First week in Japan!

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Konichiwa! Hey guys! I made it through orientation week and started working with the kids today! It feels like I've been here forever. We had orientation last Mon-Thurs from around 8-5 where we learned about the center, the base, the culture, just kind of an overview about the most important things we need to know. Friday was the first time we got to go off base. They took us all together to get train passes and we took the train to Kamakura and saw a temple and a shrine, not really sure what the differences are. We went to the Hachimangu shrine first and then the Hasedera temple after that. They were both really pretty, I'll try to attach pictures hopefully they work. They were both huge and the Hasedera temple had multiple different buildings plus a hydrangea garden that was really pretty. It was also up on a hill so the view was amazing. We came back to Yokosuka around lunch time and went to a ramen place that was right off base that was really good. I'm probably gonna be getting ramen a lot😊 In the afternoon we had to make posters and do some camp stuff, but Friday night a few girls and I walked around Yokosuka and looked at the different shops and restaurants. Saturday a group of us went to Yokohama and we had to figure out the trains by ourselves. It took a while but we finally figured out how to get where we were going. We walked around the streets some and walked along the boardwalk which was really pretty. We went to the Cup Noodles museum, which is about ramen noodles. We got walk around and see the history of Cup Noodles and then we got to make our own! It was really cool, we colored the cup and then got to pick what to put in the cup and watch it get sealed and stuff. It was definitely interesting. After that we went to Cosmo World which is a little amusement park in the middle of the city. We went on a lot of different rides including a roller coaster that goes underwater and a japanese haunted house. Supposedly they have the largest ferris wheel, but by the time we got to it there was an hour wait and we would have missed our train home so we didn't get to go. We'll go back another time and go on it though! I started working with the kids today and it went pretty well. I've heard a lot of horror stories and some people had really bad days but mine was pretty good. There are definitely some things that I need to learn and get used to, but overall I think it went okay! I'm just working this week and have a meeting on my birthday- yay😊 I think a group of us are gonna go out to eat in Yokosuka on Thursday, since we won't have time on Wed. Next weekend I'm hopefully going to Tokyo and I can celebrate then! I'll post again on Sunday or Monday probably! Bye, love you guys

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