Hello,
This post will cover what my first 2 days have been like upon the Africa Mercy! Upon arriving to the ship, I was given a short tour of the ship and a lot of paper work to sign and go through. I was actually given the ship orientation via a lady from Vancouver, British Columbia. It was nice to see someone from British Columbia for the first time since my departure to Tamatave. I was introduced to the crew that I would be working with, and a lot of them are hired via the ship from Madagascar. They are all extremely nice people and even taught me some of their language-Malagasy. I believe I can say " Hi, my name is Jesse Spooner. I am from Canada. I am 21 years old". My colleagues/friends from Madagascar are not only nice people but extremely hard workers as work starts early in the morning and some have to travel more than an hour to get to the ship.
Aside from the working aspect of the ship, there are plenty of times to sign up for activities off the ship to which I signed up to go see the local children's hospital. In fact, A group of us went tonight to deliver gifts to the children that are stuck in the hospital. I forget the name of the organization that sends shoe boxes full of gifts, but it was amazing to see the kids eyes light up when they received toys such as a stuffed Snoopy (from Charlie Brown). The next trip will be to an orphanage to visit with more children.
All in all, this is an amazing ship doing amazing things. I will definitely have more to write about after a few more days. Thank you very much for reading this post, and I will write again soon!
Thanks!
Jesse
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
The Trip to the Ship.
Hello everyone,
I am on board the Africa Mercy! It was a long 8 hour journey from Antananarivo to Tamatave via bus, but I am glad to say I have arrived. The journey and sightseeing on the way to Tamatave was amazing and not something I will soon forget. One of the interesting things that I had seen was the ox cart along the road that I had never seen before!
We made quite a few stops along the way to stretch out the legs and take a look around to which I took the following photos (more photos, but I thought I would show you a little place where we stopped and a picture of the scenery):
Finally, after 8 long hours (and some sleep) we set our eyes upon the Africa Mercy!:
Thank you for reading my blog about the trip from Antananarivo to Tamatave!
I am on board the Africa Mercy! It was a long 8 hour journey from Antananarivo to Tamatave via bus, but I am glad to say I have arrived. The journey and sightseeing on the way to Tamatave was amazing and not something I will soon forget. One of the interesting things that I had seen was the ox cart along the road that I had never seen before!
We made quite a few stops along the way to stretch out the legs and take a look around to which I took the following photos (more photos, but I thought I would show you a little place where we stopped and a picture of the scenery):
Finally, after 8 long hours (and some sleep) we set our eyes upon the Africa Mercy!:
Thank you for reading my blog about the trip from Antananarivo to Tamatave!
From Jahennesburg to Antananarivo!
Hi everyone, sorry for not posting a blog earlier, I have been taking some time to get used to the ship and working on board.
The Trip to the Ship:
To begin my trip from Johannesburg to Madagascar, I flew into Antananarivo-the capital city of Madagascar. I was driven to a guest house where I was able to see the city, and found it to be a very beautiful place! The people are extremely friendly despite 90% of the population living on a dollar a day (was told this by a Mercy Ships staff). The night at the guest house was peaceful, but the 10 hour time difference kept me from getting some rest.
Here are some photos of my time trip to and in Antananarivo.
PS. During the flight, I was actually situated beside an anesthetist that was also going to Tamatave, Madagascar to work on Mercy Ships. Thought it was quite a nice coincidence.
Photo #1: This is a photo of the journey from Johannesburg to Antananarivo.
Photo #2: First landing in Madagascar.
Photo #3: A sunset from the guesthouse!
Photo #4:A man walking his ox outside my guest house :)
Thank you!
Jesse Spooner
The Trip to the Ship:
To begin my trip from Johannesburg to Madagascar, I flew into Antananarivo-the capital city of Madagascar. I was driven to a guest house where I was able to see the city, and found it to be a very beautiful place! The people are extremely friendly despite 90% of the population living on a dollar a day (was told this by a Mercy Ships staff). The night at the guest house was peaceful, but the 10 hour time difference kept me from getting some rest.
Here are some photos of my time trip to and in Antananarivo.
PS. During the flight, I was actually situated beside an anesthetist that was also going to Tamatave, Madagascar to work on Mercy Ships. Thought it was quite a nice coincidence.
Photo #1: This is a photo of the journey from Johannesburg to Antananarivo.
Jesse Spooner
Friday, April 24, 2015
Traveling to Johannesburg.
I am new at this whole blogging thing, but I will do my best to keep
everyone informed of all that has been happening during my travels with
Mercy Ships.
I started my travels from Victoria to Seattle, then Seattle to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Johannesburg. I took a few photos of the flight to Amsterdam, but the photo I took of Hudson Bay really blew me away. Yes that is ICE!
Another photo taken later on that flight:
It is currently 11:56 pm in Johannesburg South Africa, and I could not be more awake. You might think it is entirely due to being in a new location, but in truth, the main contributor is the fact that it is only 3:00pm in Victoria! It may take more than a few days to recalibrate my circadian rhythm. Where am I writing from? I am currently about 12 minutes away from the airport in Johannesburg at a wonderful lodge called Blue Mango Lodge!
The employees here are great. In fact, right now as I write this, I am in the lobby with one of the drivers as we talk about traveling, health care and the like. All in all, the first bit of traveling has been a great time and I look forward to my 10 am (roughly 1:00 am in Victoria) flight to Antananarivo (Madagascar).
I will try to post again when I arrive in Madagascar! Thanks. \
- Jesse Spooner
I started my travels from Victoria to Seattle, then Seattle to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Johannesburg. I took a few photos of the flight to Amsterdam, but the photo I took of Hudson Bay really blew me away. Yes that is ICE!
Another photo taken later on that flight:
It is currently 11:56 pm in Johannesburg South Africa, and I could not be more awake. You might think it is entirely due to being in a new location, but in truth, the main contributor is the fact that it is only 3:00pm in Victoria! It may take more than a few days to recalibrate my circadian rhythm. Where am I writing from? I am currently about 12 minutes away from the airport in Johannesburg at a wonderful lodge called Blue Mango Lodge!
The employees here are great. In fact, right now as I write this, I am in the lobby with one of the drivers as we talk about traveling, health care and the like. All in all, the first bit of traveling has been a great time and I look forward to my 10 am (roughly 1:00 am in Victoria) flight to Antananarivo (Madagascar).
I will try to post again when I arrive in Madagascar! Thanks. \
- Jesse Spooner
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)