Weevils

Yes, it's true...there are still some weevils in pasta. I never promised they would be weevil free, actually here is my original quote:

"I have used a few techniques that have cut down the amount of weevils that appear in my pasta (that is what its most prevalent in right now, except maybe besides the cereal but I don’t deal with that) but I must warn you, when we get on outreach and its a full-on rush to get the food out, this may fall by the wayside because it can get time intensive.

So when it comes down to not getting fed, or getting fed with weevils…the lesser of the two will be chosen. Bon Appetit!"

Remember that? It was in the post titled The lesser of two weevils…

Please do not point out to the dining room and galley staff that there are weevils in the pasta, we know there are and we are trying what we can to get them out without wasting food AND we are trying to be good stewards with our supply. Some things take time to remedy.

And for any Vegetarians out there, Michal our very own 'in-house' vegetarian has certified Weevils as being 'Vegetarian Friendly' and a small part of your daily protein intake.

Vegetarians worldwide, Bon Appetit!

Screaming Day

Yesterday Febuary 18th, 2008 was officially the most intense, over whelming, and challenging day of my whole life. The day started at 5 am with my alarm clock going off and wondering how in the world am I going to get through this day. About 70 crew members piled into our Land Rovers and headed off to the Samuel K. Doe Stadium. Once we arrived there was a line of MANY people snaked around the parking lot. Some of them had obvious physical ailments (some we can help and some we can't), some people with stomach problems or lung problems, and some that just came to see what was going on.

I spent the day in the lab and specifically I drew the blood of the children that were selected for surgery. Please forgive me if I don't describe this well,  for there are no words to describe what I experienced yesterday. I am still processing it and shedding lots of tears. I received my first kid at 7:30 am and  my last at 8:15 pm. Most of the day I was hunched over children (my youngest 7 weeks) drawing their blood. Some looked healthy and some looked so sick, but all of them looked up at me with there big brown eyes not understanding why I was sticking them with a needle and taking there blood. Some of them kicked and screamed and one even bit me, while others just sat very still and stoic.  So many children sat across from me all with there own stories and problems. Some had club feet, some cleft lip and palate, some had burns, one boy was born with out an ear, we had so many women with goiters the size of a cantaloupe, lots of hernias and an assortment of other problems. Mostly I just saw their veins or lack there of. But in the near future, when they come to the ship for their surgeries I will get to know them as people. I will learn their names and know their stories. As the day went on and I felt like my head was going to explode from all the screaming, I started to think about all the hugs and loves I will be able to lavish on these beautiful children of God and how their surgery and treatments that they will receive on the Africa Mercy will impact the rest of their lives.

Today I was talking to a fellow nurse and he told me that he talked to a family member of one of the patients that he was drawing blood from and the guy said "Thank you for holding this Screaming day". Yes lots of patients were screened for surgeries, but in the room that held the lab it was definitely Screaming day.

The Ward Nurses and ship pics

Starbucks Cafe

Response #7

I have two statements based on the comments entered recently:

I am trying to monitor the 'spice' = heat that is being applied to the food,  I still want it to be 'spicey' as in herbs and spices, but not as 'spicey' = hot!  Yes, I also want to control or decrease the heat in some of our food items.  We are trying to be more conscious of this.

Also, we are talking about and discussing the need NOT to feel like everything needs to be cooked to 'death' so to speak...one of the things that really hurt us in this area is cooking foods that will sit on the line or warmer for an hour and a half!  But we require these mealtime hours in order to cover everyone that needs to eat and the dining room space for all who are aboard.  So in essence, we cook the food, it goes downstairs and continues to cook in the warmer and on the line...the faster we can move people thru the line at dinner the better chance of having a fresher and faster rotation of food that has not cooked as long.

I am also working with the idea of cooking in two waves but I am not sure right now how well or feasible that is with our cooking equipment and 'human' resources...working in the galley can easily become an all-consuming

job and my guys(and gals) need their breaks and dinners too...so there has to be a balance in this, and rest assured we are looking at and working on one!

Beefy friend

This morning in the breakfst line, one of the nurses said "I heard you are allergic to beef, so am I. I have never met anyone else with an allergy to beef." So there it is. I am not the only one in the world with an allergy to beef.

Power tools

Happy Valentines Day!!! I have yet to spend time with my precious hubby yet today, but I hope to later in the evening. I feel like it has been so busy lately. Last night we had a medical reception the us nurses had to serve at and Tyrone had to make some of the food. They invited many nurses, Dr.s and hospital personnel to let them know what we do and don't do so referrals will be handled properly. My friend Vera and I stood at the top of the gangway and greeted our guests. We even wore official uniforms (mine was borrowed). It was nice outside too. We got to watch the sun set and there was a nice breeze. We were sure we had the best job.

 Today we had our official ward nurse picture and then we played games on the dock with all the nurses to get to know each other. There are about 50 of us form 30 countries. In the afternoon Maria and I got handed a power drill and were instructed to drill holes in the metal walls to hang the glove box holders. After a few errors ( one was hung sideways and one was hung upside down) we mastered the skill and placed most of them up on their respective new homes. We were very proud of ourselves.

General Response - Clarification

In an earlier blog post I stated that "I don't usually have foods out at the end of a meal that were different at the beginning of the meal" if I could help it, and if it wasn't a 'leftovers' meal.

