We are pulling up anchor as I write this and the next stop is Australia.Today, all the Indonesian translators left the ship, most heading back home to Jakarta where we originally picked them up. They were all very friendly and fun, not to mention hardworking and such an important part of this mission. It was an emotional day for all of us... having to say goodbye. But we have all made new friends on board and will all see each other again...thanks to facebook! Lots of e-mail addresses were exchanged.
Randy, Vanessa and I spent our last day on' sick call' duty. So no more work, yippee! Smooth sailing ahead I hope. Actually, we may be heading into some rough weather conditions, maybe up to 7 foot seas. Most everyone says we should not feel much of it due to the size of the ship. I am not taking any chances and have already started taking my dramamine!
We should be in Darwin on the 5th, most of Project Hope will be heading in different directions at that time. The ship will continue it's mission into Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Guam and I think it will end in San Diego. Vanessa and I will visit Sydney for 2 days before returning home.
This has been a great opportunity for me and I have learned so much, not just about medicine and how to diagnose and treat people, but also things on a bigger and more global scale. This mission was most importantly about the relations between Indonesia and all the partner nations that were represented here,known as the Pacific Partnership. My part was small, but I am proud to have partaken in this mission.
This will be my last entry into this blog. Thanks to all of you that followed our adventures! Thank-you to FIU for making this possible for us. I wish all the future FIU students the best and hope they will continue to send students on these missions.
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