The year is 2010; I am a sophomore in college and out to eat with friends in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Conversation turns to travel and a large part of our group are international students.  I always had wanted to travel abroad but was young and had not yet had the opportunity or finances.  That is when some of the older students in our dinner group suggested teaching English in Japan.  My first thought was skepticism; that it would still be financially too difficult.  Anyway I still remember, 6 years later, deciding that night that I would spend the summer teaching English in Japan.

I was fortunate enough to attend a university that had a strong relationship with a program called Guy Healy.  Guy Healy is an actual person, who owns and operates a large number of English camps in Japan as well as cultural exchange programs.  He is originally from the United States and at the time was living in Nagasaki, Japan.  Since Americans from the the midwest are viewed by Guy as hardworking and have less regional accent compared to the east coast and southern US. Therefore, midwesterners are desirable international camp counselors.  Our university as well as others in Wisconsin actually had an interview process with previous camp counselors to help pursue the application process.  The interview process took place in January, and I was accepted!

Then come the logistics. I hadn’t ever left the United States and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my passport.  Once it arrived, it was becoming more and more real. The great thing about the program was they actually paid for your flight and living arrangements while in Japan.  Everything seemed to be coming together perfectly and I could not wait.  Then March came and the world for many people in Japan changed.

I still remember where I was: a sustainability education trip in Portland, Oregon. This is when I heard the news.  An earthquake and tsunami had disabled emergency generators at a power plant in Fukushima resulting in the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.  I was in shock and glued to the news for the following days.  As I waited patiently and watched, United States travel advisories stated it was still safe to go to certain regions of the country.  However not knowing the extent of nuclear waste and damage was concerning.  Even in 2017, reports of nuclear material leaking has been discovered over 60 miles from Fukushima.  Friends and family joked if I went to Japan I would come back glowing.  I was not going to let fear stop me; I was already too emotionally invested to not go.   

As spring continued, we finally received word of who would be on our camp team and where our camp would be located in Japan.  I was placed in the city of Fukuoka in the Kyushu region.  Located in the southern prefecture of Japan.  I immediately looked it up and added my team members on Facebook. We created a group, which served as a helpful communication tool since many of our group members were spread around the United States.  Since I wanted to get the “full” Japanese experience in my mind, I could not miss out on on seeing Tokyo.  Lucky enough when I inquired to see if anyone else was interested in getting a Japan Rail pass to head north, Julie, a girl from Minneapolis agreed to go with me.  She had already traveled in Japan and put my worries at ease.  But still this was crazying making travel arrangements months in advance with a someone who I hadn’t met in person.  Sometimes it is important to be risk taker and leave yourself vulnerable.

School ended in May, and I worked for the University living on campus for about a month registering new students and families.  I am thankful those days kept me so busy and too exhausted to think about the departure coming soon.  It was also not until about a week before that I got my flight itinerary.  It would lead me from Milwaukee to Detroit, Detroit to Nagoya, and finally Nagoya to Fukuoka.  I returned to my parents house for 3 days and overpacked things I probably didn’t need, except the large amount of snacks.  

After tearful goodbye from my Mama in Milwaukee, I was off to the other side of the world.  This was also technically the first time I was leaving the United States.  The closest I had ever been previously was international waters on a canoe trip in northern Minnesota.  The flight was long and miserable.  The time from Detroit to Nagoya alone was 17 hours.  Watching movies gets old and your legs cramp. The flight is definitely the worst part of going that far abroad.  My advice is to take something to make you sleep.

Landing in Nagoya I was so nervous and excited as I looked out the window.  As I went through immigration, I noticed I was the only westerner in the whole airport.  Being young, overwhelmed, and clumsy I made my way through.  After signing visa documents I must have left a pen of mine because it was presented to me later in a ziplock bag on the other side of the airport.  The stereotype of actually leaving money on the ground and no one stealing may still be true in some places in Japan.

My body's sleep clock was so mixed up as I was welcomed by our Japanese team leaders and counselors in Fukuoka.  As I sat in the back of a taxi cab I stared out the window in amazement at the night’s sky, lights, signs, and people.  I checked into my room with two others guys on my team who I didn’t know, but they were half asleep.  I layed in bed struggling to know night and day.  One of the other guys decided to shower in the middle of the night; I think he was confused where he was.  Eventually morning came, and we were all meeting the lobby to depart to the American Village outside the city in the country.  The excitement I have meeting everyone kept me awake as we made our way on  a large tour bus to our first camp location.  Driving on the left side of the road and all the driving differences were so exciting to see.  The large amount of rice fields, the Pokemon buses, the animated characters on signs all caught my eye.  

