Excitement and anxiety

First, I will say that it isn't clear that we will have regular internet access once we are in Indonesia on the USNS Mercy so I will be front-loading this blog with information just in case.  I also am contacting some people I know who are doing medical missions in Haiti that I will ask to provide guest blogs on their experiences.  I titled this current post 'excitement  and anxiety' because that is certainly what I am feeling as our mission fast approaches.  First, what can I say but WOW what an opportunity has been presented to me.  I haven't ever done anything like this and the two students joining me also said the same thing.  Definitely an exciting endeavor but also one that is provoking some anxiety.  First, I truly have an issue with motion sickness.  One of my worst experiences in life was being on a sailboat that sailed out of San Francisco Bay into open water.  I spent hours leaning over the side of the boat doing, well, I think you can guess the rest.  However, no way that is stopping me.  Also, some of my closest friends have politely hinted when I told them about the mission that they didn't quite see me 'roughing it' for 5 weeks.  Hmmm, not sure what that means, but definitely have to prove that one wrong.  Then I got an email from a nurse who is currently on the Vietnam/Cambodia leg of the journey.  She reported working 12 to 15 hour shifts, the latter if you go ashore, sometimes 8 days in a row.  I think the max I did when I first was a RN was 7x 12 hour shifts in a row, and that was killer.  Also, we were initially told that we would be placed in Officer's quarters, but her group initially was placed in the open birth (100 beds with berth stacked 3 high) but then later moved to Officer's quarters (6 beds).  There are more volunteers on the Indonesia leg of the mission so the open berth may be my fate for 5 weeks.  Do I sound like Private Benjamin or what?  Serouisly though I can play this up all I want but the reality is this is an exciting adventure for me and after 5 weeks I get to return to what in our global community is a pretty privileged life while the people I am working with live far from privileged lives permanently.  My hope is to contribute a little, learn a little, and to come back with a little more perspective.