The end of Mercy :(

My last blog:

Wow. Summer is over! This ship is almost done with its journey, and I’m ready to sink it. I can’t wait to go home. But I’m also sad to leave the countries behind and the people I’ve met both on land and on the ship. So here are some interesting numbers to sum up what the Pacific Partnership 2010 has achieved:

Total surgeries on board:

Over 800- cataract surgeries, cleft palate/lip, hernia, broken limbs, cyst removals, extra digit excisions, etc

Total people seen ashore (medcaps):

105,000

Construction projects- schools, community centers

17 including 3 wells

Pairs of glasses given:

54,833

Value of medical repairs in clinics and hospitals:

5.4 million dollars

Value of Kayla’s experience aboard the USNS Mercy:

Priceless!

            We had FHE last night and went around our circle giving one truth and one lie about ourselves. I know our group is cool, but holy cow, that was the most interesting truth and lie game I ever played. I just have to give a list of some of the best of the best (these are the truths!):

Lynette- cousin of the Bee Gee’s- mom’s side of the fam

Kent- sang backup for Josh Groban once

Karen- ate 17 tacos in one sitting (she’s fit…no fair)

Diane- went on a double date with Ted Bundy… scarrrrry

Trudy- Awarded a speech award by Ronnie Regan

Debbie-Nixon gave a speech at her house in CA

Jones- Used to be a “circus pyro”

Jeanie- owns 300 hats

Sandy- Held hostage by a crazy patient while she was working (she’s a nurse) The SWAT team had to come in

Little Trenda- Probably weighs about 87 lbs and is a blackbelt!

Jeff- survived an avalanche

Delores- hanglider pilot

ANYWAY… to end this blog, I wanted to just share a few thoughts about what I’ve learned.

·      I’ve come away with a greater desire to serve others and a greater feeling of love for those around me as children of God.  The people I’ve worked with in LDS charities have taught me about true Christ-like service and their natural inclination to think of others before them amazes me. I am humbled when I am around them and wish I was more like that and will try harder to be as good as they are

·      I’ve seen the value in being consistent and of loving others. On MANY occasions, the LDS group has recieved compliments on how loving the group is and how helpful they are.   That wouldn’t have been appreciated if we all were kind only once, or when we felt like it.  It took a lot of work to be social sometimes I just wanted to be quiet. Reaching outside of my comfort zone has only made me happier and has benefitted others along with myself.

·      I’ve learned to be more giving. Each time I thought I was sacrificing something by giving away a possession or even something intangible, I was given something back  “ten fold” I guess you could say. I was always repaid way more than what I gave. It was kind of crazy once I realized it. 

·      I have learned humanitarian work isn’t glamorous and not everything goes the way you think it should or the way you want it to. You may only connect with just one person and have to accept that as success. Many times people come to humanitarian projects thinking they’re going to save the world, but all you can do is a drop in the ocean, and that is good. Like the starfish story of the boy throwing starfish back into the ocean- your contribution makes a difference to that one person.

·      I’ve definitely come away with a bigger passion for travel and experiencing different cultures. I can’t get enough! I need a little rest period from this trip, but I already can’t wait for my next adventure J

Thanks for caring about my life! I’ll be home soon!

p.s- one of our patients threw up a worm that was 8 + inches long and the size of an earthworm. i totally have a picture.  maybe i shouldn't post it...

The End is NEAR!!!!!

I forgot to mention the vocab i use all the time with patients:

Hello: hola (easy enough!)

