Back to Ship Life

As many of you well know I enjoyed my experience so much when I was in Guinea that I signed up to return almost immediately upon arriving back home. Well, almost eleven long months have passed since then and here I am, back on the ship.

Bridge full of locks put there by couples. Kinda adorable.

On my way here I had a lovely long stopover in Paris (not by my choosing but it worked out great!) so I decided I couldn't sit in the airport for 14 hours while one of the most famous and loved cities in the world was just outside. My brief little solo adventure was amazing. May I just say that Paris is definitely a beautiful, old city. I could have spent a lot more time then I already did wandering through the streets.

View of the city from the Eiffel Tower.

                  

Statues everywhere.(Notre Dame in background) 

Any way, back to Africa. After almost a week on board it feels like I never left. Sure there are some changes, furniture switched around, new people to meet, oh and a new city to explore, but on the whole it feels very similar. I'm excited to discover all the little differences, make some new and strengthen existing friendships, and get to know the new patients.     

My living arrangements are quiet different. Which at first I wasn't to pleased about but have come around and decided they are actually pretty fantastic. I was put in a ten berth cabin this time round which was a bit of a change from my six berth of last time. But there is a great group of girls in that cabin and there is actually a lot of living space (and two bathrooms... still only have the two minute shower though!). And really how blessed am I to be able to volunteer in Africa and have a very safe and relatively luxurious place to live. So with that thought I have cut whatever complaining that I had been doing short and decided to be thankful instead.

My own little piece of home.

I managed to get off the ship a couple of times this week. One big difference from Guinea is the long walk through the port where the taxis aren't allowed to take us. Made my way over to the beach twice, both times in the evening. And one trip even included a bonfire! Bonfires on the beach (which I think is one of the greatest things ever!)! 

Life in the lab is pretty same old, same old. Thankfully I have been able to remember almost everything and have gotten right back into the swing of things. Collected my first bit of blood in over 10 months too, which went very smoothly (which I'm sure the person was very thankful for, though I thought it best not to tell them I hadn't done it in a while...). 

Anywho, that's a brief glimpse into what's going on here this first week as I resettle in. I'll go into more details about everything as they happen in posts to come!