Today was the earliest morning
yet. We had to train to the U.S. Naval Base. This base is in its own suburb
area, on the side of town. I had never been on a base before so it was a new
experience. Everyone is so friendly with you. Even though we were in Japan
everything was extremely Americanized. The first place we went to was a
preschool. It was a pretty big room for the school but you could tell it was a
tight fit.
The children were pretty happy
there. I feel like it is a good place for them to be happy. As we got to the
other elementary school I noticed the kids especially the older they got, the
more aware of things they were. The U.S. and Japanese have very different
education styles. The U.S. has more of a welcoming environment. They want the
kids to discover themselves more than anything. However, the kids in Japan take
school extremely serious. There is no messing around. I believe that both Japan
and the U.S. can learn from each other.
The lunch in the U.S. was very
different compared to the Japanese lunch. We ate with the preschool kids. Some
kids at my table only ate spaghetti with water. Where others drank milk and ate
vegetables as well as spaghetti. The American children could waste their food
and not feel bad about it. Where the Japanese kids wouldn't even think about
wasting their food. I think the U.S. should probably discipline the kids a
little bit more because it is true, Americans waste so much and it isn't fair
to the rest of the world.
The base itself was very plain and
formal. I just hope the families there are happy because they deserve to be.
They serve our country with their whole hearts and give their lives so I can
have my freedom. It was an eye opening experience to me. I was talking to one
lady who is from California and she said that she get to go home in a couple of
weeks and see her family that she hasn’t seen in 2.5 years. My family means the
world to me and I don’t think I could not see them for that long especially if
I had a family of my own.
After the base we went to a big
tourist town. We were able to see some temples and shrines here. Temples and
shrines are very important to the people in japan. We went to this huge shrine.
We knew it was a shrine because it has the big arch way that leads to it. They
are also very well kept. We went to a shrine that people still go to for
worship and it was interesting to see how they would pray. They would also
leave prayers everywhere. They would tie them up on strings and throw coins
into a bin a pray by bowing back and forth. At this shrine I was able to see
the chairs that soldiers would carry their leader on over their shoulders. Each
of the chairs was very intricately designed. They had tons of nitpicky details
and a large variety of colors. There were tons of different place to go in this
shrine as well. A lot of side buildings and grounds around the main shrine
allowed for a lot of people to go at once. The main part of the shrine was on a
hill. I believe they did this so that it was closer to the heavens. After the
shrine we went to a temple. The temple was in a more reserved and quiet part of
town. It was in the outskirts of the city. We knew this was a temple by looking
at how it was built. It was more basic and bland. It had a bell tower on the
ground and well-kept grounds.
Another place where there was a
big shrine was right outside our hostel. This shrine was absolutely
unbelievable. It took up so much space. The buildings were in so much color
with a lot of detail. They really made it stand out. I feel like the people put
tons of time and effort into these buildings. They really care for them and
want their god to be proud or whoever they worship. Each of the different buildings
contained a big worship room and pictures on the walls. The pictures made me
think of the emperor’s palace in Mulan. Just a place for people to feel welcome
and gather together. It makes me wonder how often these buildings are taken
care of. I see how nice they still are and so many people still go there to
worship.
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