2 minute read

EVER VIGILANT

Imaging Services

Get a clearer picture of your well-being at St. Joseph’s/Candler. You can expect access to advanced imaging technology powered by our team of devoted, hardworking imaging specialists and radiologists. Our non-invasive diagnostic screening services also include pretesting, bone density screening, 3D mammography, echo cardiology, ultrasounds and CT scans as well as an open MRI. If it’s advanced imaging technology for diagnostic and therapeutic applications you’re looking for, then look no further than our team. At St. Joseph’s/Candler, we’re proud to call the Lowcountry home.

WE LOOK AFTER THE LOWCOUNTRY.

1-843-836-4300 - WWW.SJCHS.ORG/LOWCOUNTRY BLUFFTON - 10-A OAK FOREST ROAD, BLUFFTON, SC 29910

SUDAN from page 10A the bus. You don’t know what they want. You hear gunshots in the background. They let everybody get back on the bus,” she said. “At one point they asked all the men to get off, and all the women were absolutely terrified. It was really scary. And then we finally we got all the way up to the safe house.”

Almost 100 people ended up housed there, with people sleeping everywhere.

“It was just a normal home, and they opened it up to all of us, and the kids were able to play and run around, and we had a safe place to sit. We even slept outside on the floor with the mosquitoes,” Denise said. “It was the first time in over a week that we didn’t hear any bombs going off. Even though we slept on the ground it was the best night’s sleep we had had in a while.”

On the bus the next morning they got to the Egyptian border, were processed, bussed to the ferry, and spent the night in a makeshift house that had chairs, tables and a couple of beds, as well as snakes and scorpions. The next day the ferry took them to Abu Simbel and on to Aswan.

“Once we got to Aswan, the school had secured us tickets on the sleeper train to Cairo,” Denise said. “By the time we got to the train station, the railroad had sold our tickets out from under us, and with all the evacuees, there weren’t any hotel rooms left in Aswan. So now we have no bus, no train tickets, no hotel room. We haven’t showered in days. We haven’t slept in days. We’re all on the verge of a breakdown. And again, the school worked wonders, and they ended up getting hotel rooms.”

A few hours sleep in a bed, a hot shower, a hot meal and some of the stress was lifted but that wasn’t the end of the journey. At 4:30 the next morning, they boarded a bus for Cairo that took 16 hours. Once there, they boarded a United Airlines flight for Frankfurt. Then it was on to Newark and Savannah, finally arriving home April 28. While Africa is off the list for a while, at least, they’re still planning on another teaching assignment.

“Somewhere in Asia, maybe India – if I find a good fit. I’ll take maybe a one-year posting somewhere in Europe,” Denise said. “I just feel like my soul is craving to go somewhere. You get that wanderlust in your blood. I just love learning about other cultures. It just teaches you to be so open minded. I would absolutely recommend doing this. It’s the best learning experience. Next time, just go to a safe country.”

Gwyneth J. Saunders is a veteran journalist and freelance writer living in Bluffton.

Art Wins!

Bluffton Library hosted the annual Bluffton 8th Grade Juried Show during April, and an artists’ reception May 4 to announce winners. Members of the Society of Bluffton Artists judged the works, and visitors to the library voted for People’s Choice over four weeks. Pictured on the front row, from left, are: Ava McCone, 1st Place, People’s Choice; Elizabeth Wainscott, 2nd Place, SOBA Judged; and Summer Smith, 3rd Place, People’s Choice. On the back row are Art Gopalan, coordinator of the event; Mary Cordray, member of the state Board of Education; and Carlton Dallas, member of the Beaufort County School Board. Other art winners are Paisley “PJ” Benson, Ali Murphy and Alivia Church.

This article is from: