R: Hey guys! S: Hi!
R: Today I'm here with Sharla... S: Hello!
...and today we're going to talk about how we know we've been living in Japan for too long.
R: The most common would be bowing all the time to everyone...
R: ...even when you're back in America. S: Even when you're back in Canada.
S: It's so awkward.
R: No-one says anything in America when you do it, but you notice that you did it...
...and you're like, 'WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?'
S: Yeah, they totally think that I'm a weirdo.
S: What are some places where you've done it?
R: Oh, I've done it everywhere.
R: When I leave a grocery store or when I buy something...
(bowing) ...'Thank you!'
S: The one that I notice the most is when I'm going to cross the street...
...and a car stops for me, I'll be like 'Oh...' (bowing).
R: Oh, I do that too! I wave my hand.
S: Oh my god, we must look so weird.
R: On the phone, too. S: Yeah.
R: That's like a very Japanese thing...
...to bow when you're trying to talk on the phone.
S: (in Japanese) Arigatōgozaimasu...
...wakarimashita.
R: The head movements come with the words that you say.
R: It's as if you can't say the words without doing (the bowing).
S: That's so true.
R: Back when I was still living in America...
...because I was working in the military, I'd come visit Jun a lot...
...and then when I went back to America, I would accidentally bow and say 'Hai' to my superiors...
...in the military all the time. S: Oh my god.
R: They're understanding, so of course they weren't like, 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?'
S: Oh man.
R: But that was awkward. S: Yeah.
R: That's not something you do.
R: So one thing that you guys comment on a lot now is...
S: (laughing) Yeah, me too.
R: ...I put my hand up to my mouth when I laugh a lot now.
R: It's not because I'm like, 'Oh, Japanese girls do it...
...I want to be cute like them,' or whatever.
S: Yeah. R: I do it because I know it's acceptable to do it in Japan...
R: ...and I'm always worried that I have something in my teeth...
...and I do so often and no-one tells me!
R: None of my friends ever tell me that I have something stuck in my teeth...
...and I go home and I'm like, 'UGH!'
R: So if I'm going to be showing a lot of my mouth...
...and I'm laughing I do this (covers mouth)...
...also because I think I might have bad breath...
...I eat a lot of garlic and onions.
S: Also, when you're eating... R: Right.
S: ...like when I'm making videos and I'm talking while eating...
...then I'll cover my mouth so that you don't see me chewing.
S: I don't know. I feel like that's common sense.
R: Yeah!
S: You guys are like, 'Why are you covering your mouth?'
S: You want to see what's in our mouths?
S: I don't want to sit there chewing everything completely...
...and then making comments on the food. R: Yeah.
S: I want to be able to do both at the same time, but that's also a very Japanese thing...
...like when you're talking while eating with someone, then you'll cover your mouth.
R: I feel like it's better to be able to do this... S: Yeah.
R: ...so I wish that this were more accepted in North America.
R: It's really convenient.
R: There are a lot of phrases that we say now...
...that are really common in Japanese, but not necessarily so for English. S: Right.
S: Or it would be a long explanation in English or something...
...so it feels easier to say it in Japanese. R: Right.
S: I feel like those ones always come out.
R: Yeah, like natsukashī. S: Yeah.
R: That means that it's nostalgic. S: (in Japanese) Naruhodo.
R: But you don't go in America like, 'This is so nostalgic.'
S: Yeah, you don't say that. R: Yeah.
R: If you see something from your childhood, it's natsukashī.
S: Yeah, it's just phrases like that we don't exactly have in English.
S: I still want to use them when i'm back in Canada, so they just come out in Japanese.
R: Naruhodo means 'indeed'.
S: Kind of like, 'Oh yeah, I see,' or something...
...like you don't really say that in English.
R: 'I see...' S: 'Oh, I understand...'
R: I say shōganai all the time now... S: Ah, shōganai.
R: ...and this isn't like something that just pops out of my mouth...
...but this is more of a change in mindset.
R: A lot of Japanese people, they don't worry so much about bad things that happen...
...and I used to get really angry about all that stuff.
R: Like when I had to pay a lot of money for something, I'd get really stressed about it...