Good morning/hello: Bon Dia

Good afternoon/hello: Bon Tarde

Thank you: Obrigada

8/13/10 – Good day in Peds

            What a terrible start and terrific ending to my day.  Today started like any other, which was where it all went wrong. Instead of going out on an awesome medcap (where you go out to rural villages and set up medical clinics) , I got ready like usual and went to Peds to start another day. When report was finished in the ward, they said,” Kayla you’re not on the schedule, you’re supposed to be on a medcap” my life pretty much flashed before my eyes. I couldn’t believe it. I was an idiot and forgot that I finally received my one and only chance for a medcap in Timor. I didn’t get one in Indonesia and that was a 3 week mission, so it has been over a month and a half since I’ve been on one. I ran to Casrec where they board the boats, but of course, I was too late.  I missed my chance because I was an idiot.  I was feeling pretty down since I broke my camera lense, broke lizzy’s camera, lost my ipod, lost Richard’s USB stick and now, what do I do? I forget to go on a medcap. IDIOT. I was scaring myself at the level of stupidity I was exhibiting.  But then a blessing in disguise happened. I was given an assignment, one that seemed insignificant, but ended up being one of the best days in PEDS I’ve had yet.

            We were receiving 8 audiology patients and I was in charge of “entertaining them”. I was kind of disappointed, I was hoping for a day off since obviously I wasn’t supposed to be in the room that day.  So I went over to ward 8 where all the patients were to be received.  I was just supposed to be the babysitter but I turned into the ward nurse.  I had to organize the files, assign beds, update the white board, delegate tasks, talk to pharmacy, talk to the doctors, send other corpsmen on runs/errands, make calls up to the fishbowl about discharge boats, plan patient discharges, and work with the translators to do teaching.  In between all of this, I played a little with the kids, and kept the movies going for all the teenagers.  It kept me busy but I loved doing something actually helpful for the ward beyond taking vital signs. I felt needed and useful, I was actually contributing higher level thinking skills. Wow, I actually used my brain for the better this time instead of destroying or losing something! 

            At the end of the day, the ENT doctor was so thankful for my help.  For most of the day he thought I was a nurse.  He thanked me numerous times and then before leaving, went to the other ward that is joined with ward 8 and told my commander what a great job I did and “sang praises” as Cdr Benfield said.  Then she told me later that Cdr Bayne up in Casrec (where I made my calls) “sang praises” for the good work I did.  Then, I saw the same ENT doctor in the hall after Dinner and he said, “Thanks again for all your hard work” or something to that effect, AGAIN!  It felt so nice to be A: appreciated and B: redeemed from my idiot move this morning. It proved to myself that yes, I make mistakes, but that doesn’t make me who I am. I am a capable person and can tackle different tasks.

ok this last country has been one of the best so far. The staff loves the patients and the patients love us. We've had some funny and fun times. We threw a birthday party for one of our teenagers (who turned 15, what a cutie) complete with birthday candle sunglasses and cake. Lizzy gave him an LDSC shirt and hat haha he has no idea he'll be doing missionary work. just kidding of course.  Things are ending and even though i've had a great time,  i'm so excited to get home!!! i'm so excited to stop wearing this stinkin blue shirt and scrubs!

The Best of Timor Leste

TIMOR LESTE

            Timor turned out to be a little jewel.  I wasn’t expecting anything from Timor since it is so small but what a fun time it ended up being. To start with a little background- Timor Leste is the first new country of the 21^st century.  It formed in 2000 or 2002, can’t remember. It was released from Portuguese control in 1975 and taken over by Indonesia for the next 25 years until it fought for independence and became its own nation in 2000 (?)  It is super small and is the size of Connecticut and shares the island with Indonesia.  There was a lot of blood shed in its recent history so it is just barely recovering from political unrest.  Oh by the way, it is 99% catholic and grants religious freedom and is screaming for the gospel, yet the church does not exist on the Island…yet.  Hellllloooooo lets get this party started and get missionaries over here!  Another fact- the language here is an interesting combination of Indonesian and Portuguese called tetan, sometimes I hear words every once in awhile that is Portuguese, but alas, I cannot understand the language. It doesn’t sound too hard though. Weird comment to make, but I feel like if I learned it, I could get this one down.

