Yesterday we had a conditioning day for lifeguarding. First they made us swim 500 meters and then we had to do a bunch of drills. Afterward we went over mock lessons and learned different songs we will be singing. After swimming we finished up our lesson plans and relaxed the rest of the night. Today we had an in service day for the pool. It was run by the pool managers and staff. We went through all of the rescues. We then had training over sexual harassment and we had a class over the Japanese culture. We learned how to bow to different people and also learned a little bit of Japanese. My roommate and I then walked to the commissary. We decided to walk home and on our way home a lady stopped and insisted that she drive us back to the barracks. This lady was a marine and so was her husband. She was 6 months pregnant with two children and her husband was currently stationed in Afghanistan. I cannot imagine going through pregnancy, having two children, being employed, and not have my husband around. This lady was so friendly and thanked us for helping families like hers on the island. The people of Okinawa are so friendly. I had asked a lady in the bathroom at Macaroni Grill last week and by the end of the conversation she had given me her number and told me she would love to have me and some of the staff over sometime for dinner or just shopping dates.
Camp Adventure surprised us and bought us a bus for the weekend to go to Ukoma. It is a little resort about 2.5 hours away that has banana boating, jet skis, snorkeling, and kayaking. It is super cheap and should be a lot of fun. It is really nice that Camp A is doing this for us because getting around the island has been really difficult. The public transportation is not widely used and is expensive and none of us have cars to get around. We walk between 3-4 miles every day to get around. The Green Line runs from base to base around the Island, but our base pass does not include all of the bases (unlike previous years) so we cannot ride the green line to many places. Luckily, the base I am stationed on has many things to do right off the base so it has not been much of a problem yet. Tomorrow is our last day of orientation and then we get to start working with the children next Monday. I am so excited to meet the little kiddos and be able to meet a lot of the parents. Next Saturday (if my sister does not go into labor any earlier) I will be an aunt again of my very first nephew! I am so excited for my sister, Jesse, and Peyton. I will be very homesick when the baby comes. It is sad to think I won’t be able to meet my nephew until it is almost 3 months old, but thank god for skype! Hope everyone has a great weekend!