My Head Coaching Debut
So here it is, the first article that was written in regards to the swim team that I am the head coach of.
The Iwakuni Approach is a weekly newsletter that is put out, and they did a little article regarding the swim team.
I was just sent the link to the article, and it was published back in September. The military does everything SLOWLY!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What's New
There is not a whole lot new to share. We are both really busy, yet somehow Tracy has become busier that Jon. Tracy has been substitute teaching for the past few weeks, and recently was hired for two different jobs, and had to turn one down. Tracy was hired as a Sales Associate at the Golf Course, and one week later, was hired as an RN for WIC Overseas. The WIC job does not begin until December, but with everything else that she has going on, she does not have the time to work at the Golf Course. The school has been keeping her very busy (everyday), and then on top of that, she still coaches the youth swim team.
Jon has been busy trying to keep up with his new work schedule. He continues to work 24 hour shifts, and has only a day or two off in between.
This weekend, we will hardly see each other, with Tracy going out of town for a swim meet, and Jon working back to back 24's...we may see each other in passing, but that is about it.
Hopefully I will have some pictures to post from my trip to Sasebo with the Swim Team!!
Happy Reading!
Jon has been busy trying to keep up with his new work schedule. He continues to work 24 hour shifts, and has only a day or two off in between.
This weekend, we will hardly see each other, with Tracy going out of town for a swim meet, and Jon working back to back 24's...we may see each other in passing, but that is about it.
Hopefully I will have some pictures to post from my trip to Sasebo with the Swim Team!!
Happy Reading!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
7 Falls Hiking Trip
On Sunday, October 2, we decided to head out into the great outdoors and do some hiking. We picked up the directions to 7 Falls, and headed out. 7 falls is about 90 minutes away from the base, and up in the mountains.
It was a pretty easy drive, with a few scary moments along the way. There are several areas where the road goes from 2 lanes to 1-at that point, who ever is going uphill has the right of way!
The weather for the day was cool, and the higher we climbed in the mountains, the cooler it got. When we left base, it was 72 degrees, and when we got to 7 Falls, it was a cool 68. Perfect weather for hiking!
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| Trees on the way up-really can not tell that they are changing colors, but they are |
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| Typical mountain road...a little windy! |
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| We followed this river all the way up into the falls |
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| Reminds me of the Kern River....too bad its not, and it is in Japan! |
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| One way road |
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| Yea we made it! Map of 7 Falls |
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| Small river that runs through the campground section of 7 Falls |
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| More river in the campground |
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| This faux "fall" is actually water that pushed through the wall |
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| Waterfall at the base of the mountain |
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| We tried, but this was the best we could do |
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| Another waterfall...the water is cold |
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| Pool below the fall...we were trying to figure out how deep the pool is |
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| Another fall The red bridge is the pathway through all of the falls This was an easy one to get to! |
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| Top of the falls...so we thought. When you get to this point, you can choose to go left or right. Both paths take you through long dark tunnels, that lead one of two ways. To the left, you can start hiking down the mountain, to the right (the way we went), you can continue to hike to the summit. |
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| After another 15-20 minutes of hiking (all stairs and all uphill) we made it to the summit. This is the view from on top of a huge rock we decided to climb as well. Nothing like hiking and rock climbing-all in a days fun! |
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| On top of Japan...sort of! |
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| The hike back down...straight down too! |
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| Cool Buddha statue at the top of the mountain People have left tokens of Yen for Buddha |
So we decided that we wanted to do this hike, as it is one of the hikes to prepare people for Mt. Fuji.
Jon and I have decided that Summer 2012 is when we are going to hike Mt. Fuji. This hike is rated moderate to difficult, as it deals with steep terrain, as well as altitude changes.
While hiking, we also decided that this would be a great place to go camping at, so we plan on heading back up there in the next few weeks to do some camping with friends. The weather is changing, so now we have to decide if we are tenting it, or if we are going to get a cabin....we are both leaning towards tenting it!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Getting Busy
Time should start to fly by a little faster now for the both of us. Jon's work schedule has changed, again! He is now working a funky 24 on, 48 off, 24 on, 48 off, 24 on, 24 off, 24 on, 72 off. I know it's confusing, but it allows them more long breaks...which in turn means we cna get out an do a little traveling. Then again, Tracy is now working-Not as a nurse! Since there are only 2 nursing positions on this base (and I have applied for both, and interviewed for 1 so far with no decisions made yet), I signed up to be a substitute teacher (Crazy idea)!
Well, the phones have been ringing. Last Thursday, the phone rang 4 times for dates for subbing. Today was my first day subbing, and it went well. Before I could even get out of the office, I was given 3 more dates in the coming week...not a bad start, 8 dates scheduled for $101 a day!
Between teaching and coaching, I am sure time will begin to fly. I should also find out in the next few weeks if I have a college class to teach as well....if so, that is 2 nights a week of teaching for 8 weeks!
I am starting to think that my Master's degree in Nursing should be in Education (seems to be working so far)!