            That said…Dili, the city we are parked in, is great! We have limited liberty- confined to one single street appropriately named beach road.  It literally lines the beach and is a busy road.  My liberty group consisted of All new people- Emily, Debbie, Erin, and then Me and good ole Brad. I love our group leader Brad. He’s the best.

            So our happy group departed the ship and took the liberty bus to the Christ statue trail.  It was a tiled path that went all the way up this small mountain. Along the way there were sculptures of Christ’s last week before the crucifiction. At the top is a beautiful statue of Christ with his Arms outstretched standing on a huge globe.  It is pretty much a copy of the awesome one in Rio de Janiero, but smaller.  Ok, the view up there was SPECTACULAR. The mountain sits at the point of land that almost makes a peninsula. This means you can look towards land in one direction and see land between 2 sparkling, brilliant blue beaches. The sight pulls awe and wonder from any eyes that are lucky to see it. 

            After that, we walked around a little, took pictures etc.  Then, the real party started.  Somehow, Brad got in touch with an LDS man who works for the U.S embassy.  He and his family are the only members in the entire country! So starving for comrades, they so kindly invited us to dinner!  We walked up to a set of 3 nice houses gated and guarded by a guard.  He let us in and we entered the most wonderful home.  Chris and Kelly welcomed us in to a home that they had made theirs.  She decorated the place beautifully. But what greeted us first were their adorable, super outgoing, spunky little boys. They are 3 and 4 and couldn’t wait to show us their toys, go to their room, and play play play.  We talked for while and then went out to the patio and Chris grilled good ole American hamburgers complete with local bakery buns.  Delicious would be mocking how good this meal was.  On a scale from 1 to “my senses are exploding” it hit exploding.  Such good food, and then the company we were in just made the night incredible. I would LOVE to do what they are doing. Live somewhere abroad comfortably like they are.  I never even knew jobs like this existed. I’m starting to dream big. I gotta figure out how to do this.

             After getting a crash course on photography (Kelly is amazing) and talking a little, it was time to go.  Wow. Such a great night.

Darwin-my last liberty port!

AUSTRALIAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

Australia was AWESOME.  I loved my liberty time here. We stopped in Darwin, which is a really small city, but in 4 days we found enough to do. 

Day one:  Mendil Beach.  We pretty much ran off the boat crying and rejoicing that we finally were free from the prison ship. Im surprised I didn’t kiss the ground.  We walked down Mitchell street, the main street of the entire city and did a little shopping.  Everything here is so overpriced and expensive. Its frustrating and annoying.  BUT we found fun cheap things to do.

First stop was the Mendil Beach night market that starts at 5.  There are hundreds of booths selling hippie clothes, Didgerydoos (the aboriginal musical instrument –long stick with paint on it where you blow into it) Food galore- Asian, Indian, Italian, American, Australian, EVERYTHING.  There was one really cool stand with an Indian guy selling Indian fabrics, throws and bags. I bought a beautiful blue throw with a fun design and a woven black and white bag that I can’t wait to use.  The throw is really light weight so I’ll put it up on a wall for decoration in my new apartment!

ANYWAY, Me, Katie, Megan, Kent, Taylor, jane, Lizzie, Amy and I walked around for awhile and split off to all buy our dinner and met up on the beach to watch the sunset.  As you get onto the beach, there were 2 aboringinees banging sticks together making a loud tapping sound that is supposed to be music i guess. that was neat.  Me taylor and lizzie bought a kangaroo kebab and ate it together! Hey, when you’re in Australia, you have to eat the local wildlife.  We ate and then took pictures on the beach. The sunset was incredible, the colors where bright and intensely concentrated.  Afterwards, we split into smaller groups and continued to shop. After awhile, me, kent, and taylor decided we were shopped out and we sat on chairs in a grassy area and listened to live music.  It was a beautiful night under the stars, just talking. It was so nice to just relax and spend time together.

