Anyways I will do just a quick little update because a lot has happened and I will be typing all night if I go over everything but here are the highlights.
I was able to experience my first cherry blossom season in Japan and man it is beautiful! Some of the best places to see the cherry blossoms are in Tokyo and I love how the Japanese celebrate spring. They participate in what's called Hanami which consists of them sitting under the cherry blossom trees with friends and family while drinking and eating and having a great time. It is an amazing site to see especially at Yogi park which is huge and filled with hundreds of people celebrating spring. I think it is my favorite time of year in Japan!
I also had my first nurse's week as a navy nurse! The highlight of nurse's week in the navy was the Navy Nurse Corps Ball which was amazing! I don't think that any Nurse Corps Ball will compare to this one because it was on a yacht that sailed around the harbor in Yokohama and I had a moment where I was staring out across the bay at beautiful Yokohama thinking how could it get any better than this?! But the navy and life always have a funny way of surprising you and I have a feeling this next year will be even better than my last! I will include some pictures of the ball. Nurse's week at the hospital was fairly uneventful for me because I was on nights so I wasn't able to take part in any of the celebrations but it still felt awesome to be recognized, especially as a part of the navy medicine team!
I went up to Tokyo to see the Sanji festival which is one of the biggest festivals in Tokyo. The Japanese carry around these huge shrine things all around the city to celebrate the religion I believe. It was pretty hot but so cool to see!
The rest of May was filled with work and then I was able to take another trip to South Korea! I love Japan but I have to say I love South Korea even more! I wanted to go back to see if I would still love it as much as the first time I went and I loved it even more! This trip solidified that I want to live there one day. I'm not sure how I am going to make that happen but I will start by asking for orders there, which I will be picking orders in like a month!! CRAZY!!! This time is flying by and I can't believe I will be leaving Japan in a year! :( But I hope to either stay in Asia or go to Europe. We will see what the detailer offers me! I have a feeling it will only be one of the big three but I am not done traveling and seeing the world so I don't think I want to go home yet! Fingers crossed for me!
Navy life has been treating me pretty well as you can see! We did have a summer whites inspection before I left for Korea and I actually received an outstanding so I was given a 24 hour special liberty which was cool! I need to decide when I want to use it and hopefully spend the day doing something fun. We also had our first cycle PRT and I think I got an outstanding on that too so I am in tip-top Navy shape it looks like! Work was extremely busy before the Reagan left but now that the ship is on patrol the hospital has slowed down a lot. We haven't had many patient's and sometimes it can be really boring and depressing because I do want to practice my nursing skills but I spend most of my time studying Korean and planning my next trip! Eventually I will go back to school but for now I am just trying to enjoy this crazy adventure in Japan! :)
Hope everyone's applications are going well. I have been getting a ton of emails and I love it, keep them coming! I will answer your questions as best I can! :)