...but I've come to adapt the shōganai mindset a little bit more.
R: So instead of getting stressed out about having to pay so much for taxes or something...
...I'm just like shōganai, it's just something that you have to accept, that's the way it is.
R: I don't feel as stressed out, because I'm not worrying about it.
S: One thing that I've started doing in Japan that I definitely didn't do back in Canada...
S: ...was shaving my arms. R: Oh yeah.
S: I'm blonde, so my arm hair isn't really that noticeable...
...but I got lots of comments on it from people, so I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to start shaving my arms then, fine.'
S: So I started doing that and I actually like it.
S: I like how it looks, and it's smooth.
S: People are worried that it'll grow back thick, but it doesn't actually.
R: No, that's a myth. S: It grows back like how it originally was.
R: The idea that hair grows back thicker is just because the end of your natural hair is pointed.
S: It's tapered.
R: Yeah, it's tapered. If you shave it then it's flat, so the edge looks thicker...
...because it's just the middle of the shaft instead of the end of the shaft...
...but it's not actually coming back thicker.
R: But yeah, I shave my arms too. S: Yeah.
R: It's not bad because it doesn't take a long time and you don't have to do it often.
S: No, you don't. It grows really slowly. R: Right.
S: Once a week? R: Right, or even every other week.
R: I like being able to do that because my arm hair grows straight out.
S: It's just like sticking out? R: It's curly and weird...
S: Ew! Why is it curly? R: ...it's scraggly.
R: It's not curly, but scraggly...
...I always call it my scraggly hobo arm hair...
...because it looks really weird and I was always looking at my hair thinking, 'Why does my hair look weird?'
R: But since it's normal to shave my arms here, I can do that and not feel uncomfortable about it or feel weird...
...because everyone else does it too.
R: Something else I do now that I'm in Japan which Jun introduced me to is cleaning my ears out with ear picks after a shower.
R: In America we have Q-tips that some people use, but you're not supposed to...
...because that pushes earwax further into your ear and it can become impacted.
R: But here you can use ear picks which is scoop-shaped so that you can actually get in there...
...and scoop all the earwax out.
S: Like a really tiny spoon. R: Right.
R: It's not good.
R: You're not supposed to do it because your earwax is there for a reason...
...and you're supposed to keep stuff out of your ear...
...but I feel so gross after showers if I don't do it now... S: Yeah, I know.
R: ...because now I can feel the water in my ear and I just can't feel clean until I get it out.
R: So after I get out of the shower, that's the first thing I have to do...
...like, 'I HAVE TO GET IT OUT OF MY EARS!'
S: Okay, so this is like a Japanese culture thing, but buying omiyage for your friends when you go somewhere...
...omiyage are souvenirs. So let's say me and Rachel went on a trip together, we would feel compelled to buy some little treats...
...for our family, friends, or co-workers when we come back to give to them.
R: Yeah. I know souvenirs are a thing everywhere... S: Not to the extent that they are in Japan.
R: ...this is like, you *have* to do it. Omiyages are something that I think...
...most people are like, 'I hate buying omiyage, but I have to buy omiyage.'
R: People expect it when you go back. S: Yeah, they really do.
S: They're like, 'Oh, I heard you went to Canada! Waiting... waiting for my maple syrup!'
R: Maybe not like, you know, they're not actually like doing that or whatever...
...but you feel like you have to here.
S: Definitely. It can get really expensive. R: Yeah.
S: You really have to buy them for everyone. All your co-workers, all your friends, your landlord.
R: If you travel a lot, like we do, every time we go to a new place...
S: I stopped buying. I'm like, 'Okay, I'm travelling every week...
...you're not going to get something from every single prefecture that I go to.'
S: But if I go somewhere big like Canada, I definitely bring souvenirs back for everyone that I work with.
R: So those were ways we know we've been in Japan for a little bit too long.
R: If you guys have any things like that that you want to talk about, leave them down in the comments.
R: Make sure you check out Sharla's channel if you haven't subscribed to Sharla.
R: We'll see you guys next time. Thank you for watching! Bye! S: Bye bye!