Day 2= BERRY SPRINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, this place was soooooooooooooooooo fantastic. 15 of us rented a hilarious huge 12 person bus and a small car and headed out on a 40 min road trip to the outskirts of Darwin.  In Australia they drive on the left so we had our handy English friend Lizzy drive so we didn’t cause a massive car accident.  We arrived at a red dirt, tree covered park called Berry Springs.  Guess what we found there? BEAUTIFUL BLUE FRESH CLEAN WATER SPRINGS! To swim in!  The sun was out, the water was calling, and we jumped right in.  It was nice and warm and felt so good. We explored where the springs flowed to and found a fun little waterfall to chill at and then made our way back down to the main spring.  We had stopped at Woolworth’s the local grocery store (we used that place a minimum of 6 times in 4 days) and bought lunch and brought it with us. We spent the whole day there going in and drying off and then going back in.  We went on a little nature hike and found a banyan tree the size of a dinosaur.  It was HUGE. Then we came back and discovered something amazing. Meet the curious little creatures called Archer fish. They spit at bugs in the air and then eat them. So we held out chips in our hands and the fish would aim and fire. They spit water from underwater at our hand, knocked it out of our fingers and then frantically ate it.  It was so cool! So I got spit in the face by a stream of fish water.  It was powerful, that 8 inch fish put super soakers to shame.  Such a great place. No sunburn, ha ha Australia, can’t get me.

Day 3: chillin at the Holliday Inn

Oh blessed day. This day was the first time my feet touched carpet in 3 months.  Crazy? Yes. Beautiful moment? Absolutely.  A friend of ours hooked Me, Lizzie, Kent, IT Jeff, and I up with a free night stay at the Holliday Inn. Don’t get scandalous thoughts- boys had their own room, and girls had their own room.   So we got to our hotel room which was super nice and new, and dropped off our stuff. Immediately all of us girls threw ourselves onto the bed with glee.  Seeing a down comforter, a bed wider than 3 inches past my hips was a little piece of heaven. But that moment was shortlived because we had a day to conquer. So we left and headed to the beach! Something funny about Darwin is that there are poisonous animals everywhere or crocodiles so our beach availablility was very limited. We found a gorgeous blue beach after taking the bus and walking for 10 mins and it was completely deserted.  No one was there but the LDS group. We saw a sign that said beware box jelly fish- the most dangerous jellyfish in the world.  So we were already there so we went to the beach anyway. We laid out, walked down the beach, picked up sand dollars, took a quick dip (no jellyfish in sight) and layed out to dry off. It was peaceful, beautiful, and fun.  Then we all headed out and split off into smaller groups because we all agree that massive groups means massive headaches when traveling.  Me, Brad, Kent, Lizzy and Taylor headed back to the mall nearby to get some last minute stuff and then said goodbye to tdawg because he’s on to Vietnam and his own adventures now. Georgia left yesterday so I’m running out of friends L  Its really sad. L L L

            After the mall we went back to the hotel and walked through a park that overlooked Darwin harbor. We watched the gorgeous sunset and then jeff pulled out his Boomerang! I practiced and got it down, kind of. It was so funny visiting Darwin, it seemed like the locals were playing tricks on us- Jeff asked where he could buy a boomerang and the woman (with an aussie accent and FROM autralia) didn’t know what he was talking about. She had never heard of one!  WHAT? That’s like an American not knowing what a Ford is.  Back to the sunset- as we were watching the sky, a black flapping figure crossed our vision. A flying cat? No, impossible. A bird? No. it was a massive BAT!  I’ve never seen such a huge bat in my life. It was seriously the size of a cat! A cat with wings! Super cool. Then I climbed a palm tree and took a picture.  Oh yeah, then me and kent went to the pool, I floated on my back and found the constellation Scorpio and was very proud of myself.

DAY 4: CHURCH!!!

