not just one that she thought we wanted her to have. She settled on a lovely mauve-pink colored shirt. She tried it on and she left it over her other shirt and smiled ear to ear. She again folded her hands in a praying motion, brought her lips to her head, and gave a thank you bow to us. She smiled and smiled and hugged me. I thought it was odd that she hugged me, when it was my friend that kept handing the money to buy the items, even though we agreed to split the cost. Maybe she hugged me because I was the one who had been talking to her. In a combination of French and English, I told her God loved her, she was seen, and not forgotten. Then my friend and I walked out of the market and back to the Mercy Ship Land Rover. We were getting ready to drive away and she came running after us. I got out of the car and she motioned that she wanted a piece of paper. She wanted us to write our names down for her. I wrote God loves you and signed it with our names. She smiled and waved us off. I think our shopping spree totaled around $12 USD. With tears in my eyes, I told my friend there was no other way I would have wanted to spend my Thanksgiving.

Back on the ship, I met up with Dustin after he got off work. We made our way to the dining hall and were very blessed that the dining hall served American Thanksgiving food for the menu. Our menu included homemade rolls, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans with almonds, turkey, and gravy. Dustin and I are not “hardcore” Americans apparently, as we passed on the sweet potatoes and stuffing, but it was awesome to have it available. We had saved some mashed potatoes from a previous meal, so we were happy to have that with our Thanksgiving meal. 

As Dustin and I were getting ready to enjoy our meal in our cabin, we had a knock on the door. Dustin received a special delivery from America. He was extra thankful for a Pepsi from America! I found the list of crew traveling to Madagascar from America and wrote a gal weeks ago asking if she would help transport a Pepsi to bless my husband. She agreed! She also brought some Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and homemade beef jerky from my dearest friends in Vermont, who are an incredible blessing in our lives. I met them when I lived in New Hampshire and we became fast friends. They welcomed me into their hearts and home and I couldn’t be more thankful. We have remained friends to this day and I call them my “adopted parents” Mom K and Scout Master Kent. What an extra special treat for Dustin to have on Thanksgiving.  We took a photo together on our couch with our fall decorations and by our front door when I was on my way to night shift. 

Dustin rallied his extrovert energy and joined the group of Americans on board celebrating Thanksgiving. I believe there are 119 Americans on board out of 350 plus crew.  Some of the long-term crew had planned ahead and brought supplies with them to make pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or other traditional Thanksgiving treats. Some ingredients are available at local grocery stores, but not all.  Dustin came home with some awesome homemade macaroni and cheese and rolls that he saved for a later meal. I was thankful enough to have the memory of my “virtual pumpkin pie,” my spontaneous picnic, and to be working the night shift. I can’t think of a better way to spend Thanksgiving.

*Note some of these pictures were from 2012 before updated patient photo guidelines were set in place. Also the way the photo collage design formatted, some of the photo credit is missing in the pictures. All credits to the photographers.

Jurassic Park & Virtual Pumpkin Pie

There are a lot of things I am thankful for, but today I am thankful for the smell of fall. Autumn has always been my favorite season. I love the cool crisp mornings. I adore the leaves changing colors. I enjoy walking in piles of leaves and kicking them in the air. I love hearing the crunch of leaves beneath my feet. It was near heaven for me to live in New Hampshire for 2 years in the middle of the splendor of the fall foliage. I’d live in New England again if God and my husband gave me the green light. I am always up for a fall trip to visit my brother and his family in the Concord, Massachusetts area because the trees are incredible and of course, I love my family.  I love watching candles shimmering on a fall evening and smelling Crock-Pots stewing.  I can give or take Christmas, but I am a big Thanksgiving and fall fan. I didn’t pack much in terms of clothing coming to the ship this time around. I knew from previous experience on board that I live in scrubs so I didn't need to waste luggage space on clothing. Instead, I brought “homey” things with me. I did my best to bring fall with me to the ship. I have a lighted leaf garland, some pictures of pumpkins and leaves, some fall pillow cases, and someone sent me a beautiful “thankful” garland.  I brought vinyl clings for my walls and doors. I even brought a fall themed dish towel and washcloth. My mom sent me a homemade quilted Thanksgiving fabric decoration she had made. The only thing missing is the smell of fall in my cabin. We aren’t allowed to burn candles for safety reasons, so I have just been dreaming of the smells of fall. Until a few days ago… 