When we arrived at the American Village, that's what it was called when I was there, we had our welcome orientation.  I was able to meet Guy Healy himself and we began to prep for camps.  It was exciting to make signs, posters, and plans for our songs and skits.  I struggled majorly on using chopsticks, but by the end of the trip I was a pro.  The first night I was delighted to notice the drinking age in Japan was 20 which I was.  They also had vending machines with lots of alcohol choices.  I was like a kid in a candy shop enjoying my 20 year old freedoms of Japanese beer and plum sake wine.  By the next morning staff at the Village had to restock all the machines.  I nursed what would not be my last hangover and squinted at the hot sun as we walked around the complex.  

Japan is usually conservative when it comes to how they dress.  In contrast, it is common to have bath houses divided by gender.  Most the camp locations had bath houses where the campers would bathe at night.  They sort of look like a mini pool with sinks and dryers around them.  Anyways some of the female staffers invited me to come join them for a late night bath.  Exercising some self control, possibly for the first and last time in my life, I resisted, strictly out of fear from being sent home.  

The following day our first campers arrived, and here’s where things get blurry since it has been six years.  Over the summer we saw hundreds of Japanese children.  Japanese children are just as wild and crazy as Americans, possibly even more so.  There is a prank they play on each other called Kancho which means to sneak up behind someone to try to jab their fingers in the butt.  I still have saved so many awesome tokens of appreciation given to me at the end of camps.  My favorite part about having the American camp style was having bonfires at night where songs and marshmallows were enjoyed.  I quickly became known as the penguin guy.  What started as a joke, became my niche.  I would not be the teacher I am today without this experience.

We traveled to different regions and stayed at different hotels and camp-like settings while teaching students.  Most of the camps lasted 3-4 days and always consisted of camp skits at the end.  In a lot of ways they were similar to traditional American camps, but I never attended or counseled at a camp, so this was my first American camp experience, in Japan.  I loved playing sports in between lessons with the kids.  My least favorite part was the food.  I am huge foodie and Japan does have a lot of delicious food but some of the meals we had were just awful.  I distinctly recall rice and and fish head for breakfast that had a foul smell to it.  Anyways me and others packed secret snacks like oreos and beef jerky to keep our sanity.  Maybe I was just picky, who knows.  There were definitely cliques among our group and small bits of drama, but honestly I am amazed how well we all got along with working such long hours.

On days in between camps, we would have a day off and sometimes to go shopping in Fukuoka.  I loved people watching.  Japan is such a country of extreme contrast.  You still have the traditional conservative businessman with briefcase in hand, a black tie, and smoking a cigarette.  On the other hand you have a subculture in youth who act out with bright blue hair.  The majority of Japanese did not want to be tan.  So women would wear long sleeves in the summer as well as use umbrellas.  Video arcades and games filled the streets and buildings; the inner child in me was in heaven.  I wasted three hours playing different games in a 13 story building, every level with different games.  The best food of Fukuoka is the ramen; it's damn good.  I would wait in a line for two hours for some of the ramen I had over there.  Ramen is not the same instant crap you find in a supermarket in the States.  It is even differently regionally in Japan.  Some of it is more curry-based; some has different meats.  In Fukuoka it’s pork broth with delicious noodles.  I thought it was hilarious to see the difference in American fast food chains, as they are growing heavily.  The colonel from KFC looks Asian and the menu even has green-dyed chicken.  There were more than a few times that I needed comfort food, and due to the lack of wheat for rice, I would find it in any greasy french fries that I could get my hands on.

There are plenty of cultural differences. In Japan, you wave differently depending on who you are waving to, or if it’s a person or an animal. Then there’s the toilets. The toilets with many unnecessary technology options; look it up online.  Then there the toilets that require you to squat without a seat.  I wouldn't recommend wearing shoes with laces because many buildings require you to take remove your shoes and only wear slippers inside. There are so many little things many people don't know about Japanese culture; try your best to education yourself.  If you travel to Japan, you are a foreigner or as they say gaijin.  I heard that a lot on my trip I didn’t always know if it was positive or negative.  Anyways the Japanese are very forgiving when you may be doing something culturally inappropriate, like blowing your nose in public.  They were even forgiving to the drunk, annoying probably teenage Americans who were on the Tokyo subway.

As part of the cultural exchange, we were offered an opportunity to stay with a host family.  I turned mine down to travel with Julie to Tokyo and Osaka.  As the time came I was a conflicted if I had made a mistake.  Japanese are very good hosts and I now know all my fellow counselors were spoiled by their host families.  I still do not regret my decision, but I do regret what I ate the night before going.