Yay for church!   As we were waiting for the bus, we were joking that it would be great if the bus driver let us on for free since we were going to church… and then it happened! We got our ride for free! We arrived plenty early for church and once again, stood out like crazy in our dumb uniforms.  Whatever, in 3 weeks I’ll be able to wear a dress again! Can’t wait!  After a wonderful sacrament, me and a new girl named Kristin were invited to go talk to the young women about the LDSC project with the USNS MERCY.  Afterwords we went to the YSA Sunday school that consisted of 9 LDSC group members and 4 aussies. That’s tough. Stay strong Darwin YSA’s.  Afterwords we went to Relief society and enjoyed our time there. It was a great experience to once again see the church is the same anywhere you go in the world, and the hand of friendship and love is always extended and present. 

            After church, Brad, IT Jeff, Kent, Lizzy, Amy and I got lunch and walked around without a plan.  For dinner we got dominos pizza, snacks, and ate together by the hotel pool.  The weather was so nice. It was just like san Diego, perfectly warm but cool at the same time and NO HUMIDITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven’t been out of humidity for months! Oh how good that felt. We just laughed a bunch and talked for awhile and pretty much cemented our life long friendships we made. It was a great time.

            So I forgot to mention the aborigines.  They are really interesting people.  I’ve never seen anything quite like them.  I thought that they would only be found way in the outback but they were all over the city. I talked with one little aboriginal girl at the park for awhile because mom was nowhere to be found. She was adorable.  Anyway its been cool to see a culture within the aussie culture

Ternate Indonesia!

I’m a Celebrity

(Along with every other white person visiting Indonesia)

            So my day in Ternate, Indonesia was so much better than I had anticipated. Everyone who went on the “city tour” days before me were saying it was “ok”, “eh” and “nothing to see”. PLEASE. We’re at the opposite end of the earth from home! I think there is something to see in Indonesia no matter how small the city is. And oh how right I was.

            So our tour- prearranged by the ship- started at an old Portuguese fort overlooking the bay of the city.  It faced a beautiful island that housed an active volcano that took up the entire island. It was built in the 17^th century, pretty cool-the fort that is.  That’s where I met one of the translators for the ship, an Indonesian guy named Rusli. I’m really glad we made friends because it came in handy in about 1 hour in the future.

            Then we stopped at the “Sultan’s Palace” a building built in 1816 for the Sultans of Indonesia. Yeah, it was big, but you would never think a SULTAN would live there. It was quite surprising. I was expecting something more from the movie Aladdin. It was a simple yet large house with a huge run-down fountain garden area in the front and a large backyard with too many couches to sit on in the backyard area.  We walked around inside, looked at some old metal helmets made in the 1500’s (wow, how do they make such detailed beautiful work? I was impressed) and then took off.  The Sultan works and lives in Jakarta, but he comes to this place on his Bday.

            Next stop- one more Portuguese fort. This time it was perched at the top of a huge hill, overlooking the coast as it towers above all the bright colorful little buildings around it.  While we were up there, the call to prayer sounded from one of the local Mosques.  Mosques in Ternate (and I assume most of Indonesia) are found as frequent as churches in Utah. Every corner has another one.  Indonesia is 88% Muslim, and 8% Christian, so there is a lot of modesty going around.  Most women have their hair covered and wear long sleeve shirts with pants. 

