So What's New? - Japan Adventure #2

That's right, my friends.  I am returning to Japan in less than a week, so I thought, "Hey... I'd better start blogging more frequently again."  For those of you that are curious, I'm going through the same organization as last year (Guy Healy, Japan), and I'll be teaching English to several different groups of kids throughout the summer.

Honestly, I can't wait to go back, and I truly can't believe that I'll be returning to Japan after only being gone for about eleven months.  However, it's going to be a different experience, since none of my friends that I met last year are going back.  Well, that isn't completely true.  I found out recently that my friend, Ikuma, who was one of the Japanese counselors on my team last year is going to be the Director on my team this year.

Alright, alright, I hear you in the back, and I'll answer your question.  Regarding vlogs and blogs while I'm abroad... here's the plan.

I'll be uploading photos to Facebook whenever an opportunity arises.  So as long as I have Wi-Fi, my friends will be updated frequently.

I'll blog when I have time, but I can't make any promises that I'll make lots of blog posts during my trip.  If I don't, I'll certainly write about my trip afterwards, so don't worry about that.

And the moment you've all been waiting for... videos... Here's the deal.  I'm not going to bring my expensive laptop and worry about something happening to it every day.  So, to compromise for not bringing it, I bought myself a nice little Chromebook yesterday.  Now, as you can imagine, I don't have access to my video editing suite on the Chromebook, so I'll most likely be doing all of my editing after returning to the states in the end of August.  That doesn't mean that I won't record footage of me talking in front of the camera while I'm there; I just won't be able to upload it to YouTube until I'm back.

I hope that sounds okay for everyone.

I'll keep updates coming regularly until I leave.

Take care,

Adam
アダム

The Best Summer Job in Japan

Hello, Internet.  I have a lot to discuss today, so grab a notebook, some shredded Wheaties, and hop onto your favorite hammock.  Let’s get started.

As a foreigner, finding work in Japan typically requires a Bachelor’s degree.  Right now, I’m working towards an Associate degree in Visual Communications, and I’m considering continuing my education afterwards.  Anyway, what I’m trying to say is… There are opportunities to find work in Japan without a Bachelor’s degree.

Before I go any further, I should admit that my work was unpaid.  But… my airfare, housing, food, and transportation was all covered by Guy Healy, Japan, the organization that sent me to Japan to teach English at seven different three day summer camps for five and a half weeks.

It was a pretty sweet deal.  I wanted to go to Japan… and they wanted to bring American college students over to befriend campers that were eager to learn English in a fun environment.

My team and I worked with kids from elementary school through high school, preparing them for Eigo Kai, which was an English-speaking competition on the last day of camp.  The kids would perform a skit that the American counselors helped them write, they talked about themselves for 3 minutes in the My Story competition, sang songs that they wrote, and everyone had a good time.

During camp, we’d have dance parties with American music, a carnival with games and prizes, and we even had campfires.

Above everything else, our main goal was to become friends with the campers and provide them with a fun, safe environment for learning English.

It was always sad when we had to say goodbye to our new friends that were only in our lives for three days, but it was even more difficult to leave the team that I lived with during my stay in Japan.  We became a family, and I don’t use that term loosely. 

So, Guy Healy Japan’s USA Summer Camp was the perfect fit for me, since I’m still working towards a degree that will allow me to work in Japan full-time with pay.  I applied for the same program again this summer, and I was glad to be invited back for yet another summer of building my personal confidence, as well as gaining some independence that every adult should have.

Go onto the web, do some research, ask your school about opportunities to go to Japan if you really want to.  If I could go, then you certainly can, too. 

Remember to enjoy life, and take advantage of opportunities that you’re given. 

Take care,

Adam

アダム

Lang 8 Blog #3 - My Daily Life

私は６時に起きます。
一日中、日本の音楽を聞きます。
スキャンダルが素晴らしいと思います。
すぐ、歯を磨きます。
それから、シャワーを浴びます。
時々、コンタクトレンズをつけます。
いい天気なら、犬とバスケットボールをします。
でも、上手ではありません。
毎日、文法を勉強します。
漢字も勉強します。
たくさん漢字を書けます。
でも、たくさん漢字を読むのは難しいです。
自分で、日本語を勉強しています。
大学で日本語を勉強しているわけではありません。
私の家族のレストランで働いています。
毎日働きます。
私は家に帰るとき、疲れています。
だから、早く寝ます。
おやすみなさい。


I'm not going to translate this post right now because I'm actual going to be turning it into a video blog on my YouTube channel with English and Japanese subtitles. 

That's all for now,

Adam
アダム

I Met Scandal in Chicago!

So I mentioned in a post a while ago that I was going to Anime Central in May to see one of my favorite bands of all time: Scandal.

The event was this weekend, so my friend Dillon traveled to Chicago with me for the trip.