I finally felt well enough to operate heavy machinery and took my driving test for the Land Rover a few weeks back. It had been over 6 years since I had driven a manual vehicle with manual transmission and 12 years since driving in Africa. I joked with the transportation manager that I needed him to pull the Land Rover AWAY from the ocean for my driving test. I did not want to accidently put the Land Rover in the ocean just starting it up. I am thankful the manager moved it to the center of the port driveway for me to reacquaint myself with driving manual transmissions. Much to my surprise, I did not even stall the Land Rover once on my test drive through the city with the transportation manager and Dustin as my faithful cheerleader. I dodged pousse pousse drivers (2 wheeled carts pulled by a driver-man on a bike), tuk tuk drivers (motorized tricycles with open sheet metal cabins), many pedestrians, and potholes. I made it back to the ship and even reversed the Land Rover into its parking spot next to the ocean without parking it IN the ocean. 

Some friends talked me into taking the Land Rover to “Lemur Park” technically called Parc Ivoloina in the area a few weeks back. I was still nervous for a “real” drive in town, so did not want a full Land Rover of 9 people. I agreed to take 3 people along with Dustin and me. It was pouring rain as we left the ship and I was still uncertain if I was up for the adventure, but I had committed, so that was that. Our destination was a mere 8.3 miles from the ship, but it took more like 55 minutes related to the road conditions. Yes, I was out in town, playing “Frogger” again, or for the younger folks it was like Mario Kart and I am Mario or one of his buddies driving my little car and trying not to avoid bananas, shells, or fireballs as in the game, but trying to avoid motorcycles that come out of nowhere, handcarts, Mamas with baskets on their heads, goats, babies tied to their little sisters’ backs, kids selling peanuts, you name it.  It actually was a blast! It was raining so much I was dodging little mud filled lakes (potholes full of muddy water). What a great time. 

We had no real idea where we were going but that was half the adventure. We passed little villages, little shops along the side of the road. We passed people pushing handcarts. We saw a beautiful river and wooden dugout canoes. I wanted to stop there. We turned off the main road when we saw a sign or the “Lemur Park”. The road got bumpier and I wanted to yell, “yee-haw!” It was like a bucking bronco ride. My passengers swayed back and forth in the seats as if being tossed by waves in a storm. They bounced to and fro with the bumps. We giggled. My lemur loving friend squealed with excitement seeing every little kitty, scrawny dog, little ducks or chickens along the side of the road. I was excited every time I saw a little baby with a stocking cap on. Dustin yelled, “There’s chicken nuggets in their natural habitat” as we passed the little chicks. I laughed out loud and our animal loving friend yelled, “Dustin” and then she giggled as it was hilarious and he’s so soft spoken normally. We drove farther and farther off the main road and I really hoped we were going the right way. Then we saw a sign for “Lemur Park.” 

I felt like we were in a scene from a Jurassic Park movie. The lush jungle, the pouring rain, the tropical plants, the canopy of the trees surrounding the car, and the bumpy road. We joked that any minute a massive dinosaur was going to come out of trees and attack and eat us. There were 5 of us in the Land Rover and our friend Daniel, from Ghana said at least he would live, because the camera man never dies in the movies. Hahah. I said the plump white girl often lives for at least awhile. Hahaha. We said Dustin may get eaten after our petite, little, outspoken, white friend because that character type normally gets eaten first in the Jurassic Park movies. We all had a good laugh. We pulled into the “Lemur Park” and were greeted by the staff. We paid a modest fee and signed up to have a guide tour us around. 

I was thankful this was more of a zoo environment, rather than wild-animals-on-the-loose type of visit. We saw snakes, I am sure glad they were in a cage. We saw multiple types of lemurs. We wandered along a red dirt path in the middle of the vast green canopy of trees, weaving up and down a hill. It was still drizzling outside. We saw another chameleon. Our guide reached toward a plant and gave us each a piece of a tree bud and told us to smell it. I took a deep sniff of the bud and was immediately transported to fall and autumn. It was fantastic! Three of us smelled the tree bud and we all guessed wrong, but it was cloves! I carried the fresh cloves with me on our entire hike, every few minutes inhaling the familiar smell of fall. I smiled. We walked further and we heard scurrying in the trees! There was a family of 12 or more lemurs jumping from tree to tree. The guide said, look closer, the lemurs were enjoying fresh lychee (pronounced lie-chee) from a lychee tree!  We have already established I am not a pet lover, but it was great seeing these animals in their natural habitat again. Our guide asked us to come near a tree and encouraged us to lean in for a smell of the bark. This was cinnamon! I breathed in the cloves in my hand and the cinnamon bark at the same time. Bliss! The Lord had delivered the smell of pumpkin pie and blessed me with a “taste-smell” of fall in the middle of the Madagascar jungle! It was as if God gave me a virtual pumpkin pie! 