BUT what I failed to mention is I was ONLY pertaining to dinner/supper NOT lunch.  Lunch is a great way to use up leftovers, recreate new dishes from cooked foods we already have, or even use multiple items of small quantity to 'push thru' so to speak. So in that aspect yes, you will get different foods from time to time at the beginning and ending of lunch.

Thats the way it is...but what food is actually considered 'the best' is purely speculation, now isn't it?  I have complaints both ways...I got something so/so or that I hate at the start of dinner only to have something better come out at the end, and vise versa.  But hopefully we are moving along for others to eat and not eating in the dining room during the whole time...prefering others!

Crew Galley is still open to all!

Many families come to the line and pick out what they want for dinner and then take it back to the Crew Galley and recreate something they like, or use it in another dish...thats initiative!

Open House Fun on the Ward

Tonight we had about 20 different activities set up on the ward for the crew to come down and participate in. We had a photo booth to have your pic taken as a surgeon or patient, you could learn to suture, intubate...etc. There was also a really funny relay in which the crew could pretend to be a nurse and had to complete some tasks to graduate from the Africa Mercy School of nursing the pics are of the clowns part taking in the relay.

Africa Mercy Hospital

Here are some pictures of our lovely hospital. It is now nice and clean and ready for open house tonight and for patients next Thursday.

relationSHIPs

One of my favorite things about living on the ship is the relationships. I am so incredibly blessed to have friends on the ship that have known me for a long time, people that knew me single and wild, and know how much I have grown. My friend that I have mentioned before from Brazil is so good at reminding me how much I have grown in the past 4 years. She knows a different side of me that my new friends don't know. But, I relish connecting with people and I have found in the past month I have made some real connections that I truly treasure. Sometimes I just feel at peace with certain people and truly connect after a short time of knowing them. I really think this is God. I think He puts people in our lives to help us along with our journey and to grow closer to Him. Praise Jesus!!

This weekend I spent a lot of time with my friends. On Saturday a bunch of girls went out to this nice Lebanese place that had excellent food, but the best part was being on the ship with my friends and hearing their stories and learning more about who they are.

Today I went to the beach, but you can't really tell. I was wanting to work on my tan, but I put on too much sunscreen and I reapplied it too often. So I sweated like crazy, but there is not much to show for it. The beach.... in one word is dirty. Yes, the water is mighty grimy and obviously dirty. But the whole experience was super fun!!!

My head is Foggy

This weekend has been very busy, wonderful, and meaningful and has left me feeling like my head is full of fog. This weekend I went to the market with Tyrone and 5 other Mercy Shippers. I am still processing all of that. The tremendous amount of noise alone was overwhelming in itself.  There are an incredible number of taxis that are obsessed with honking  their horns about every 3 seconds. And there is music playing and so, so many people (ranging from very young to very old). There "market is this sunken in sand pit/ mud pit/ cess pool of sorts that has stand after stand of African necessities. This market sells fabric (which a lot of girls buy then have clothes and bags made), cooking products and utensils, clothes, shoes, etc. At one point we were looking at a guys stuff that was in wheel barrel and all of the owners of the stuff started to yell and move very quickly. I turned around and saw the Liberian police officer coming very quickly and he was kicking all of the stands down that were to close to the road. We skedaddled out of the way.

I have spent so much time researching what it would be like in Africa. I think I was as ready as I would ever be, but I am still recovering from the mass amount of sadness I felt for these people that live in such epidemic poverty. A we drove down the road you could see the bullet holes from the not so distant civil war. And it is so obvious the pain that the Liberians have experienced even by the fine lines on their children's faces.

Since the ship has been here just 2 months ago, a lot of roads have been paves ( by the Chinese), street lights have been put up and many gas stations have been put in. So , yes, Liberia is progressing and rebuilding. Thank you Jesus.

AFRICAN NIGHT!

Whether you love it, or dread it...back by popular demand is the African style food every other Monday starting this Monday the 11th!

(On a health note, as much as possible I will try to keep the oil saturation low)

Response #6

No sticky rice...because our rice is parboiled when we receive it...that means: (following definition edited from Wikipedia)

Parboiled rice is rice that has been boiled in the husk. Parboiling makes rice easier to process by hand, improves its nutritional profile, and changes its texture.

Parboiling rice drives nutrients, especially thiamine, from the bran into the grain, so that parboiled white rice is nutritionally similar to brown rice.

The starches in parboiled rice become gelatinized, making it harder and glassier than other rice. Parboiled rice takes less time to cook, and the cooked rice is firmer and less sticky. In North America, parboiled rice is generally partially or fully precooked by the processor.

So that is the main reason we do not have 'sticky' rice. According to Russ at the IOC this was a major donation given to us...so I think this rice will be around for awhile before we will explore other options once we free up space from this present rice quantity. Which by the way is a lot.

I received a comment about food at the beginning of meals not being the same as food at the end. I personally can't say I experienced that much since I have been here, or have I done this myself. Maybe a couple of times if necessary OR if it is a day to get rid of all the leftovers...its just one of those things that needs to be done and sometimes theres just no way around it.

In addition to that the comment also suggested the food that came after was more 'kid friendly' or kid oriented. I don't know how to address that comment. I cook for people, mostly I think of all of them as adults. If by chance you are referring to fish sticks or something else I do not know about yet then I am afraid you will be disappointed in me because I will use fish sticks as the main meal from time to time...ketchup, tartar sauce, mmmm delicious.

Maybe that was in the past? Not sure.

Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions! Please keep encouraging the crew!