About 6 months ago I heard that the church was looking for volunteers aboard a US Navy hospital ship in the South China Sea. Specifically they wanted a licensed environmental health scientist so I eagerly signed up.

Because I couldn't get the whole summer off from work I chose to go on just one leg of the trip--embark in Singapore, travel down the Indonesian Archipelago then north to a remote group of islands near Papua New Guinea, and finally south to Darwin, Australia and then home.

I will be working with a team looking at the water supplies in villages and testing drinking water, we will also teach people about basic sanitation, vector control and food safety.

After six months of anticipation I am just about ready to go.

Hope you enjoy the blog!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Why the Navy is more foreign than Singapore:

Singapore

Language: Everyone speaks English

Transportation: Subway system is clearly indicated everywhere and easy to navigate.

Cultural Faux Pas: Chewing gum and spitting in public.

Population: Dense, but I can at least, get my own hotel room

Attitude Towards Tourists: Exceptionally tourist friendly


Navy Ship

Language: Everyone speaks navy jargon and you must learn it to get around.

Transportation: You have to memorize what can be accessed from each of the six unconnected, color coated stairwells, where they each lead, and which decks connect.

Cultural Faux Pas: Don't wear your hat indoors, Don't put your hands in you pockets during muster, and Don't take pictures of the boat if a guard happens to be in the very small corner of the picture. Oops.

Population: I sleep on a shelf in a room with 126 other women.

Attitude Towards Tourists: Today I was turned away from the ship store, the Computer help desk, the library AND the ID station during regular operating hours, each because they were occupied with more important tasks.

It might take a little getting used to, but once I learn the ropes, I think I really am going to like it here.
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5 comments:

  1. AmberJuly 5, 2010 at 9:08 PM

    good comparisons. So this shelf is it a bunk shelf? How far up do you have to climb, are you afraid you'll far off?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJuly 5, 2010 at 9:34 PM

    I've always wanted to sleep on a shelf. I'm jealous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnnaJuly 7, 2010 at 8:22 AM

    Amber, you just said "far off" instead of "fall off." Was that intentional to make fun of Asians? I'm just trying to keep up with the humor around here :)

    Kidding.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AmandaJuly 15, 2010 at 9:50 AM

    haha... very clever ladies.

    so meg, it sounds like the picture i showed you may have been pretty accurate as far as ship bunks go

    ReplyDelete
  5. MarieAugust 2, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    I hope you have not been offed by the Navy for describing the barbaric conditions on that ship. Stay alive, Megan! The world needs to know the truth!

    ReplyDelete

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