5,000 Miles Later...

So... I'm actually in Japan. It still sounds really crazy to me, but so far I haven't freaked out or had butterflies or anything like that. I'm going to try to briefly cover the past few days starting with my flight.

As I mentioned earlier, this was my first big flight. The only time I had ever flown before was a few years ago from San Diego to Sacramento with my brother, Jake. I was expecting it to be much more complicated and difficult than it was, but it ended up being just fine! Mom, Jason, and I got up at 5 AM, ate a quick breakfast and drove to the airport. Apparently we were kind-of pushing it on time, because when we went to check my bags, the man that was helping us seemed concerned that I would miss my flight and had me cut the entire line (which was not a problem with me). When he was looking up my flight, there was some issue, so he called someone and got it figured out before Mom called Camp Adventure Headquarters and freaked out (she had the number ready, though). Everything past that went smoothly. I said goodbye to Mom and Jason, made it through security within 5 minutes, and found my gate in less than 10 with over an hour to spare. My flight was delayed by about a half hour, but was short and sweet even though I didn't have any other Camp A people on it. When I got to LA I only had about 20 minutes after getting off the plane and the time I was supposed to board my flight to Tokyo, but I found my gate quickly, and again had time to spare. At first I didn't see any fellow Camp A counselors, but I ended up sitting right next to two girls I had known from training which was awesome. The flight to Tokyo was 11 freakin' hours. I watched two movies (Gone Girl and Interstellar- ya gotta see 'em both!) which killed about 5 hours, and the rest was a lot of squirming around trying to find a good sleeping position. I landed at 3 PM on Saturday, 11 PM in California. We had to wait for all the Yokosuka Camp Adventure counselors to get off their flights, so we didn't end up leaving the airport for 2 to 3 hours after I landed since people were coming from all over the U.S. to Tokyo. Then we took a 2 hours bus ride around the bay to Yokosuka, and I pretty much slept the entire time. However, I did wake up to see the Disneyland Resort Hotel, which I have to admit was pretty exciting to me. 

We arrived in Yokosuka around 8 PM. We got our initial room assignments and carried our luggage up 4 flights of stairs. The housing is basically dorms; 2 twin beds, a desk, mini fridge, microwave, 2 closets, 2 night stands, and a TV that may or may not work. Everyone else has Jack and Jill bathrooms with their neighbors with one shower and toilet, but I don't have any neighbors, so my roommate and I get the bathroom to ourselves! A group of us walked to the McDonalds on base to get some food. I went to bed around 10 but struggled to stay asleep past around 4. Side note, the sun rises at 4 AM and sets around 7 PM which does not help with jet lag. We are staying in the TPU (Transient Personnel Unit) which "was built and furnished for the sole purpose of providing temporary living quarters, while transitioning to your final destination." It's also an "unaccompanied living" building, which from my understanding means it's really only for sailors who don't have any spouse/family living here on base with them. 

On Sunday morning, we all met up and made a group trip to the commissary, which is the grocery store on base, similar to SaveMart I would say. Everything on base is REALLY cheap and there is no tax. We had some free time to explore base a little bit, and also had a little tour of a few places on base including the gym which is probably bigger than Cal Fit in Rocklin, the school age center AKA the SAC, the teen center, the bowling alley, the movie theater, two different food courts, the Navy Exchange AKA the NEX which is just like a mini department store with everything you'd ever need for a really good price. We also did a few team bonding/building activities next to the bay to get to know one another and how we work as leaders in the workplace. I was pretty tired by the end of our walk, but I decided to try to stay up until a normal bedtime and unpack and get settled in.

Monday marked the start of orientation week. We spent the morning listening to presentations on things we should know about living on base in Yokosuka including information on our housing, our access to medical care and the hospital, fire safety, and we also learned a little about how the law works if somebody from base gets in trouble with Japanese police... Yikes. The Commanding Officer Capt. Glenister introduced himself as well, and encouraged us to make a bucket list and set goals for ourselves for the summer, so I will try to post that as soon as I've come up with one! During my lunch break I went to the commissary again and bought a bunch of healthier food because I hadn't been feeling the strongest between our busy schedule, jet lag, and the transition between home cooked meals to living off of a microwave and mini fridge. In the afternoon we had our Water Safety Instructor in-service which gave me an idea of what swim lessons are really like. We practiced swimming the different strokes, and broke up into rotating groups to simulate different swim lessons; Parent-Infant, pre-school aquatics, Learn To Swim level 1, and Learn To Swim level 4. I learned a few tricks to make swim lessons more fun and more productive for the kids and for me, but I have to say I am most nervous for teaching swim lessons. After the WSI in-service, I went back to my room and made myself some brown rice and steamed veggies which were actually really satisfying for a microwave meal, then to Starbucks to get some free Wifi, and then back to my room for some much needed sleep! I've taken Z-Quil the past two nights and actually slept all the way through the night until my alarm went off, so I'm hoping I've conquered jet lag and have adjusted to the time zone.

