I am on Holiday :)

Let's see what have I been doing lately, ummm oh yeah, I went to the graduation ceremony for the University of Liberia, it lasted all day like everything in Africa. Then I walked about 1 mile got in a bus (aka a large van) with benches in it, and rode with 30 other people, remember this is still just a normal size van 30 people should not fit in there, but trust me somehow they do! Finally got out at some random place and went to a party for my friend that graduated and it was awesome. These people know how to throw a party, great food, great music, and of course I was dancing and people were laughing. But I guess no matter if you are in the United States or in Africa if you are a bad dancer everybody notices. It was a lot of fun! I have tons of pictures and I keep forgetting to send them to people. Soon very soon (African terminology for eventually I will get this done, but I am not committing to a timeline).

We have been on holiday all week (which means we have been on vacation) but here all the Europeans call vacation holiday so you just kind of get used to it! During every 8 month port they give the crew what is called a mid-outreach break, really it's to benefit the long-term crew, but short-term crew members get to take advantage as well. So I have been hitting up the beach regularly, and my arms are about 10 shades darker than my stomach, I hate wearing one pieces. Whoever invented a one piece bathing suit, must have also invented the speedo. Because they both are and seem(referring to the speedo) uncomfortable and just hideous on anyone.

Lots of stuff going on here in April they are transferring us to Ghana for my last 3 months, which is even closer to the equator which means it is a even hotter. I am actually getting used to the climate around here, and occasionally I find myself saying it is cold outside, when really it is about 90 degrees with a breeze instead of 100 with still dead air. I guess it's all about your perspective it's Crazy how your body will adjust. I am kind of excited about going to Ghana it is a more developed country than Liberia, and a lot more peaceful. We occasionally still have riots here from the rebels, which for us means we can't leave the ship for the day but overall we are removed from it and very safe!

It's really starting to feel like home, and I am meeting some amazing people both Africans, and people on the ship. While it's been very hard, I am really enjoying leading the simple life. I miss home, especially when all I want is some Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (mmm Karmel Sutra if you have never had it I highly recommend it and if you know me you know I am an ice cream connoisseur), water whenever I want it(meaning because the sewage system is so polluted in Liberia when we leave the ship all you can drink is bottled water even the Liberians cannot drink the water), and overall just conviences in life, but day-to-day it's very comforting here. I feel like I am really living life here, where people matter more than things, and enjoying the little things in life is a must because we don't have the big things. I don't know it just seems to fit my personality well, it's not for everyone there are definitely people here who don't want to be here anymore, but for me right now I am very content with life.

So around 10:00 am your time on March 3rd I will be playing in my first Liberian Professional Soccer match, sports are definetly different and here are some of my observations...

- generally in the U.S. most women's soccer coaches use positive reinforcement, not here if the coach is not explaining a drill then he is yelling at you pointing out what you are doing wrong, which is really hard for me because I constantly feel like I am always making mistakes and that can be very discouraging.

-Liberians in general speak very bluntly and what I percieve to be harshly to one another. But really for them they are just communicating normally, but most of the time when Liberians speak to "white people" they speak very politely and are not rude because they recognize that it is inappropriate in our culture. But on the soccer field, which is a good thing and a bad thing, they forget that I come from a western culture and the players treat me very Liberian. Which is great because they are really accepting me into their lives, but bad because I don't like being yelled at constantly, especially when I can't understand them. Because when they yell, they speak very fast and I have no clue what is going on. So I just keep reminding myself that I am living in another culture. I am learning that before I take a negative attitude I need to observe the culture and ask why? but let's be honest it still hurts my feelings intially.

It's definelty strange, soccer has really allowed me to be apart of and understand a culture. I never thought soccer would be anything more than a sport that I am very passionate about, but it has turned into an avenue for me to cross and understand cultural barriers.

I have started doing some athletic training work for my work duties. But here they call me a physiotherapist, I don't know what that means, but all I do is the same things I would do in the U.S. as an athletic trainer. So last week I was evaluating a day worker, a dayworker is a local Liberian that is hired by the ship to help us out with various projects they ship hires about 100 of them, anyways I was evaluating him for low back and hip pain. Basically he is having numbness and pain in his right leg due to nerve entrapment. So through the evaluation I found that he had a crooked spine, and when I inquired about his spine this is his story....
About 3 years ago during the war apparently some of the rebels got into a dispute with his brother and he stepped in to try and help, but what ended up happening was they left his brother alone and began brutally beating this man for several hours for what most people would consider absolutely no good reason at all. He went on to exlpain that he was unable to move for over a month and thought he was going to die, and because there is no infrastructure here especially at that time he was unable to seek medical attention. Basically his back fixed itself, but not correctly! I just sat there in amazement and wonder if there is anything that I can even do. So I exlained this to him, but he just had a huge smile on his face and thanked me over and over for looking at him with the hope that anything I can do is better than nothing at all. It broke my heart that's for sure.

Well I must go now because it is 6:30 on friday night and by monday I have to have read a book, which I haven't started, write a 1000 word paper on it which I haven't started, read all of Exodus and Mark, memorize all the countries in Africa and memorize Ephesians 2:1-10. How much do you think I have done! NONE OF IT! Man I love to socialize and living in such close quarters with people allows me to socialize alot, which means I don't ever get any homework done! The people who designed our curriculm must not have had socializers in mind when they put it together.

Seren