I have had a rough go so far here in Japan. It has been a very difficult transition. Things are SO complicated to get done. Buying and registering a car takes going to probably 10 different offices. Renting a house is just as complicated. The paperwork is endless. I've been without my hubby. I was spoiled at my last command and had tons of time off. Here, I will be working at least twice as much because of extra things like mandatory command PT, NOD duty and training.
Here's the thing. I need to suck it up. There are huge benefits of being in the Navy. There's a reason there are added benefits to being stationed overseas. It's a lot of work.
I need to get my big girl panties on and quit bitching. This is going to be a good command. This is going to be a good command. I just have to keep repeating that. I will get a lot of experience here. As NOD, we may have to respond to emergencies all over the hospital, so I'll get more exposure to the ER and L&D. We'll be doing conscious sedation, medical transports out in Japan, after hours recoveries, med/surg patients and caring for ICU patients by ourselves with help from a corpsman.
I want to be an example. I need to drop the negativity. Watching Navy medicine videos help me remember why this is such an honor to serve in this branch. I really do love the Navy in my heart. I just have to keep tough.
I REALLY miss my coworkers back in Jacksonville. Way more than I thought I would. They were such a fun group of nurses and corpsmen. I hope to goodness that we pass paths again soon!
Taking care of myself and working out the stress helps. I just signed up with one of the trainers for personal yoga lessons once a week. I think that will help me focus and clear my head, at least for an hour. I have to teach, teach, teach the corpsmen and have them learn something from me, or else I haven't done my job. I think that really helps me feel better.
That's all really for now. More updates later. There is a lot going on these days!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
No direction toward a goal of something meaningful and right. It's no wonder the kids are angry, violent, uneducated, alone, wasted, waiting, unchallenged, bored. - Grey Cell Green, Something Stupid
I want to put out there what my goals are for my time in Yokosuka.
Japan, to me, seems to be a place I really want to start fresh and create some balance to my life. It can't be Feng Shui or Chi's, because those things are from China, but for some reason just being in Japan makes me want to cleanse my body of stress, frustration and instead grow and learn from being in another culture.
Professional Goals:
-Apply to DUINS following this tour
-Study on my own time (maybe study again and actually take the CCRN? Maybeee)
-Perhaps start some graduate classes in nursing education, nutrition or study some sort of homeopathic medicine program
Navy Goals:
-Be more active in the wardroom and command
-Perhaps even try for a position with the wardroom
-Work on maintaining a positive attitude and encourage my junior sailors
Physical Goals:
-Get to the gym! Get in a routine
-I'd love to get in some classes, but with 12 hr shifts, it's so hard
-Sign up with a physical trainer in 2 weeks to get me started
-Tone up my body and lower my resting heart rate
-Try and cook more at home and look into highly nutritious meals and try some superfoods!
-Keep up with the vegetarianism as long as I can. So far, so good.
-Walk as much as possible to train, to work, etc. So far this is happening for sure! My calves are sore!!
Mental Goals:
-De-stress!
-Find some yoga or meditation I can do to relax
-Go to the gym for massages on base. They have some amazing Japanese women that perform some cool massages! (Maybe I'll do this tomorrow....)
Marriage Goals:
-Maintain good communication with Cameron
-Try and be supportive and not questioning or frustrating with him
-Explore and take trips as much as we can in Japan
-Remember every day how much I appreciate him and value him as a husband
-Every day write down one thing that I love about him or that I appreciate he did or does for me (once we get a house, I think I'll get a whiteboard or some place I can put this up)
-Make sure not to bother Cameron during times he is working, so he can stay focused
Other Personal Goals:
-Study my Japanese. Rosetta Stone, my hiragana and katakana flashcards and Japanese books.
-Try and speak Japanese as much as possible outside and learn from the Japanese people
-Start sewing and scrapbooking (as soon as I get in my house and get my things delivered. I'll have my own room for this!)
Looking at all of that is overwhelming, but I think this is possible. If you don't have goals, then you won't get anything accomplished. It will be easier when I move out of the BOQ with cable and into a home with no TV. I'll have to occupy my time with something else.
Tonight, I have already looked at online graduate programs, worked with my flashcards and rosetta stone. I also made a good meal from food I bought at the commissary.
Coming back and re-reading this post will be beneficial as well. I hope that all of you can ask how these goals are going down the road and encourage me as well.
Japan, to me, seems to be a place I really want to start fresh and create some balance to my life. It can't be Feng Shui or Chi's, because those things are from China, but for some reason just being in Japan makes me want to cleanse my body of stress, frustration and instead grow and learn from being in another culture.
Professional Goals:
-Apply to DUINS following this tour
-Study on my own time (maybe study again and actually take the CCRN? Maybeee)
-Perhaps start some graduate classes in nursing education, nutrition or study some sort of homeopathic medicine program
Navy Goals:
-Be more active in the wardroom and command
-Perhaps even try for a position with the wardroom
-Work on maintaining a positive attitude and encourage my junior sailors
Physical Goals:
-Get to the gym! Get in a routine
-I'd love to get in some classes, but with 12 hr shifts, it's so hard
-Sign up with a physical trainer in 2 weeks to get me started
-Tone up my body and lower my resting heart rate
-Try and cook more at home and look into highly nutritious meals and try some superfoods!
-Keep up with the vegetarianism as long as I can. So far, so good.
-Walk as much as possible to train, to work, etc. So far this is happening for sure! My calves are sore!!
Mental Goals:
-De-stress!
-Find some yoga or meditation I can do to relax
-Go to the gym for massages on base. They have some amazing Japanese women that perform some cool massages! (Maybe I'll do this tomorrow....)