On Tuesday we basically had the same schedule as Wednesday, but with different presentations and a lifeguard in-service instead of WSI. We had a review presentation on child abuse, incident and accident reporting, and blood borne pathogens, and learned a little about the entertainment the base has to offer like the movie theater and bowling! I was expecting our lifeguard in-service to be much more difficult than it was, but it ended up being pretty fun and easy for me. Again, we had rotating stations with different scenarios and skills to practice. When I got back to the TPU a couple counselors told me that they were going to Chili's to celebrate another counselor's 20th birthday, so I showered and got ready faster than I ever have in my entire life, and 21 of us took a 20 minute walk across base to have dinner. It was fun to get to know some friends a little better and have a real meal, finally! To end the night, just as I was about to fall asleep the fire alarm went off. At first I wasn't sure what it was, and just kind-of laid their annoyed wondering when the buzzing would stop until I heard banging on my door and my director telling us to put jackets and shoes on. Thankfully it was nothing serious (99% sure somebody doesn't know how to cook popcorn or something like that), and we were back in our rooms shortly. Here at Camp Adventure we try to be "flexible and adaptable" and last night was nothing short of that, besides the few who slept through the entire thing despite the pounding on their doors... LOL.

Today we started the morning with some more presentations on some Japanese etiquette and cultural differences and the Mount Fuji briefing! The man who gave the presentation has climbed Fuji over 200 times! Here in Japan they say, "You are wise to climb Mount Fuji, but a fool to climb it twice." Basically he gave us the run down of how the hike will go and gave us a card to prove that we had attended the briefing so that we can make a reservation to climb later in the summer. This afternoon we had another lifeguard inservice that was a little more difficult than yesterday, but overall wasn't bad. Most of the other aquatics counselors have had some experience either on a swim team, lifeguarding, teaching lessons, or both so I am doing my best to absorb all I can during this week and prepare myself for next week when we actually start working. Since we were finished with our day around 3 PM, a few other aquatics counselors who didn't go out to dinner last night wanted to go to Chili's so I walked with them and ate their leftovers (thanks again, guys haha!) Now I'm sitting at McDonalds which is the closest place on base to get some wifi, but I'll soon be heading back to the TPU to go to bed.

Tomorrow will be our last real day of orientation week. We will be taking a tour of the other pools we will be working at (there are 3 pools on base), and planning and preparing for next week.

On Friday I should be getting a base ID so that I can easily go on and off base. Right now we have had to carry our passports and a letter stating that we are to have access to the commissary, Navy Exchange (which is similar to a Target or Walmart), and the "Welfare and Recreation facilities." I should also be getting my work schedule. Most importantly, we are going to be taking our first off base adventure to Kamakura to see the Great Buddha! Here is a picture of the famous Great Buddha:

Hopefully next time I blog I will be posting a picture of me in front of it, or maybe even inside it! We are also going to be taught how to use the train system here since it will be our main form of transportation while traveling off base. Unfortunately, my phone is dead and I don't have my USB cord with me at McDonalds to upload pictures I took on my phone to show you all a few pictures of the places on base, but I will definitely be posting a lot next time!

Next week I will start working at the pool, lifeguarding and/or teaching swim lessons. Like I said, I am nervous, but there's a first time for everything, right? I think that'll be my personal motto for the summer. First time flying alone, first time traveling internationally, first time moving out of the house, first time lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons and I'm sure there'll be plenty more firsts to come as I get to go off base more and experience Japan. 

Sending some love to California!

Love always,

Your favorite Sasquatch

P.S. If any of this doesn't make sense to you, comment and I'll try to clarify!