The swim team that Tracy is Head Coach of, is getting ready for the first meet of the season (the season here is October-May). I will be taking my 3 assistant coaches, as well as 30 swimmers to Sasebo Naval Base on October 15, for a meet. Unfortunatley Jon has to work a 24 on the 14th, as well as the 16th, so he can't go with me, but at least he will have a quiet house for the day! (Tracy leaves base at 0545 to go to Sasebo, and is scheduled to return after 9pm)
Other than that, not much is going on here. The weather is starting to change to cooler. We had a Tropical Storm pass-by last week, and it brought much needed cooler temperatures with it. It has been in the mid 70's daily, with a cool breeze. We have been able to turn off our air conditioning, as well as open all the windows with the decreased humidity....thank goodness.
This weekend is Jon's first 72 on the new schedule, so we are hoping to get away for a long weekend, but we will see. The game plan right now is to go camping at the beach, but a probable storm out in the ocean may change our plans. If it does, we will find something to do....
Well, the phones have been ringing. Last Thursday, the phone rang 4 times for dates for subbing. Today was my first day subbing, and it went well. Before I could even get out of the office, I was given 3 more dates in the coming week...not a bad start, 8 dates scheduled for $101 a day!
Between teaching and coaching, I am sure time will begin to fly. I should also find out in the next few weeks if I have a college class to teach as well....if so, that is 2 nights a week of teaching for 8 weeks!
I am starting to think that my Master's degree in Nursing should be in Education (seems to be working so far)!
The swim team that Tracy is Head Coach of, is getting ready for the first meet of the season (the season here is October-May). I will be taking my 3 assistant coaches, as well as 30 swimmers to Sasebo Naval Base on October 15, for a meet. Unfortunatley Jon has to work a 24 on the 14th, as well as the 16th, so he can't go with me, but at least he will have a quiet house for the day! (Tracy leaves base at 0545 to go to Sasebo, and is scheduled to return after 9pm)
Other than that, not much is going on here. The weather is starting to change to cooler. We had a Tropical Storm pass-by last week, and it brought much needed cooler temperatures with it. It has been in the mid 70's daily, with a cool breeze. We have been able to turn off our air conditioning, as well as open all the windows with the decreased humidity....thank goodness.
This weekend is Jon's first 72 on the new schedule, so we are hoping to get away for a long weekend, but we will see. The game plan right now is to go camping at the beach, but a probable storm out in the ocean may change our plans. If it does, we will find something to do....
Monday, September 12, 2011
Goofing off in Hiroshima
After wandering around the peace park, we walked around Hiroshima on our way to the Hiroshima Castle.
We found a little street mall, and also grabbed some lunch (we were looking for American food)
We also stopped on our way home and grabbed a much needed pick-me-up for the drive home
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| Funky little "vintage" shop The smell of the store reminded me of the smell of my grandma's house in Torrance Kind of like 60 years of collectibles, with dust |
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| I call this "vintage" yard sale crap...it's all American, so the locals buy it up |
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| Beagels & Geleto (Name of the restaurant) This was yummy...everything is served in a bagel This was the "American Burger", it was some sort of salami, provolone cheese, an egg, lettuce, tomato, onion and thousand island dressing...it was so good. |
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| "American Soda"....I love Hansen's Too bad they were Y350 each (~$4.50 a can) |
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| On our way to the Castle, we passed by the Pelace Mall Vitamin Water was there promoting their drink, so we stopped and got a free bottle Even though the water was gross, we did not care, it was ice cold, and we were HOT! |
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| We found this restaurant along the way it reminded us of Kim...We miss you! |
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| Had to take a picture of this...In town, the 7/11 are called 7i holding This Seven-Eleven was found underground in the walkway that leads you everywhere in Hiroshima! |
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| HEAVEN!! Closest Starbucks to us is 75 minutes away!! |
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| Heaven in a plastic cup Tracy's order: Venti Black Iced Tea, unsweetened, extra ice, no water Jon's order: Venti drip (boring) |
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial
On Saturday, September 10, 2011, we got up and decided to head off base for the day. We got in the car, and headed north on R188 to Hiroshima. We figured we would visit the Peace Park, and see what else Hiroshima had to offer, other than an airport and baseball. It took a little over an hour to get there, since we took R188, it would have been faster to jump on the Sanyo (highway), but with the tolls, and the exchange rate at 75, we decided it was better to save our $100, and take the back roads. Not a horrible drive, just a lot of stop-lights!
Once we got to Hiro, finding the Peace Park was easy, finding parking was not-we kind of made our own spot, and prayed that we would not be towed, ticketed or booted...luckily, none of that happened!