            Ok if you’re going to read this blog, this is the section to read. HOLY COW, we went to the beach and it WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We walked along this gorgeous path that was paved along the edge of the land.  Below us were lava rocks, and to the left of us were palm trees and green green plants everywhere.  We came to our last bend in the path and BOOM! Again like in Guam, all of the sudden this gorgeous beach attacked from nowhere.  The sun came out and lit up the water, it was clear, blue and then in certain sections it was 4 different shades of blue in all different places.  Here is where Rusli comes in.  I was just taking pictures, walkin around, when Rusli and a guy from our tour said, “Hey, we’re going to go out on this boat, wanna come?” YES. I do! So wait a minute this all sounds sketch.  We were in this teeny tiny bay and were in a huge group and there were people from the group all around. There were 2 stands at this beach. One for food, and one guy selling inner tubes (25 cents) and canoes- Hawaiian style- wooden, with those “training wheels” type pieces of wood that stick out from the sides to stabilize it.  Complete with wooden paddles.  That cost $2, and they didn’t expect me to pay any of it. So nice!   So the guys, Rusli and Sam, sat at the ends of the canoe and I sat comfortably in the middle as we paddled out into turquoise water in the beautiful sun. Don’t worry, I pitched in my manpower and paddled to do my part…for 5 mins.  After awhile I jumped out and swam around and put my goggles on and saw angelfish, parrot fish, and cute little electric-blue fish you see in aquariums.  Oh boy, what a glorious day.  Oh wait, then Rusli kept on being super cool and bought fried bananas with salsa- a local dish, and it was SO GOOD.  Then he got a coconut where you stick a straw into it and slurp away and he let me have some. SO NICE.  I love Indonesians.

            Ok so this is why I felt like a little celeb.  As I was walking back to the tour bus, which is about 4 mins, adoring fans mobbed me. Not really, but kind of. In remote places in Indonesia, they LOVE, and I can’t emphasize this more, REALLY LOVE to take pictures with white people. It’s a pastime of theirs. If you have white skin, you’re going to be in about 50 indonesians' cameras or cell phone wallpapers. Minimum. I probably took pictures with about 100 people, no joke.  A huge crowd of mothers with babies, little children, and teenage girls and guys all wanted their picture with me, so now I’m in a bunch of random Indonesian pictures.  The girls are so funny, they wrapped their arms around my waist and got as close as possible.  At the end of the day, our bus dropped us off at a mall, and, once again, the picture taking begun.  I would walk into stores to look at the clothes, but then all the workers and/or shoppers wanted pictures with me. Once again, it wasn’t just me, I’m not on an ego trip. This happens to everyone.  But it was such a funny experience.

            Then it monsooned once we stepped outside of the mall, but apparently, rainy season doesn’t start until DECEMBER. Ummm, “dry season” is a misnomer for sure.  It poured harder than I’ve ever seen, but then again I AM from SD. But still, it was crazy. Everyone who didn’t find cover got soaked through.  As we ran/walked from the bus to the boat to take us to the ship, my shoes were absolutely saturated like sponges and I loved it.  The boat ride back was super tumultuous and adventurous feeling.  Thanks, Ternate, you’re great.

POLLYWOG NO MOREEEE!!!!! I’m an official shellback

I can’t believe I just went through what I did. It all seems like it was a funny dream.  Here we go- apparently it is an old tradition in maritime history to haze sailors who cross the equator for the first time.  Newbies are called “pollywogs” and experienced sailors are called “shellbacks”.  Back in history, the hazing was gross, violent, and gross again.  Nowadays, its all in good fun and harmless.  So 2 days ago, the ship got ready for the “crossing the line” ceremony.  The night before, every department on the ship had to have a skit ready to perform for the shellbacks’ entertainment.  Our group used MJ’s “Beat it” song and redid the lyrics.  Holy crap, the navy is a tough crowd. Every single act except for 2 got boo’d.  And if you were reeeeally bad, they made you do pushups. Luckily our group came away with being boo’d only.  Did I mention the whole ship dressed up as pirates for the occasion? Oh yeah. It was awesome. Everyone did SUCH a good job. People had stuffed animal monkeys or parrots on their shoulders, eye patches, hats, fake beards, swords (made with cardboard and tin foil) . one guy even invented a peg leg out of a toilet plunger. This was no girl’s camp skit. This was legit.

            So we performed and then went to bed in wondrous anticipation for the following day.