Marriage Goals:
-Maintain good communication with Cameron
-Try and be supportive and not questioning or frustrating with him
-Explore and take trips as much as we can in Japan
-Remember every day how much I appreciate him and value him as a husband
-Every day write down one thing that I love about him or that I appreciate he did or does for me (once we get a house, I think I'll get a whiteboard or some place I can put this up)
-Make sure not to bother Cameron during times he is working, so he can stay focused
Other Personal Goals:
-Study my Japanese. Rosetta Stone, my hiragana and katakana flashcards and Japanese books.
-Try and speak Japanese as much as possible outside and learn from the Japanese people
-Start sewing and scrapbooking (as soon as I get in my house and get my things delivered. I'll have my own room for this!)
Looking at all of that is overwhelming, but I think this is possible. If you don't have goals, then you won't get anything accomplished. It will be easier when I move out of the BOQ with cable and into a home with no TV. I'll have to occupy my time with something else.
Tonight, I have already looked at online graduate programs, worked with my flashcards and rosetta stone. I also made a good meal from food I bought at the commissary.
Coming back and re-reading this post will be beneficial as well. I hope that all of you can ask how these goals are going down the road and encourage me as well.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Set yourself the bolder course. Keep your heart an open shrine. - Bob Seger, In Your Time
This past week I was attending AOB/ICR, which included a few days of orientation to the base and all of its services and then an introduction to the culture and experiences we can see here in Japan.
Yesterday, our class took a field trip on the JR train to Kamakura. Kamakura is a city about 20 min on train from Yokosuka and it's full of history. At one point, it was the capitol of Japan during the Shogunate power.
Anyway, they showed us how to get a train ticket and ride the train there. It's very similar to the metro and I bought one of the plastic re-loadable cards at the station, just like the metro in DC. We all got on and rode in silence to Kamakura. They don't talk at all on public transportation for respect to others, so it's always awkwardly silent.
After we arrived, they dismissed us to break up and eat. My small group, of me, Maurice and Heather (2 peeps I met during the class) ventured out to find Ramen. We kept finding dead ends and all of a sudden we didn't see any other people from our class. We eventually ran into one of our teachers and asked where a ramen place was. They told us, "where the flag is" and pointed back to a few stores that had flags. We saw several stores and poked our heads in. We ended up in this small restaurant of about 6 seats with a bar window to the kitchen. The menus were in Japanese and the people working there didn't really speak english. I pulled out the iphone and used my google translate and asked if there was anything vegetarian.
He mentioned noodles and vegetable tempura and the other two people I were with agreed and ate the same thing.
I've used chopsticks for sushi, etc....but I've never had to cut food with it or eat noodles with it. We had just watched a video about how to eat properly with chopsticks in Japan. There are many rules. We were so paranoid to offend anyone, so we were very careful about eating. My hand cramped up a bit and most of my food was cold by the time I ate it all, but we got through it and I'm sure entertained everyone else in the room!
Then, we headed with our group down to the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine. It was founded in 1063 and moved to it's current location in 1180.
Before you entered the temple, you could perform a water purification and pour water into one hand and then the other and then put some in your mouth and spit it out outside of the water fountain area.
Yesterday, our class took a field trip on the JR train to Kamakura. Kamakura is a city about 20 min on train from Yokosuka and it's full of history. At one point, it was the capitol of Japan during the Shogunate power.
Anyway, they showed us how to get a train ticket and ride the train there. It's very similar to the metro and I bought one of the plastic re-loadable cards at the station, just like the metro in DC. We all got on and rode in silence to Kamakura. They don't talk at all on public transportation for respect to others, so it's always awkwardly silent.
After we arrived, they dismissed us to break up and eat. My small group, of me, Maurice and Heather (2 peeps I met during the class) ventured out to find Ramen. We kept finding dead ends and all of a sudden we didn't see any other people from our class. We eventually ran into one of our teachers and asked where a ramen place was. They told us, "where the flag is" and pointed back to a few stores that had flags. We saw several stores and poked our heads in. We ended up in this small restaurant of about 6 seats with a bar window to the kitchen. The menus were in Japanese and the people working there didn't really speak english. I pulled out the iphone and used my google translate and asked if there was anything vegetarian.
He mentioned noodles and vegetable tempura and the other two people I were with agreed and ate the same thing.
I've used chopsticks for sushi, etc....but I've never had to cut food with it or eat noodles with it. We had just watched a video about how to eat properly with chopsticks in Japan. There are many rules. We were so paranoid to offend anyone, so we were very careful about eating. My hand cramped up a bit and most of my food was cold by the time I ate it all, but we got through it and I'm sure entertained everyone else in the room!
Then, we headed with our group down to the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine. It was founded in 1063 and moved to it's current location in 1180.
Before you entered the temple, you could perform a water purification and pour water into one hand and then the other and then put some in your mouth and spit it out outside of the water fountain area.
 |
| yeah...I don't think Heather was feeling putting the water in her mouth. |
We also got bombarded by an elderly Japanese man who secretly, we think, wanted to feel up Heather. Many times he "accidentally" touched her on her backside, etc. Anyway, he was trying to show us something about how if you fell backward there was a grave or something and this man's wife was buried there and she would stop you from falling or something? He was crazy and just kept having us stand and fall backward and trying to show us something by that. It really didn't make sense, but we all just kept nodding and saying, "ohhh, wow. thanks!" and trying to walk away and he kept talking to us. He also carried around a stick and would point it at a tree and fall back. It was very odd and Maurice happened to catch a few photos of this encounter.
Here are more of the shrine. It was awesome to get out and look around Japan finally. I've been so busy with stuff for orientation, checking in, housing, etc. We found our way back to the train and made it to Yokosuka. Here's to more trips out in the country!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)