We continued walking in the jungle and we saw SO many turtles. The guide told us that most of these animals were brought there from the airport. I wondered why in the world there were 25 plus turtles just on the runway at the airport. I thought how great it was that they were safe from an airplane plowing them over on the runway. Oh, how daft I am at times. The animals were going to be illegally smuggled out of the country. That made much more sense. Gosh, I am dense at times! The snakes and lemurs may also have been “rescued” from the airport.  The guide showed us the “Christian Lemurs” as that is their official nickname there because they have one mate for life. He showed us King Julien, the lemur character made famous in the Madagascar movies. King Julien is a ring-tailed lemur. We had not seen this type of lemur at the Palmarium Reserve months ago. Our friend squealed! She had seen all the lemur species now. Next, we met the “Muslim Lemurs” per our guide as they have multiple wives. No joke, this was what our guide called them. 

We saw giant Jackfruit growing. They can weigh up to 120 pounds. We talked about the bounty of the land in Madagascar and all that grows there. We saw vanilla! The famous Madagascar vanilla! Did you know that Madagascar produces roughly 80% of the world’s vanilla supply, but it is not native to Madagascar? I was shocked. It was imported years and years ago. We crossed a very shady looking bridge and we joked that this was the part of the “Jurassic Park” experience where one of us gets eaten by some crazy lake dinosaur creature. I double checked with our guide that there were no crocodiles or alligators lurking in the waters that were going to eat my leg if the bridge collapsed on us. 

We all made it alive across the bridge; I know you are happy to hear that. The guide casually pulled a leaf off a tree as we walked along the lake. He rubbed it together and had us smell it. Eucalyptus! What a cool world we live in. We looked at our watches and realized we had to head back to the ship. We are only allowed to use the Land Rovers four hours for personal use per day. There was still so much more to see, but we had to go. We thanked our guide for all his knowledge and the excellent tour. We climbed back into the Land Rover and drove back to the ship. What a great day. From surviving Lemur-Jurassic Park, all of us survived, not just the “camera man” to my “virtual pumpkin pie” in the jungle, God is good! 

*Special note. I had told my friend I was not comfortable driving people I didn’t know. I was really nervous to drive on these roads again and did not want to take others along and put them at “risk” with me getting back in the driving game. Our “camera man” from Ghana was actually supposed to be joining another group, but at the last minute he was not able to ride with them. My friend who had convinced me to drive to “Lemur Park” called last minute and asked if “Dani” could join our group even though I didn’t know him. I learned his given name was Daniel and I quickly put the math together. A month or so after we arrived on the ship and I was reviewing how many people I still knew on the ship from 17 years ago, a friend looked across the dining hall and said, “you know him, too.” I was certain I did not. She said, “You sure do, but he was a little boy when you were here 17 years ago”.  I did in fact know him, he just didn’t know me. He lived on the ship with his family as a young boy aged 5-10 years old when I knew him before. He is the son of my beautiful friend, Gina, who had a smile that literally would light up any room; she was a fierce prayer warrior, and a great part of my memories on board the ship years ago. I can still hear her Ghanaian British Accent saying “Daniel” to her son in the hall or around the ship. The Lord took this treasured friend home in 2011. Daniel loves taking photos and was our actual camera man on the trip. He was hilarious and Gina and Lawrence, what a fine young man your son is! Daniel’s dad and the wife God gave him, after Gina was called home to Heaven, currently serve as long-term crew on our sister ship the Global Mercy in Sierra Leone. 

Jackfruit	Giant Jackfruit
	Eucalyptus
My Cinnamon Tree & Cloves   "Virtual Pumpkin Pie"

I finally found my Aye Aye pictures from the Palmarium trip. I finally found the photos of the 8 day old lemur with its mom as well!

See Dustin and the Rooftop River Dancing Lemur from our bungalow weeks ago!