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| Entrance to the Peace Park Memorial Museum. The clock on the right shows how many days it has been since the A-bomb was dropped, and how many days since the last nuclear reading was |
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| Bell from Nagasaki |
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| It says, "Mourning the lives lost in the atomic bombing, we pledge to convey the truth of this tragedy throughout Japan and the world, pass it on to the future, learn the lessons of history, and build a peaceful world free fro nuclear weapons" |
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| The fountain monument. If you look closely, the lines on the top, show the time of 8:15 which is the time of the bombing. This fountain provides light for the monument below it. The rubble around the fountain is actual roof tiles that were found during excavation of the monument. |
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| Us in front of the fountain |
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| The bottom of the monument. This smaller fountain is being lit by the larger fountain above. The pictures on the wall, show what the town looked like after the bombing. The walls are mosaics of 140,000 tiles...one tile for each person killed in the bombing. |
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| A-bomb dome across the Motoyasu River |
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| Bell of Peace |
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| Close up of the A-bomb dome |
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| View from the back of the dome. The dome still has original rubble on the ground around it. There are large pieces of concrete and bricks with broken re-bar sticking out. |
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| On our way to the Hiroshima Castle...yep this is a moat that goes around the castle! |
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| Jon and Buddha |
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| Taken from the 10th floor Sky Lounge in Hiroshima You can see the entire Hiroshima skyline |
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Fukugawa English Contest
Last Saturday, August 27th, Tracy was given the opportunity to judge an English speaking contest in nearby Fukugawa. Fukugawa is approximately 75km south of Iwakuni, and of course, the quickest way to get there is via train.
The trip took about 90 minutes each way, and cost Y2580 (approx $32).
This years contest was the 20th anniversary. The contest is open to elementary, junior high and high school students throughout the area. The contest is used to judge the students on how well they speak English. There were 2 other people from the base that went, both of them are English tutors to Japanese elders. One of the Japanese students went with us as well, as our translator.
When we arrived in Fukugawa, we had a short 5 minute walk across a bridge (over the train tracks) to the community center where we would be having the contest. Prior to the contest, the head of the English Committee took the 4 of us judges to an all-you-can-eat Japanese Buffet.
This buffet was interesting and confusing at the same time. Since I am still not sure what anything is, I took a little bit of everything. Some of it was good, like the chicken balls (panko crusted chicken pieces that are fried). Some of the food is a little scary, like what I thought was beef with broccoli, but it wasn't. I have no idea what it really was. It was some kind of meat, and it did have broccoli, but it was in a sauce that was gelatinous...kinda reminded me of canned dog food. At that time, I was done eating. Thank goodness for white rice!
After lunch, we headed back to the community center, and the contest began. First up was the elementary students, of which there was one that participated. The young girl was in the 6th grade, and told a story about a little flower bud. Her English was better than I had expected.
Next up was the junior high students. This time there were 10 students, and so the competition was going to be tough. We were to grade them on not only their English, but there facial/hand expressions, how they interact with the audience, the flow/rate of speech and their general appearance. Each student was allowed to pick their own topic, and they were supposed to memorize the words in English (most of the
teachers are English speaking). The students were only allowed 5 minutes to give their speeches. After the Junior high students, it was on to the high school students, and there was only 6 of them. Most of the high school students talked about their travels as an exchange student, and the places they saw. I have to admit, the junior high students did much better than the high school students. At the end of the competition, the top students in each category was awarded, as well as the best overall.
After the competition, the head of the committee handed each of the four judges two envelopes. We were told the first envelope was to reimburse our travel fare, and the other envelope was our gift. None of us opened our envelopes until we were home. The first envelope contained Y2000 (~$25). The other envelope had Y10,000 (~$133.33). Not bad for a day off base, and a couple hours of judging English.
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| Downtown Fukugawa |
The trip took about 90 minutes each way, and cost Y2580 (approx $32).
This years contest was the 20th anniversary. The contest is open to elementary, junior high and high school students throughout the area. The contest is used to judge the students on how well they speak English. There were 2 other people from the base that went, both of them are English tutors to Japanese elders. One of the Japanese students went with us as well, as our translator.
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| Fukugawa station |
When we arrived in Fukugawa, we had a short 5 minute walk across a bridge (over the train tracks) to the community center where we would be having the contest. Prior to the contest, the head of the English Committee took the 4 of us judges to an all-you-can-eat Japanese Buffet.
This buffet was interesting and confusing at the same time. Since I am still not sure what anything is, I took a little bit of everything. Some of it was good, like the chicken balls (panko crusted chicken pieces that are fried). Some of the food is a little scary, like what I thought was beef with broccoli, but it wasn't. I have no idea what it really was. It was some kind of meat, and it did have broccoli, but it was in a sauce that was gelatinous...kinda reminded me of canned dog food. At that time, I was done eating. Thank goodness for white rice!
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| Map of Fukugawa |
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| Can you figure out which train to where, and how much? |
teachers are English speaking). The students were only allowed 5 minutes to give their speeches. After the Junior high students, it was on to the high school students, and there was only 6 of them. Most of the high school students talked about their travels as an exchange student, and the places they saw. I have to admit, the junior high students did much better than the high school students. At the end of the competition, the top students in each category was awarded, as well as the best overall.
After the competition, the head of the committee handed each of the four judges two envelopes. We were told the first envelope was to reimburse our travel fare, and the other envelope was our gift. None of us opened our envelopes until we were home. The first envelope contained Y2000 (~$25). The other envelope had Y10,000 (~$133.33). Not bad for a day off base, and a couple hours of judging English.
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