11 PM Curfew? Challenge Accepted

During our first break in Japan, we stayed at a nice hostel called the Tokyo Central Youth Hostel. It was a place with a beautiful view on the 19th floor. However, they also have an 11 PM curfew. That means that you can't get into the hostel between 11 at night and 6 in the morning.

So... Three of us decided that we'd go clubbing in Roppongi and just stay out all night. We left the hostel at 9:30 and found a bar with drinks so expensive that we could only afford one drink. And then... We discovered Ele Tokyo, a club with more expensive drinks, a DJ, and some interesting people that wanted to party...on a Monday night.

After a few hours of partying, we needed a place to stay for the night, so we sang karaoke from 2 in the morning until 5. 

At that point, we planned on taking the subway back to our hostel, but we were ushered into yet another club where we could spend even more money.

Long story short, we got back to the hostel at 8:30 in the morning and did just about nothing the rest of the day.

Moral of the story: if you're going to go clubbing, make sure you have the money to spend because I spent way too much. But it was a great time, and I'd do it again if I had the money for it.

Until next time,

Adam 

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An Incredible Five Days

I'm in Japan to teach English, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I love having time off to explore Tokyo. Recently, we had five nights off in a row, and tonight is our last night in a hostel before we separate for our home stays.

Anyway, I had tons of fun during my time off.  On the first night, I went out with a few of the guys, wandered the streets of Asakusa aimlessly, and ended up in a bar with an impressive dart board.  My friend Sam and I played on a team against the other three guys in a couple games of Cricket, and we obliterated them both times.  

Then Henry and I decided to break off from the group and head back to the hostel.  We thought we knew the way back.  In fact, we were positive we could make it back.  But... we were also wrong.  What should have been a fifteen minute walk quickly turned into an hour and a half of wandering unknown streets and stopping at various Seven-Eleven shops for free Wi-Fi to check the maps.  The worst part about the situation is that if I didn't have my phone charging back at the hostel, we would have made it back in no time, since I have unlimited calling, texting, and data here in Japan.  But we did manage to make it back somehow, so rest assured, I'm okay.  I'm writing this post, after all.

We explored Asakusa, found a Denny's restaurant at one point, and we even went to the Ueno Zoo.

But my favorite place in Japan so far is Odaiba!  I went there last year, but I never had a chance to experience the Aqua City mall.  I was lucky enough to pet kittens with Amanda, and I was able to buy some new Pokemon cards at Toys R Us when I went there with Sam and Amber later.  We had a meeting about the ECC camps that we'll be working at the end of the summer, but afterwards we saw the Statue of Liberty and ate pizza at a restaurant with an incredible outdoor view of the bay.

Photos from my trip can be found on my Instagram account here: https://instagram.com/atambohmer/

I'll write again sometime soon, but until then...

Take care!

Adam
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The Orientation Off Day

Wow, my first few days back in Japan sure were busy for me, since I had orientation for English summer camp counselors and my first two camp sessions.  My group has only worked two USA Summer Camps, but we've already changed the lives of over 200 kids so far.

At our orientation site, we had an amazing view of Mt. Fuji... when we could see it.  You see, it was usually rainy and cloudy while we were in Gotemba.

But orientation was a lot of fun, and I had a chance to work with people on other teams, too.  Some of our paths will cross throughout the summer, but my group won't see a lot of them again, which is kind of sad because I'm decent friends with a few of them now.

During orientation, we had one day off, so we watched the US beat Japan in the World Cup, and then we went into Gotemba to wander around.  We came across a Pachinko building, and playing it was a ton of fun even though we had no idea what we were doing.  And then we discovered an amazing hibachi-like restaurant, but since we'ere foreigners, they had a staff member cook the food at our table for us instead of having us do it all by ourselves.

And after dinner, the search for a bar began.  And it was more challenging than we would have guessed, since we were kicked out of the first couple bars because the servers couldn't speak English.  Eventually, we found a little closet bar that only fits seven people, and the server was completely drunk.  They had two TVs for karaoke, and I have to say, it was, oddly enough, an amazing experience.

Now we have a couple days off, so we're just going to have a good time in Tokyo!

Take care,

Adam

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Day One is Done!

Well, I arrived in Japan earlier today and... I am completely exhausted.  I woke up at 4:30 on July 1st in order to get to the airport on time for my flight, which happened to be delayed by two hours.  That left us less than 20 minutes to catch our connecting flight to Narita.

However, the delay gave me extra time in Milwaukee to start getting to know the other people that I'll be working with this summer.

The flight to Narita went smoothly, but I failed to sleep at all, and I arrived in Japan at 2 in the afternoon.  It's around 7:15 right now, and I'm ready to burrow into my bed and sleep for a while.  

I should mention that I was reunited with some of my Japanese friends that were part of the USA Summer Camp program with me last year, and it was great to see them again.  I have a feeling that this is going to be a great summer, and I look forward to sharing updates with everyone.

But for now, it's nap time.

Adam

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The Adventure Begins! Sort of...

My second journey to Japan is underway!  I said farewell to my sweet little beagle and most of my family a couple hours ago, but right now, I'm just chilling in a Travelodge hotel room, using their Wi-Fi service with the very secure password "brownbear."  

I may have left my home, but I honestly haven't comprehended that I won't be back in Holmen, Wisconsin for another two months.  I had my farewell parties with some of my high school friends and former Japan teammates, but it still hasn't sunk in that I won't be seeing any of them for a while.

Even though I don't fly out for a few more days, I'm getting used to living out of a suitcase and my backpack again, and to be honest, I don't mind traveling around with just the essentials that I need to get by.  

That's about wraps up this post for tonight, so take care, everyone!  I'll continue to send trip updates, and it should definitely be a little more exciting once I am actually in Japan.

Adam

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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
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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

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