908 miles, 1461.284 kilometers

this morning i was awake shivering (yes, shivering, even in africa!) under my duvet when i heard the timbre of the engine (always a background noise) change. most of the time i don't really even notice it. b/c we are in port, it is quite easy to be unaware that i live on a ship and that my "village" isn't just contained in this 499 foot space with 8 levels. however, when things that are out of the norm, i do take a bit more notice. but, no announcement came and nothing seemed different apart from the sound so i went on with my day. it is funny to me how easy it is to forget we are on a ship. although my mind registers the ropes hanging off the deck railings, i don't really notice. or if the ropes are coiled on the deck i step over without thought if they are where i need to walk. the gentle rocking of the ship (have been told not so gentle when we sail) is pretty much unnoticeable. although, one fun thing is to sit on deck 7 when it rains and watch the rain puddle surface move port to starboard as we rock. the deck hands get a bit grimy but no more so than your average car repairman at home. so, easy to go about the day to day without realizing i live on a ship.

now, why 908 miles? we (the crew of the africa mercy) are walking to benin! no, they aren't making us walk from monrovia to benin (we will sail with teh ship) but we are walking, in teams, the miles it would take us to walk from here to there. our team has 5 members so we are "party of 5". if i were to think about how many times up and down the dock (3 = 1 miles) or to the gate and back (1 = 1 mile), it gets a bit overwhelming. instead, i'm aiming for 18-20 miles/week running or walking.