Where is the ship NOW?

This is a great little video about the Africa Mercy. She is still in Durban, South Africa; our teams are quite busy making sure everything is ready before they sail in early February.

Our Group

This is our team. When we joined Doulos, the "other" ship, we were called the Beirut Preship, because we joined in Lebanon. Here with Mercy Ships we do Field Services for 10 month. Our Gateway Group has 33 members who will fly to Sierra Leone in 2 weeks. Most of us will join for at least 1 year. I will be the PR Manager, Liz, my friend will be in my team as the photographer, but we also bring a new Hospital Manager, many nurses, eye-team coordinator, cooks, a water sanitation expert, a captain, an IT expert and several others - and guess what: WE ARE ALL VOLUNTEERS! :) Our group has people from US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, UK, Hong Kong, Austria, Hungary/Norway, Holland. An awesome group! :)))


PS: the photographer took some more pictures after the group shot and I swear there is NO PHOTOSHOP in this next picture. He wanted to twist the camera too fast and this was the end result. He thought it was a cool shot so he gave it to me. What can I say???
Now I have results that the world indeed revolves around me hehehehe

Cowboy hats...

There is just something magical about those hats... :)))

No comments... :)))

Cowboy Church Yeeeeehaaaaaw!

"If there is only 1 thing you can do in your free time while in Texas... go to a Cowboy Church!" This advice got me all excited, though I went to the web to check it out first. You never know with these Texans, they often just pull your leg... But guess what: IT REALLY EXISTS! :)))

Here are some shots taken by my good friend, Liz who happens to be a pro photographer. After the service I talked to a lady and asked her if she was kind enough to gather some of her friends for a group shot and Liz orchestrated the pictures. I'm tellin' ya, SHE IS GOOD! :)

 (the guys wanted to throw me into the trough that they use here to baptize people) :))

 (Greeter at the gate of the barn, that operates as the church building) :)

(this is the pastor) :)

(Liz and I dressed cowboy-ish to attend the cowboy church)

My favorite quote was that when the pastor read some verses from 1Peter he said "well folks, I know it's hard so let me cowboyize that for ya" :)))

His second best line was "the church don't do nothin' " :) Classic!

Texas Sunset at the base

It's nice. Really.

The missing "A" dilemma

-"Hello. My name is Réka and I come from HungAry."
- "Oh, are you hungry?" (usually said with a smile and shiny eyes thinking they re-invented the wheel)
- "Actually I am. Should we eat something right now?"
-"..." (forced smile, confused looks)

Such, or very similar conversations take place pretty much on a daily basis and over the years I think I developed the best answer. Everybody loves eating, regardless of your color, gender or religion. Food is a safe topic that we can discuss without accidentally offending anybody - so hey, why not?

I happen to like trying out various types of food so I am always up for a new treat - especially if it's free. (after the above mentioned conversation most people feel compelled to take me out) :)

A few nights ago the Marketing Department at the International Operational Center (IOC) went out for dinner and they invited me as the newest member. It didn't occur to me that anything was strange until a guy in the team pointed it out: "A Hungarian from Norway is eating out in a Japanese restaurant in the USA." Cultural mixes like this one are totally normal for me. :)

Here is a short video of how they prepare food there. (the video only works through the blog site and not if you receive only the e-mail)

Sufficient to say we had a lot of fun! :)

And if we talk about food anyway, a friend of mine here informed me that this is how the STOP SIGN in Texas looks like:

It's the sign for Diary Queen, a fast food restaurant chain. You know me, I am not an FFF (fast food fan), but I made an exception.

I gotta admit, the ice cream there was pretty awesome. :)

What is wrong on this picture???

Date: January, 2011 (winter)

Location: Tyler, Texas, USA. 

On the picture: Réka - smiling and Bill, the Mercy Ships Snow Man.

Weather: well...   Freakin' SNOW!!!!!

So much about me coming away from the winter weather... :(
The girls from Australia and New Zealand are really excited, even some Texans are out taking pictures and enjoying this rare sight of having the base covered in snow.
But the Canadians and I are sitting inside not actually believing our eyes...

At least it's not dark like in Norway... that's a progress... :)

Arrived to Texas

Hello Friends,

Just a quick note to let you know that I made it safe and sound to the Head Office of Mercy Ships in Garden Valley, Texas. I will spend the next 4 weeks here, meeting the staff and going through some more training before 8th February when we fly to Sierra Leone.

Today was VERY long: woke up at 4am, delayed flight at 7.30am from Budapest to Frankfurt, crazy rush through the ENTIRE airport in Frankfurt to catch the flight to Dallas.

I am here, but tired, so good night to all of you, see you tomorrow. :)