            5:00 am. Pots and pans awoke us with yells that we had 5 mins to be ready and all pollywogs had to get in line.  5 mins was a joke. We had about 1 min.  All of us slept in our clothes (which had to be inside out and backwards) because we knew we had no time. So no toothbrushing or makeup luxuries were going to happen. I strapped rags to my knees with duct tape and got in line.  Then on our hands and knees we went up the 2 flights of stairs and waited in the hall way as the torture began.  For an hour and a half the shellbacks paced the halls making us sing songs, making people run down the halls pretending to be airplanes, or Beyonce etc.  The reason we had to wait so long was because hundreds and hundreds of people were taking part. I had no idea what a big deal it was, but there were people there who had served over 18 years in the NAVY and they were still pollywogs. EVEN CAPTAIN Paulson! Haha I can say I was equal to the captain in one way- we were fellow pollywogs. Anyway, after the hour and a half wait, I got to the front of the line and started the physical exertion part. They made us do pushups, sit ups, jumping jacks etc etc. since I’m in excellent condition, it was easy. Just kidding, it was just really watered down because we’re on a hospital ship, it could have been a lot worse.

            Then we had to crawl up the ramps to the top of the ship on our hands and knees through sludge of jelly and go through obstacles.  When we got to the top where the galley is, I was so relieved- Breakfast time.  I was so hungry. And so wrong to think that breakfast meant break time.   I just wanted a simple pancake. They decided to give me the “house special”- everything. This included oatmeal, hashbrowns and meat, syrup, and eggs slushed into one paper bowl. Then we had to eat it while on our stomaches with no hands. As I got my 4^th bite of oatmeal in, the lady with a mop came by my food and bumped into the bowl, ending my eating time. That’s ok, I’m not a huge fan of the house special.  

Then it was time to go outside. Once again, on hands and knees, they hosed us down. With firehoses, they sprayed us with sea water and once again, put us through an obstacle course ( don’t worry, it wasn’t too bad)  I’ll save all the details for time’s sake but I’ll just tell you the grossest psychological horror I faced- we had to put our face in a bowl of dirty water and fish out a whistle with just our mouths and then blow it before heading on to the next station.  Yeah, it took me about 5 tries. I’m trying to forget that happened.  Oh and one more thing- a couple of shell backs i’m friends with decided that I should start over 3 times!  But its ok. Some people had to go back 14 times. Bless their souls.  Oh man, I have more to say but I’ll keep it “short”.  It was so fun.  Let me just say, my shower afterwords was so wonderful I would have paid $100 bucks to take it.  So now….I’m a certified SHELLBACK. Yeeeah.

I want more Singapore

Ok, Singapore was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been.  What a shocker city. I felt like I was in a movie of the future.  We were only there for 4 days as a Navy morale booster after working so hard in Cambodia, and our LDSC group took advantage of every day.

To start with, Singapore is so much like the States in richness level, but it has its own Asian influence.  The city is all A: Hotel Skyscrapers, B: HUGE MONSTER malls, or C: Apartments.  Each building is incredibly unique.  Either its shape is super different and weird, or the decorations on the building are super cool, or they add lights to it and give your eyes a lot to look at. Everywhere you look is a postcard picture. Every street has huge rows of green towering trees and greenery filling in any space. The city is super lush and tropical. It is so beautiful. 

Alright DAY 1: RAINFOREST ADVENTURE

            We took the MRT (monorail public transportation) to a section of town and got out and walked about 10 mins and found the start of our trail. It’s a park right in the city, but this was no central park.  It is a JUNGLE in the city. Once you enter, you only hear sounds of monkeys, or bugs, or just beautiful silence (which is non-existant on the ship) and you are surrounded by green everywhere. We walked and walked like pioneer children for about 2 hours and came across our goal- the canopy bridge!!!  They had a suspension bridge that crossed the canopy so we could look out and see the miles of forest we were surrounded in.  We had to face the guardian of the bridge before we could cross- an angry monkey. He decided to let us cross after showing his teeth.  The view was incredible.  We walked another hour and came out of the park and then BAM you’re right back in the city and buildings come out of nowhere.  Like a popup book. So then we went to a “Hawker Center” to get food. Its just an outdoor food court where the stores line up in a ring and you eat at tables in the center.  All the food was wacky asian food.  I could have gotten fried chicken feet, but then a beautiful thing happened. Me, Georgia, and Amy found a little jem.  We found an Indian food stall and ordered from there the best meal I’ve had probably this whole year.  Murtabak+prata+ Roji John+ spicy rice+ some curry sauce= heaven. Pure deliciousness in my mouth. We spent the entire meal talking about how much we loved it.  Seriously. Nothing else was spoken but praise for Indian food.

