Bloom In Japan

What’s with the domain name?

It all started back in 2001, when a friend from high school messaged me on AIM and was like, “dude Scott, I just saw you fall out of a helicopter in a movie”. That movie was Black Hawk Down, and the guy who was supposedly me was Orlando Bloom. Fast forward to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and suddenly everyone and their mother (literally) is telling me I look like freaking Legolas. I tried my best to shrug it off, as I really didn’t see the resemblance, but I was forced to accept it once my own mother frantically showed me the dumbass on the cover of a magazine. So yea, it’s basically become an inside joke of sorts, so I figured I would create this domain tongue-in-cheek. I guess it could be thought of as me “blooming” in Japan or something else lame like that, but I’ll leave it to the readers to decide how to take it.

So besides being a Hollywood stunt-double, what do you do?

Well I will be working at an Eikaiwa while in Japan, which is basically an English conversation school. I will pretty much be reciting pre-planned ‘lessons’ to small groups of Japanese people trying to improve their English skills. Beyond that, I enjoy running, golfing, playing guitar, going to concerts, camping, playing poker, and a bunch of other stuff that you probably don’t care about. I’ve been in school for the past 20-odd years, so I’m really looking forward to just living life for awhile.

Why Japan?

I have always been an adventurous person at heart, and now that I have finished school (for now), I wanted to immerse myself in something completely different. Being in a foreign country 6000+ miles from home, surrounded by a language that looks and sounds completely alien, and trying to survive without going crazy, should give me ample time to find out what kind of person I really am. Plus I have a weak-spot for Asian women. =)

How long do you plan on staying in Japan?

If I had to make a guess, I would say 2 years. I figure it will take at least that long to see half the things I want to see, but I have no idea what life is going to throw at me between now and then. I am not looking to live there forever, but I do want to stay long enough to feel as though I have truly experienced Japan for what it is.

Before actually arriving in Japan, what are your expectations?

Like many other Americans, I’ve been exposed to countless stereotypes and urban legends, so naturally I’m expecting to see schoolgirl panties in vending machines, flying cars, the Karate Kid, and Godzilla roaming the streets of Tokyo. In reality though I have been exposed to quite a bit regarding the actual history and pop culture, so I know I probably won’t see Godzilla anytime soon. I expect to be both welcomed and shunned as a foreigner. I expect to have a hard time adjusting to a radically different place. I expect to get lost, a lot. I expect to see unbelievable sites, drenched with a history I can’t even begin to fathom. I expect to be scared shitless during my first sizable earthquake. I expect to spend way too much money before figuring out the angles. I expect to have to get out of my comfort zone in regards to meeting and interacting with new people. I expect to eat a lot of mystery foods that would probably make my mother puke. But most of all, I expect to grow as a person, and come away from the experience with a better understanding of and respect for a country I have only seen in pictures.