4th Edition of “5 Thoughts from Dustin- Videos"

4th Edition of “5 Thoughts from Dustin- Videos” 

Welcome to the fourth edition of “5 Thoughts from Dustin.” We hope you enjoy the inner workings of my calm, collected, introvert husband as he processes life on a ship, in Africa, serving as an electrician. Related to me not feeling well, I haven’t asked Dustin what his “5 thoughts a day” are for weeks. With him being the extremely talkative man he is, NOT, he has not really volunteered any thoughts either. Hahah… The other day I was looking at Dustin’s phone as we use his phone camera to take our pictures. I had a good giggle at the photos he has and some of the videos. Enjoy the storms, the rain, and the singing that the deck crew does every Thursday morning before they start their shifts. Enjoy Dustin and his coworker playing with a giant water bug on the deck and a snail cruising along in the grass in the port. Ha. Guess this time we have more than just “5 Thoughts from Dustin” we have Africa through his camera lens. His thoughts are in black and my extra information is in (green). 

Thursday, November 20

1. I am looking forward to some nice ice cold fridge water from home. He texted me that. Ha!

2. Do you want some teri’yukcy” chicken? Dustin was texting me options for lunch when I was unwell in bed. He’s never been a fan of teriyaki, chicken. It sure made me laugh when he texted that. 

3. Dustin sent me the photo of him all sweaty after work on our couch in our room. They say Africa changes people. It sure has changed Dustin, he then sent me the photo of him looking like a little felt person. Haha. We aren’t big fans of AI, but it did change Dustin into a cute little felt man with an afro. I laughed out loud. I think it may be one of my favorite pictures of him ever!  It even did a pretty good job representing the photos on the wall behind our couch. 

Friday, November 21

1. I just want a BIG glass of water with ice in it from our refrigerator at home. Now I have really done it to this man, he did not even mention Pepsi! His standards have REALLY lowered. ☺ He hasn’t had a Pepsi, not even the “fake Pepsi” here for over 5-6 weeks. Pray for him! ☺  

Monday, November 24

1. That was A LOT of rain. We tried to capture some videos of the rain, but it just doesn’t do it justice. The volume of water falling from the sky is unreal and one of my favorite things in Africa. It’s like gallons of water are just dumping from the sky. Dustin asked the captain if we could watch the storm from the bridge. It was a bit dryer in there. 

2. Holy cow that was close! Dustin was watching the thunderstorm from deck 7 outside the ship for awhile before I joined him the other day. When I came out the door lightening lit up the entire sky, the electricity on land across from us all went out, and a massive thunder clap felt like it shook the ship. It was impressive! I thought it cannot be a good idea to be watching a lightning storm on top of a metal ship. We went back to our cabin after awhile and watched the storm from our window. The lightening went on for over 4 hours. We were wishing the other ships in port would turn off their lights so we could really see the storm. 

3. I love my job! I said, “You sarcastic man.” Dustin said, “Oh, yes, that was sarcastic. I asked him what the other electricians were doing. Dustin noted the other guys were servicing lights on the mast. In case you don’t know, the mast is the tall vertical pole on the top deck of the ship. It elevates navigation lights, radio aerials, and other communication and signaling equipment. It’s an estimated 40 feet up in the air off the top deck of the ship. I asked Dustin if he would rather be doing that. He quickly replied, not in this heat!” 

4. It’s still hot. I have not acclimated to it yet and I don’t think I will. 

5. I don’t know. 

6. I still want a BIG glass of water with ice from our fridge! 

Tuesday, November 25

1.  I just want food I can pronounce. We have a VERY talented galley team and they make over 1,200 meals a day, I believe. My dad knew exactly because he served in the dining room here in 2012 and he told me how many meals the dining room/galley team served a day. We have not gone hungry, but are getting a great cultural and culinary exposure here. Dustin often Googles what the menu says to know what is being served. ☺ 

2. I just want a BIG glass of water with ice in it from our fridge. 

3. Oh, I still want a Pepsi! Phew, I was getting concerned. He hadn’t mentioned Pepsi for days. 

4. I want our fridge to be on the same level as our bedroom. We walk up one deck here to water. We walk down one deck or up 3 decks to get a cup of ice. 

5. I don’t want to be an electrician on a cruise ship. Maritime electrician work is not my favorite.

6. I want our laundry room on the same floor as our bedroom. We go up 3 decks here for laundry. 

7. I read a book about camping... it was intents!

8. I read a book on antigravity...I couldn't put it down! 

9. I was starting to read a book about black holes... but it was too dark!

10. I tried to read a book about xrays... I could see right through it! 

11. I read a book about electricity... it really sparked my interest!

12. I read a book about weight lifting... it was heavy! Dustin texted me ALL those jokes. I asked him if the made them up... He sure did! Bet you guys didn't know Dustin was so good at "dad jokes & so punny!" 

