About 15 minutes later they were back with a waitress she was carrying several plates of burgers, fries, and drinks.

One of the three gave me a sad smile and they walked away. I could still hear the warnings my parents had given me about being a small-in-stature woman and dealing with a group of men I don't know echoing in my head. You can't leave your stuff with three guys you have never seen before. I looked at them for a minute my brain was arguing with my stomach. A few minutes later they come back, and offer to watch my stuff if I want to go grab food or something to drink. Three guys (all were POC) walk in and look at me and chuckle as they walk by me. I can hear the music, smell food, but there is no way I can navigate this with all of my belongings. I desperately need food, a shower, and sleep, but am stuck being on display in the main lobby. The only place to sit where I could see the front door was in the main lobby. I found a phone and called the base again and was told someone would be there in an hour or so. So now I am at the club, with two seabags and a backpack, on a Saturday night. All I wanted was a shower and sleep, but there was no one there to meet me.įun fact - the bus from the airport dropped passengers at the enlisted club. I found the USO and called the base, and was told to get on the bus to Camp Zama Army Base and someone would meet me there.īy the time I got to Zama, I had been traveling for over 20 hours. There was no one to meet me, but I remembered to look for the USO. I arrived at the International Airport in Narita, first time out of the US, and way more nervous thn I would ever admit. I joined the Navy at… age 20, and my first post after boot camp and school was a base in the middle of nowhere… in Japan.

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