Ok moving on.

Day 2: Chinatown and Little india

            This day was really really cool too.  I found some great local art, bought a fun church dress, and walked around in a huge poncho.  It downpoured so I looked awesome with my backpack under a poncho that said “London Tours”, and walking around 5 feet wide.  Indian people laughed at me. But that’s ok because I was as touristy looking as it gets.  Me, Karen, and Lizzie walked into a random Indian food court, ordered something we had no idea what it was and tried it out.  We were the only white people in sight and totally out of our element. And that’s what made my day.  I am loving this cultural immersion and all my experiences trying so many new things.  My mind is being opened as I am learning about other cultures.  It fascinates me and teaches me something different each time I get off the boat.  I can’t really express all the feelings I have about this Mercy trip.  But I am realizing how much I love travel and change, cultures, and trying new things.  This experience is definitely changing my outlook and my life.

Day 3: Sentosa Island

            Beach day.  We also got a “family package” deal and bought tickets for a LUGE! We went on a short ski lift to the top of a hill, and raced down in little go carts/luges. No accidents or casualties.  Just pure fun. We explored the little island off of Singapore and then came back to the actual Island and had yes- more Indian Food. Glorious Indian food. Once again we were the only white people there in a bustling food court of mixed cultures. So cool.  Something that made the trip even better is that I was surrounded by people I love who were appreciating the same small and large joys and fun things as I was. 

Day 4: CHURCH THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            Ok, I haven’t been in a church building in almost 2 months and I finally got to go to one!!! We took the MRT to the church building and its huge! 4 floors! And so beautiful! We definitely stood out because LDSC says that we have to just wear our uniforms so we went in our great little blue polos and khakis. Oh how I love our outfits. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. So we enjoyed a wonderful Church block/service/ whatnot and after, we talked to a way cool lady. Her name is Kris. She was born and raised in Singapore, Joined the church at 21, served a mission a year later (in Singapore), and then 5 years later, married one of her converts!! How cool is that? Maybe I should try that out…just kidding. Totally kidding. Anyway, She is so bright and happy and strong.  She invited me and Georgia and our group over to her apartment but all 35 of us probably would have made the apartment feel like a closet so me and Georgia got a smaller group together and agreed on a time to meet for dinner at her place.  Meanwhile… about 7 of us in the LDSC group had small world encounters with the members at church. Here’s mine:  I walked out of church because we were getting ready to go and I saw Elders coming and one looked familiar so I just stared at him.  I thought this kid was serving in Switzerland but no, he’s not. This guy was in my freshman ward at BYU and we ran into each other in Singapore!! How crazy is that!??  It was really cool to run into him since I obviously haven’t seen him in 2 years.  And one Elder I met is from my Roommate’s hometown and knows her.  Wow.  Ok back to the other great part of the amazing day.  So then we went to the Botanical Gardens of Singapore and it was free (woop woop! nothing in Singapore is free!)  and after seeing a wide variety of botanical things, we went to dinner at Kris’s.  I gotta wrap things up.  Suffice it to say…the food was SO SO good. The company was SO SO good. And it was the perfect ending to our Sabbath. It meant so much to our group (we brought 8) to be able to keep the Sabbath day holy and relax and have fun. What a trip man.