Army Life 101 - There's
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Army Wife 101
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Well, I am now an Army Family Team Building Master Trainer!
The trip to Hawaii was so wonderful! I had such a great time. It was so green and lush in Hawaii compared to the cold brown Korea winter. The AFTB Master Trainer Course was held at the Turtle Bay Hilton Resort on the North Shore. It is a secluded area and very nice and quiet there. It is near the famous Sunset Beach and home to the big waves and expert surfers. The humpback whales migrate past this area of Hawaii. Some of the people at the hotel watched the whales at sunset from their lanai's. A lanai is the Hawaiian word for balcony. The hotel is very nice; it is the same hotel Ziggy Marley stayed at for his concert Reggae on the Beach. All of the rooms have an ocean view. They were huge rooms and we each were given a private room. There were about 100 people there for the AFTB conference. In case you don't know what AFTB is please check out my page about Army Family Team Building.
Anyway,
back to AFTB… The training lasted from 5 through 10th of
April and were very intense days. The classes started promptly
at 8 am every morning and lasted until close to 6 pm everyday.
We had a two inch thick manual and we covered everybit of what
was printed in it, and then some. It was very informative. The
Hawaii class was only open to those living in the Pacific Theater.
That area includes Hawaii, Alaska, Japan and Korea for name a
few. I met some really terrific people and learned so very much!
We all shared our experiences, past and present and really got
to know each other in a very short time. I think we came away
with a little piece of each person there. We worked closely all
day and socialized each nigh together. I am interested in building
a website for AFTB instructors and Master Trainers for keep in
touch and continue the networking we started in Hawaii. The end
of the week was a little sad, it was almost like saying good-bye
to people I had known for years.
Our Core Instructors were fantastic! They brought so much to these classes, it is incredible to believe that these dedicated people are all volunteers! They really kept us going through out the day. The classes were intense and they kept our attention the whole time. The energized us with bumper-cars, the Y-M-C-A, and the bunny-hop to name a few. The pink bunny sure did keep us going and going and going and going.
We were given the chance to meet Mrs. Vicki Brown, Chief, AFTB. She is such a fantastic person! She was so kind and took time to speak with each person there at some time throughout the week.
We were taught in-depth classes about The Adult Learner, Communication Skills, Group Dynamics, Oral Presentation and Workshops, The Planning Process, Instructor Roles, Methods of Instruction, Instructional Aids, Program Administration, Volunteer Management, Marketing and Promotion, America's Army Networking Forum, and Facilities and Classroom Management. Although the days were long and packed full, we woke up early each morning and looked foreword to what we'd learn that day.
What do I do now -- as a Master Trainer?
After the classes were over, I headed down to Waikiki with two other ladies from the class, Shannon and Liz. The three of us stayed together to split the hotel costs. We had a great time together. Liz and I soaked up the rays on the beach, and Shannon came along and sat with us. We were only there for three days, but I managed to get some color on my skin anyway. We didn't sight see too much. It was such an intensive week I just wanted to relax. We went out in the evenings and saw some of the area. It was nice to be back in American culture, sort of. I say sort of, because the Hawaiian culture has a lot of Asian influence to it. There were Japanese tourists everywhere. I think I saw as many Japanese as Americans in Hawaii! The menus and signs in the stores were even written in Japanese characters.
The
difference between the North Shore area and the Honolulu/Waikiki
area is night and day! The North Shore is more natural and less
touristy. There are hotels and shopping centers everywhere in
Waikiki. There was nothing around our hotel at Turtle Bay for
miles! It took about 45 minutes to get to the nearest little
town. Hale'iwa is a small surfer's town near Sunset Beach. The
town is stuck in the 60's with it's little eateries and surf board
shops. I ate there often during the AFTB Course. I took lots
of pictures and video.
I visited the Aloha Flea Market and the Waikiki Aquarium. The
flea market was big! It had great deals on souvenirs. I got
a sarong for myself. It is blue with geckos on it. I now have
two! Some friends brought me back a beautiful navy one from the
Philippines. I learned how to tie it into a dress or a skirt.
There are lots of ways to tie them. Most of them I probably
wouldn't wear though. The Aquarium was very small! The reason
I wanted to go was to see 
the
Hawaiian Monk Seals. They are so cute. Their heads are more
rounded and their faces are flatter than most other seals. I
really enjoyed watching them. But, it was the first pretty day
I had to lay out and the last day I had in Hawaii! I was in a
hurry to get into the sun! Shannon did not want to lay out, so
we made a deal and she went to the Honolulu Zoo and I went to
the beach in front of the zoo. Later we took pictures on the
beach and played in the water. The water was much warmer than
I expected! I had a ball playing in the water. I would have
loved to stay there even longer, but Shannon didn't have a swimsuit
and we had made plans to go to the movies. We went from there
to the movies and I was soaked! I had thought I would dry out
by the time we walked there…WRONG! We actually saw a movie
on opening weekend! We saw "City of Angels" with Meg
Ryan and Nicholas Cage. It was a great movie, but bring Kleenex.
Well, while back in the States I got to eat out, we ate at Pizza
Bob's, Rob Lobster, Tony Roma's, and Denny's. We had McDonald's
too, but we have those here in Korea. I had a great time everywhere
we went. I slipped into being back in the States very easily,
but every now and then something would catch my eye and surprise
me. Mostly it was little things. On the bus I understood the
radio, but that didn't keep me from calling the bus driver Adjishee!
I saw someone drinking out of a 16 oz soda bottle and that was
strange, we only cans here. The commercials on TV weren't all
military related! The sitcoms were new and I got to see a brand
new ER episode! The Pepsi can has changed and the Budwiser frogs
are dead! Those are the two big pieces of news I brought back,
oh and Ross is engaged to someone and it isn't Rachel! It is
all the little things we miss here in Korea. I went to Hawaii
with three goals: graduate AFTB Master Trainer School, eat at
Taco Bell and go to Wal-mart! Well I made one of the three.
I am an AFTB Master Trainer! See it is the simple things in life
we miss.
Well that was my trip to Hawaii!
Army Wife 101
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My Life * Korea
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