Far too long...so here is an update:

Greetings...

I realise that the time between posts seem to get a little longer. I have attempted many times to update my blog but living on a ship that has struggling connection, sometimes hinders the process. Since the thingy is working tonight i will make the most of it and bring you up to speed.

I am currently on the ship which is berthed in Cebu PHILIPPINES. This is our second visit to this exact port since i joined 3 years ago. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I can't believe that i have preservered for so long. At times it gets pretty lonely on this ship. Yes, i know with 320+ crew it seems impossible but believe me...it happens. As you might remember i have been working in the Advanced Preperations team for the last year. This means i spend more time off the ship preparing for it to come and visit the various ports, than i actually do on board. Whenever i get back onboard it feels a little different. Most of my friends have left and only a handful remains. Bittereinders my afrikaans teacher would have termed them.
Anyway, i am about to head out to another line up. I am in a team with 2 of my best friends plus a girl i do not really know. We will go and do the preparations for Taiwan. I am so excited but scared stiff at the tought of working in a country were barely anyone speaks english! I know that i know that i know that God will be the One Who gets me through this. Hopefully i will still be sane at the end of it...
I have spent the last week preparing to leave and the departure is only a few days away...(insert scary sound here)

Magda, my bestest best best friend, is in the line up team for this port. She has spent 7 weeks preparing for us to come. When i saw her on the quayside i had to bite my lip as not to start crying. Praise the LORD for friends! It has been so good to sit and chat, to drink Rooibostee (the best tea you can ever have!), to hang out at starbucks and just to hug. It is amazing how deep our friendship run. I can look at Magda and she can read my eyes and react in the necessary way. Oh...Praise the LORD again for Magda.
Magda's parents just joined the ship. It is not common for parents to join the ship 2 years. Especially since their daughter is still serving onboard. It is so humbling to see them leave everything (their eldest daugther and son as well, house, car, business...etc.) to come and serve here onboard. I am enjoying hearing their stories.

Coming back to Philippines. This country is so difficult to...take in. There is poverty that overwhelms you from the first step off the gangway, and for 60 Pesos you can get to the biggest shopping centre in town. It is crazy...but in many aspects it does remind me alot of South Africa. South Africa (my homeland...the motherland...hahahaha) is full of potential yet so raw. Just like SA, the Philippines is also a melting pot of cultures. I miss South Africa. Mixed emotions i have about my home country, she said in her Yoda-like voice.
I recently watched "Power of One". In this movie an american guy plays the part of an English South African. (This doesnt make sense to me but hey...it was still a good movie and i recommend it to anyone who hates racissm.) I loved seeing Ian Roberts (SA Afrikaans actor) in the same movie as the current James Bond. I loved hearing the raw afrikaans accent cutting through the english. I also loved seeing the smoke stacks that characterize the Gauteng skyline.
O how i miss home.