So, I decided to switch careers...

  The Mercy Ships dental clinic in Conakry is no more.  Throughout the past weeks, we have seen our last patients of the field service, packed up the whole office, cleaned the building, and packed our dental container.  Yesterday we had a goodbye lunch with our day-workers which officially closed the dental chapter of this mission.

  Today, at 8 am, I began my new career working in the galley.  We work 11 hour days (but 1.5 hours of break spread throughout the day), but we only work 2 days on two days off and every other weekend.  So we've got a sweet deal.  I sliced cucumbers and diced tomatoes.  Then I made a graham cracker crust for our vanilla pudding.  A group of us new galley recruits worked on our dessert so lovingly, spreading the whipped cream on top just so.  I placed one completed pan on the trolley, ready to go.  Moments later, I here "Hey!"  And there was my pan of banana pudding all over the floor.  Good thing we made 10 other pans of it.  Unfortunately the floor had just been cleaned, so that had to be redone.  Oops!
  My first day in the galley and I nearly had a heart attack!  There I was, minding my own business, putting the finishing touches on the banana pudding, when I hear a blood-curdling shriek coming from over by the deep fryers.  My eyes took a moment to find where the noise was coming from, then I saw my co-worker clutching her head, arched way back, almost writhing.  "EMERGENCY!" my brain yelled.  "She has been scalded by hot oil, and she's going to get 10th degree burns!" (If there was such a thing.)  It reminded me of a scene from "Dante's Peak" (Pierce Broznan) when the family is floating in the boat, through the lake of sulphuric acid.  The grandmother jumps out of the boat to push it to shore, and in the process, begins to be eaten by the acid.  That scene of agony had quite an impact on me, and I almost thought that I was re-watching it.
  The truth is, my coworker was not burning.  She was not even in pain.  She had just been doused with a bucket of cold water (an age-old galley tradition for people on their last day).  She was merely in shock.  Then the next thing I knew, she came sprinting up the hall, with a hose, to spray her friend.  Whew!  OK, no emergency after all.
  My new galley crew are awesome to work with.  The work is not hard, in fact it is relaxing.  It is a looooooong day though, and it is difficult to finish.  I am totally surprised that I even mustered the energy to tell you all about it.  Tomorrow I do it all over again.  I think I'll sleep well tonight.