Money well Spent & Respect for the Local People

I have joked on more than one occasion that I wish I had a camera in my eye so I could blink and take pictures of all the beauty in life around me without looking like a tourist. What I would give for some pictures of the things I have seen over the years in Africa and around the world! I have friends who shamelessly take pictures and videos everywhere. As much as I want photos like the rest of people, I just cannot do it. I feel like I am violating some unspoken rule of respect. I wouldn't want people taking pictures of me in the grocery store, on the street, or in town without asking. A few weeks ago when Dustin and I were wandering around town, we happened upon a smoothie shop.  In French, I asked the store owner if I could "buy-purchase" a photo of their shop. They asked why I wanted to take a photo. I told them I just loved all the colors and variety of fruit lined up. I told them many of those fruits are not available in my home country. There was something about the colors in the midst of the dilapidated market shops, dirt, mud, dust, and open sanitation everywhere that captivated me. The store owner was happy to let me purchase a picture. In French I asked the price. They wanted 20,000 Ariary (Ar) , the local Madagascar currency, which makes around $4.43 USD with the current exchange rate. I laughed and they laughed. They knew it was a VERY high price and thought they could pull one over on me. A few days ago, I posted 2 pictures of the local currency. It is beautiful in itself. There are no coins, only bills in Madagascar. For perspective, here are some local costs:

A tuk tuk ride-local mini taxi across town costs 1,500 Ar around .33 cents USD

An entire pizza costs 29,000 Ar roughly $6.44 USD

A 1.5 liter bottle of water costs 6,000 Ar roughly $1.33 USD

One meter of fabric, so almost 1 yard and 3.37 inches of fabric costs about 3,000 Ar roughly .66 cents USD (yes, I have hit up the fabric market more than once here). ☺  I am excited to have a tailor making me a few items. Enjoy pictures from the memory vault of outfits I had tailor made for mere pennies during my years in West Africa. All the outfits in these pictures were made in Africa.

The donut I found for Dustin a few weeks ago cost 2,190 Ar roughly .49 cents USD

Access to the local swimming pool is 15,000 Ar so roughly $3.32 USD

The Pepsi we found that Dustin could tolerate from Pakistan costs 5,000 Ar so roughly $1.10 USD. He is sad that it’s been unavailable for over a month, although I have, in faith, walked the few miles to the little store every so often in hopes I can find a treat for him. We have not yet found any. 

Pepsi Zero costs 5,500 Ar for ½ liter bottle, roughly $1.21 USD

The grocery store sells a “non-Dustin” approved ½ liter bottle of Pepsi for 3,500 Ar roughly .78 cents USD. The giant snail in the picture with Dustin's "yucky" Pepsi was free and he didn't charge for a pic.

I found salsa for Dustin and a small jar cost 11, 790 Ar around $2.61 USD

Tortilla chips to go with the salsa cost 10,990 Ar around $2.43 USD

A box to take your leftover pizza home costs 2,000 Ar around .44 cents USD

For entertainment, yes, I do very different things for entertainment, but you knew that already, I popped into the local pharmacy the other day. I can buy a wide range of things without a prescription. Malaria treatment costs 24,400 Ar $5.12 USD and many cannot afford that and die from malaria daily. The most common worm medicine called Albendazole, costs 16,200 Ar roughly $3.59 USD. A few years ago I tried to get a dose of this same medicine in the USA. Both are manufactured in India and other locations, not the USA and in the USA it was going to cost me over $400 USD. I looked up the cost of it a few days ago and it was over $900 USD at home, unless you had a coupon from GoodRx! Another common medicine for parasite treatment costs 8,300 Ar, so $1.83 USD. 