Let me just say that the concert was a blast. They played so many great songs, although I didn't get to hear my two favorite songs: Taiyou Scandalous and Awanai Tsumori no Genki de ne.

That's alright, though, because today's event was very special for me. I went to the Q&A session that they had, and I wasn't expecting to do anything more than listen to the questions that people were asking.

But at the end, they had a quiz for the audience, and this quiz included prizes: folders of the band members with their signatures and today's date. 

Haruna asked the audience what the name of their mascot is, and I had no idea. Then Tomomi asked what the name of their first single was, and I had a feeling that it was "Doll" but I wasn't confident enough to raise my hand.

Mami went third, and she asked what anime their song Yoake No Ryuuseigun was made for. Before the translator even said the question in English, I knew the answer. However, so did a few other people, and she didn't pick me.  

Rina went last, and she asked what the encore songs were called. She picked a guy behind me, and he said "Everybody Say Yeah." But luckily for me, he didn't know the first encore song, and I did. Dillon was pointing to me while I raised my hand as high as I could, and she picked me. I said "Harukaze" and that word alone granted me permission to go up by the band.

I only had a few seconds while walking up to them to think of a nice compliment in Japanese, so I told Rina that I loved the song that she wrote, Oyasumi. To be exact, I said "おやすみが大好きだよ。"  In romaji, that's "Oyasumi ga daisuki da yo" and it means "I love Oyasumi." 

I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but Dillon can vouch for me that she seemed very flattered when I said that. She smiled, and I happily walked back to my seat. I had the time of my life, and it was so fun to be able to practice some basic Japanese while I'm still in the states. If I had time to talk to them, I would have said something like コンサートはとても楽しかったです。and that means that the concert was very fun.

And it truly was. I had the time of my life, and I'm really excited to be going back to Japan this summer!

That's all for now.

Adam

アダム

Round 2!

Hey, I just wanted to write a quick post announcing that I will be returning to Japan this summer!  I'll be teaching English just like I did last year, except my assignment is most likely going to keep me in Japan a couple weeks longer.

Last year, I was in Japan from July 2 to August 8.

This year, it looks like I'll be leaving around the same time, but I won't be returning until August 28.

And then I'll have a couple days to relax at home before my career at UW Oshkosh begins, and I'll be majoring in Japanese.  I really couldn't be more excited right now.  It's 2:38 AM and I probably won't be sleeping very much tonight.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for today, and I'll keep you guys updated as we get closer to my departure date.

Until next time,

Adam

Japan Withdrawals

What can I say?  I've been home from Japan for over six months already, and I still think about my experience abroad EVERY day.  Yes, I'm glad that I was able to reunite with my dogs (and friends and family, too, of course) but I'm ready for Round 2 now!

Six weeks in Japan wasn't long enough for me, and the words of a wise American English teacher that I met early on in my trip constantly rings through my ears.  He asked us why we applied to be American counselors at summer camps, and I said that I wanted to potentially work in Japan for a couple years after finishing college, and this was a good short term summer job for me to get my feet wet before diving into the pool.

He said to be careful because the two year plan quickly turns into nine.  Obviously, he was talking from his own experience.  And maybe my goal isn't to teach English for a decade, but to have the experience of becoming a citizen in the country of my choice and being able to function like a normal person (communication, writing, etc) has always been a dream of mine.

I know that I'll have to leave my dogs (and friends and family) for extended periods of time, but this is MY story.  My goal.  My "television drama," if you will.  I'm the main character in this story, and I have to go where my life takes me.

Take care,

Adam
アダム

The Fast Path Vs. The Fun Route

After having a long conversation with my dad in our hot tub a few nights ago, I started to reevaluate everything that I'm doing with my life right now.  I'm going to school for Visual Communications, and I'm planning on transferring to a university and continuing towards a Bachelor's degree.

However, I'm already having trouble finding time to study Japanese while attending school.  I'm not going to become fluent on my own.  If I would have, I'd almost be there already, and the only other option would be to drop everything and study Japanese full-time.  This wouldn't be for credit, and I'd probably be considered a bum by my peers.

My endgame is being able to move to Japan after finishing school.  So I have the fast path: continue down my current field and get to Japan in a few years.  Or... I could change my field of study to Japanese and Business, which was actually my plan in high school...  If I did this, school wouldn't get in the way of studying Japanese because I would be doing school work by doing my passion.  It would also make my study abroad trip more worthwhile when that finally happens.

On the other side, if I choose to major in Japanese, it would require me to move, possibly to Arizona or somewhere else outside of the midwest.  I'm looking at it as my first test.  If I can handle being away from my family for a semester at a time, then studying abroad and even moving overseas won't be a problem.

Either way, I have a lot of decisions to make, and I don't want to just settle for the field that I'm in right now.  I'm too young to say "Oh, I wasted enough time already, so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and not be happy with it."  I need to do what makes me happy, and learning about Japan and its language has been my passion for years.

Until next time,

Adam
アダム