We were finishing up a camp and distinctly remember eating a type of black pork at dinner with rice.  I suffered some of the worst stomach cramps I can remember for the next four days.  It must have been some type of food poisoning.  My poor travel companion, Julie, had to put up with me being not 100% for our whole trip.  As we left from Fukuoka to Tokyo I remember looking at the countryside trying to rest for the seven hours it took us to get there.  Even on a fast train, Japan is a much bigger and longer country than people think.  Arriving and navigating the Tokyo subway is something I would not have been able to do without Julie and to that I am incredibly thankful.  Getting off the subway and looking at the lights and concrete jungle of Tokyo after spending quiet nights in the countryside was extreme culture shock.  Mass groups of people crossed huge lanes back and forth between streets.  Julie knew her way around the city and was an insightful tour guide to a naive Wisconsin guy.  She knew the different districts and explained as we walked through.  I remember eating beef tendon and rice, my stomach finally calming down.  We walked by girls dressed in cosplay of characters I did not recognize, and saw cars that looked like there were out of Fast and Furious. We also saw the mysterious Yakuza members, or so I thought, with certain tattoos meaning they were members of the Japanese organized mafia.  There also were menus for women and men prostitutes you could purchase.  We saw windows with robots and anime, unfortunately no Godzilla sightings.

We ended up in Roppongi, the night district, that was alive with music.  To Julie’s disgust (I apologize again!) I wanted to go the the Hard Rock Cafe because for some reason.  Maybe because I was 20 and thought it was cool.  Looking back there were probably so many better places.  Some of the clubs are rather sketchy, with large Nigerian bouncers that may upcharge a gaijin in one of the most expensive cities in the world.  By the time we were ready to turn in the subway system in the area was closed.  We got a taxi and poorly explained to a very nice man where are hostel was the other side of the city and we were on our way back.  It probably was the most expensive cab ride I’ve ever had.  Back at our hostel, I climbed into a bunk bed in a small room of 7 other guys sleeping.  Because it was a short trip I slept in my clothes and did not even open my backpack out of fear of losing things.  I set my alarm for 4am so I could see the Tsukiji fish market.

Four in the morning comes rather quick as I get down stairs pumped to see the largest fish market in the world.  Then poor planning comes in.  The fish market is closed on Sundays, a detail overlooked.  Sadness sets in as I waste some time on a pay by every ten minute computer in the lobby.  It is a huge time difference and talking can be difficult and must be planned in advance.  We explore the city and the neighborhood by our hostel more, and it's fantastic.  I love walking the streets and looking at the sights; it doesn't get old.  We head out of the city to see the Kamagaya Great Buddha, which is stunning.  Rickshaws line the streets as tourists are pulled on carts. We head back to the train to head to Osaka.

I was so naive when it came to Japan. I had never heard of Osaka, one of the nation's largest cities with millions of residents.  We check into our traditional Japanese hotel room.  It is amazing! There were comfy tatami mats, low mattress-like beds, and sliding doors with rice paper walls.  Friendly staff greeted us with gifts, snacks and drinks.  I still remember a staff member excited to use English, Japan's second language, to tell us about a Tom Hanks movie he had just watched.  Despite a shaky history, I found Americans are loved by Japanese. I even held babies for photos.  As we hit the popular main streets of Osaka, I was shocked by the food everywhere.  Street food is the thing to do here.  The people of Osaka love to eat.  I try octopus with mayonnaise sauce, a popular snack, and many other things fried and dipped in sauces.  My stomach finally started to feel half way back to normal.  The next day we visited Osaka Castle, an amazing palace, with an excellent museum inside.  I tried on traditional samurai armour and a helmet as Japanese laugh at the silly gaijin.  We head back to the train headed for Fukuoka.  A whirlwind of a small, brief, trip within a trip has come to an end.  

The next two weeks of camps go by quickly.  One of my favorite locations was the city of Kagoshima. A live active volcano was billowing smoke when we arrived.  A strong contradiction in landscape.  For our last night out as a group we went out to sing some karaoke.  In Japan, karaoke is usually hosted in a small room with only your friends.  We sing our hearts out and drink hot steaming sake.  Before I know it, the night is gone my time in Japan is done.  Lots of hard goodbyes follow the next morning.  As I board the plane and prepare for layovers and line waiting, I am already homesick for Japan. However I am also homesick for my family and my very own bed!  

When reflecting on Japan, it is not the food or the architecture, but the people that made the trip so memorable.  Nowhere in the world, to this day, have I found kinder, more helpful people.  Besides Japan's close proximity to North Korea, it may be the safest place in the world.  As far as my first trip abroad, I learned a lot of good lessons when traveling.  I will always have the fear of missing out or not seeing everything.  However, there will always be something else, something more. Some things just get lost in translation, and may always be confusing. It's important to be a minority, in a place where your language is not typically spoken. Get out of your comfort zone to grow.  To those who are interested in Japan, even specify the Guy Healy program, I highly recommend it.  You can be as young as 18 years old to participate.  As for me, I know I will return again someday to see the place that captured my imagination and gave me the desire to see the world.