It costs 5,000 Ar to ride the local Ferris wheel in town. That equates to around $1.10 USD. Yes, there is a Ferris wheel in town. Which I was shocked with as well, do not be fooled, a Ferris wheel is no indication of a country’s poverty status.  Madagascar ranks at 177th out of 193 nations on the United Nations Human Development Index which measures three basic dimensions: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge/education, and a decent standard of living/income. For perspective, Iceland is ranked at the top, followed by Norway and Switzerland, and a number of other European countries follow with the USA pulling in ranked 17th out of 193! It was never my intention to ride this Ferris wheel. It looks sketchy at best with questionable electricity and structures in town. Yet, to my surprise, I learned it was not powered by electricity at all. It was human powered! Yes, human powered. And much to my squealing as heard in the video, it scared the daylights out of me and I had no idea the men pushing it and climbing among the spokes could move it at such a speed. As my stomach dropped going around and around in circles, I yelled sorry to my ship friends if the zebu I just ate came out of me! What a way to celebrate my friend’s 30th birthday! It reminded me years ago of the adventures we create here to celebrate life. For my own 30th birthday party when I was on the ship in 2012 my friends hosted a “dress like Laura Z” party in the main lounge on the ship. It was hilarious to see my friends; even guys wearing basketball shorts, cut off t-shirts, and bandanas or headscarves just like me. Some people borrowed my clothes and headscarves. Many wore giant hoop earrings like I used to! They represented me well! It was a great way to celebrate turning 30!

I know many of you may be concerned that my sweet Dustin may be growing a man bun at this time. Never fear, he’s been without Pepsi for weeks, but still has his wits about him. He would not let that happen and he braved a local barber a few weeks back.  He got a hair cut for 20,000 Ar which was around $4.43 USD. He wasn't a fan of the extra margin left by his ears, but couldn't put the hair back. He wanted it a little shorter in the front, so chopped off the bangs when he got back to our cabin. Ha.

A one hour massage costs 50,000 Ariary around $11.08 (thank you to the donor who supported me to get this massage, it really helped me get rid of the headache I’d had for over 6 days). 

It costs 300 Ar so 0.07 cents to stand to use the toilet here. Yes, you should have been with me for that experience as well. Being a volunteer here, I am on a budget. I knew it cost money to use the local toilet in town. I drink so much water in town to prevent dehydration in the heat, I knew I could not make it back to the port, and then walk the ¾ miles to the ship without finding a bathroom first. Thus, I went with the cheapest option, less you think I am over here living it up and spending my entire supporter’s money on massages. Not once did I think that there would be stand-up and sit down options for women in the bathroom. That never crossed my mind. I was in for a surprise when I was let into the stall for the pissior. It was not a sit down ride, even though I did get a ticket. See the attached photo. I can’t help but laugh that I got a ticket for the toilet. Well, to stand and drip dry. There was no toilet paper included with the purchase of the ticket.  I told Dustin about that experience and we decided next time I needed the toilet we could splurge and spend the 700 Ar so .15 cents USD so I could sit, although I often choose to hover anyway! Dustin then noted well heck, the sign said it’s only 900 Ar so .19 cents USD for an entire shower, you can do that if you want! 

So, when my smoothie friend wanted 20,000 Ariary for a photo of his shop, which most tourists are not even kind enough to offer to buy a photo, we laughed. I settled on paying him 10,000 Ar roughly $2.17 USD which was the smoothie cost, but I declined the smoothie. I love smoothies and prayed for the sweet little girl enjoying her smoothie. I don’t think my photo captured it, but the fresh fruit was covered in swarms of flies. A lovely older man, who was selling mangos next to the smoothie shop, waved a giant make-shift fan out of plastic pieces back and forth in an attempt to keep the flies away. The water the smoothies were being made with came from an open Tupperware of slightly brown water with flies nearby as well. The gentleman was very thankful for my purchase of the photo and Dustin and I continued strolling down the market. 

I had seen the flower section in the market a few times, but never had the chance to stop by. I asked Dustin if he was willing to go with me. He agreed. As I approached the flower section in the market, the lovely shop owner jumped up and started pulling together a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me. I wanted her to make a living as well, so I asked if I could “buy” a photo of her flowers. In French, I told her we could not take the flowers with us.  In many countries, we are not allowed to bring flowers on board, just like when you are asked in immigration and customs at airports if you are bringing plants, flowers, or fruit in with you. This is for our protection as greenery, flowers, and fresh produce can harbor harmful insects and plant pathogens. It isn’t just about control. I did a research paper on soil transmitted helminthes years ago in my Diploma for Tropical Nursing course. This stuff is legit and you don’t want to mess around with the parasites that can “piggy-back” into your life through what appears to be innocent means. The flowers were beautiful and it cost me 5,000 Ar around $1.09 USD for the picture. The flower shop owner appeared very happy that I paid for a picture of her flowers. 

I still don’t have a camera in my eye as I have wished for years, but over the last few months, I sure have enjoyed times off the ship with Dustin and the adventures we have experienced. Thanks for tagging along. I believe my $3.26 USD was well spent for the photo memories I captured and the respect I gave to the local people I am honored to serve here.