A very FULL week in Sasebo!!!

Week 3

Bowling with my mentor, Jessica

For me, this week has been focused on the Manager/Employee relationship, and where I fit into this whole scheme.  Because Sasebo Naval Base is such as small community, and everyone really does know everyone else, most of the staff members have friendships outside of the office.  I have noticed though that there is a pretty obvious separation between most of the managers and their employees (as is to be expected).  The issue has been where I fit into this whole scheme.  Because 75% of my time is spent with the CYP programs and staff members meeting people outside of that group has been harder than expected.  Therefore, I have taken the staff up on their offers to hang out socially off the clock, but being an intern with management has its challenges  Am I management, because of who I work with on a daily basis, or am staff because, lets face it, I am new to this field?  I tend to get along with most people and therefore have been invited to several different activities, which has required me to make decisions as to with whom I celebrate events.  I think that my short, three-month stint here will give me the leeway necessary to create, not ruin, my new friendships, but it just adds another dynamic to my experience that I was not expecting.  It makes me think about how I feel it is best to build an appropriate manager relationship when, in all honesty, I do not have that many years of experience as an employee.

This week was spent (mainly) in the CDC.  Monday was spent in the infant room.  While I enjoy the 4 to 1 ratio with two teachers in the room (three counting me), even with that amount of staff managing a group of infants can be exhausting, especially with a new, six-week-old baby in the mix.  My favorite aspect of the day was just being able to see the large variations in ability between the new child and the children who are almost one year old.  Development was very evident in this room, and that helped to prepare me for the more subtle differences I would see in the older rooms.  Even though it was a long day, and I left with probably every type of bodily fluid on my clothes, I loved working with this age group.

Tuesday I spent the majority of my time in the toddler room, which afforded me the opportunity to experience family style dining.  I remember the first time I observed dining in the preschool on my college campus.  I guess my experiences with that age group had been really limited because I was unaware of the fact that there are miniature pitchers that children use to serve themselves.  Now, the personal care skill of pouring a drink seems like something that all children deserve to experience.  But beyond appropriately sized pitchers, family style dining requires that a teacher sit with the children at the table and model for the children how to appropriately participate in a meal; i.e. how to serve themselves, how to use utensils properly, etc.  Right now the current debate I have been a part of regarding meals is the question of whether the teachers should be wearing gloves during the meals for sanitation purposes, or if gloves negates the “family style” aspect of the meal, as no parent would wear gloves when serving a child in their own home.  I have heard out both sides, and I would love to hear what anyone else has to say about family style dining or the rules and regulations behind it on the Navy side of things.

Wednesday was crazy, as it always is.  Following an uneventful managers meeting, Jessica (Main Base T&C), Patti (Hario T&C), and I sat down to discuss the CDA program we (well, really THEY) are going to roll out for interested employees.  Although both Jessica and Patti have some experience with the program in the past, they are both kind of starting from scratch because of updates to the program and being at a new site (with new requirements on who can qualify and at what point in they need to be in their training).  That meeting was very insightful as to how the program over here operates, and I am enjoying seeing this particular program move forward.  Wednesday was also girl scouts and photography.  Today we focused on black & white photography, and the kiddos all had a good time with that.  I was in charge of the Girl Scout activity, so we did “career charades” as a way to help them earn their “Thinking Day” badge.  The children all got into it, and I enjoyed exposing them to a few new career possibilities, or at least making “manly” jobs an option for them.

The highlight of Thursday for me was observing the EDIS coordinator and Pediatric Occupational Therapist working with an eighteen month old in the center.  This child has very limited core strength and low muscle tone, so he receives services both at home and in the CDC.  The OT came today to do a training with all of the staff who work directly with this child, and I really enjoyed being in that *limited* medical world again.  My OT experience came rolling back, and both the OT and the EDIS specialist asked if I could be assigned for one-on-one care with this child to help continue to train the staff after they noticed I understood and had experience implementing what was being discussed and taught.  This child does not have IEP that has officially requested one-on-one care, and since I work with all of CYP being in the CDC for the rest of my internship is not a possibility for me, but I did enjoy my interactions that day.  I hope to be able to spend more time with this child in an effort to help support the teachers so that they can give him the best care possible. 

Wearing an Asprin Mask
(a new experience)

Thursday was also “Girl’s Spa Day” for the teens, and I had a chance to do facials with the girls.  We all had a lot of fun, and it led to a good discussion of personal care and individual family’s values, such as one of the girls not being allowed to cut her hair.

Friday I only worked half a day because I was schedule to work on Saturday too.  I spent the first part of the day wandering around the Ginza with Alisha, the Teen Lead, looking for the Japanese Founder’s Day parade that never happened.  After I got to work I was able to finish up some CDC paperwork, and then I went on a fieldtrip with the SAC Photography Club to a local temple and the Ginza to take some photos.  Not only did I enjoy spending time with the kiddos, but it was also a great excuse to see a new temple and an even better experience to see it through the children’s eyes.

My yummy Green Tea Blended Cream!

Shopping in the 100yen store with Alicia
while looking for the parade.

The sweet treat I bough...too cool to pass up!

An area where people could leave
prayers at the temple.

The temple where we took the kiddos.

A path to the temple

Purification fountain

Exploring the temple grounds

The temple (or maybe shrine, not sure)

Hanging shoes at the Ginza

Kitty Cat in the Ginza (the kids all wanted to take photos of him)

Lots of guitars in the ginza!

Japanese dolls

Yes, that says "Lamborghini"

A sweet ride!

After a full Friday I decided to take advantage of Galactic Bowling on base.  What started out as a group CYP adventure ended up just being just Jessica and I, but we still had fun, and I bowled some of the best games of my life (which is not saying much)!

My snazzy bowling shoes!

Playing around...

My highest score ever!  111!!!

Saturday was Parent’s Night Out, which is a service the CDC provides to any parent on base (regular patron or not), to drop off their children for $5 an hour during the 5pm to midnight time frame.  PNO happens every month of so, and is a different experience for the staff because the age groups are more lax and so is the schedule.  I ran the front desk today (with ample assistance as needed), checking children in and sending them to the appropriate classrooms.  I also spent some time in the infant room tonight, supporting the staff with their full classroom.  When it came to check-out and payment, it went smoothly in general, but the prices posted are confusing, and I once charged a family incorrectly base on outdated paperwork.  Guess I should always trust what my brain is telling me and not just what I am reading.  I only worked from 4:30 till 9pm tonight, but it gave me a really good understanding of how these nights run, and what is needed to manage this program.  The CDC staff really does have a wide variety of responsibilities, as well as a VAST number of policies that MUST be followed on a daily basis, and I really respect what they do.  I look forward to spending more time in this center over the coming weeks.