I had an unplanned pregnancy and i wasn't happy about it because i wasn't ready even though ive always wanted to be a mom. A lot of expenses and life changes when a baby gets into the picture. Very overwhelming. I'm poor and my bf wasn't working at the time. One been struggling with mental health and finances already. I was wanting to be happy and excited when i got pregnant.
You've been studying Japanese ever since you were in Iwakuni. I hope you can put it to good use in your job in the tourism industry. From Yamaguchi Prefecture😊
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That sounds like a terrible idea. Finding the right shampoo and conditioner for .y hair is a journey. I think I've finally found something that works. No way am I going to travel to a different country andnhope their drugstore shampoo/conditioner samples are going to work for my hair. Im also not ruining my hair health on vacation.
Totally relate to a lot of this lol. 2 bowls of subpar ramen and a plate of gyoza in Hawaii is like $60 with tip. Imagine paying ¥9,300 for that lol. The flags, medicine ads, tipping, and stripmall/parking layout.... I think urban design being centered around large vehicles and large spaces makes things really inefficient. Interesting to hear your reactions!
It used to be so much cheaper here in the US a couple years ago. Everything is soooo expensive since last year. It’s gotten so bad 🫠 it didn’t used to be like this at all but it’s shocking. Going out to eat it’s a luxury right now.
I feel like there are a lot of flags in London to make it feel more British for tourists, but honestly you would never ever see someone put a flag on their home unless it was the Queen's Jubilee or something😅
Hi We will be Travel in 3 weeks from Osaka to Hiroshima , and I’n thinking if to buy regular shinkansen or hello kitty one ☺️. Is it only one hour from Osaka at 11.37 to go to Hiroshima ? Is it possible to buy hello kitty shinkansen tickets at Osaka Station ? ( vending machine or at the counter ) Thsnk You for replaying Weronika
I went to Japan in Feb 24, I have another vacation coming up in November, I wonder if I should go back to Japan and catch a game in Hiroshima, or go to another country I have never been and just visit Japan again next year? I realize they won't be playing in November but I can still go to the team store
Spot on with the reverse culture shock! I’ve been living overseas continuously since 2009. I’ve been back to the U.S. maybe 6-7 times since then. Most recently for training in Feb-Apr and I was shocked by prices, weapons, tipping, massive vehicles, etc! I’ve lived in Yokosuka, Sasebo, and now Iwakuni (and Italy, Bahrain, Djibouti, and Diego Garcia)…no plans to move back stateside any time soon. Stay in Japan!!! 😊
The shopping overwhelm is so real. On our trip to Japan I wanted to buy all these beauty products I'd heard about, but I had no idea how to find them in the stores. I couldn't read signs and there were so many lights and sounds! And I agree- American shopping center core is 🤢. Inconvenient and ugly. Why do we do this?
Tipping culture has gotten so insane and out of hand. During covid, everyone started tipping extra and for everything just because we were grateful for service workers. However, it hasn’t gone back to normal, and with paying with machines at the checkout counter or at restaurants, the default is like 25% a lot of the time. 15% is considered insulting. And you get get asked to tip for insane things now like at a subway or gas station or for situations where there’s zero service. But you don’t want to be the jerk. Anyways, I digress, but this is a pain point even for people in the U.S., especially with the major inflation we have experienced over the last 1.5 years. Luckily, we are starting to see a slight decrease or at least stagnation of grocery costs and some pushback for unnecessary tipping.
I remember you mentioned that in Japan people don't really start up conversations like people in the US, does that make it hard to make friends? I don't like the tipping culture here in the US. When I call in for a food pick up and not even eat at the restaurants I feel pressure to pay a tip because it's printed on the receipt. I even tip my hairdresser cause I feel pressured that's what I'm suppose to do. I love hearing your new experience being back in the states. It's crazy to hear the stuff that's so normalize here like guns. I live in Kentucky and hunting is a big thing here in the part of the state I live at. I really love this video! The small talk and you doing your skin care!
I remember i went through the Starbucks drive through on my last trip back to the states, i ordered a grande americano and it was HUGE.. like bigger than venti size in Korea 🤣 I asked the barista ummm are you sure this is a grande? He looked at me like i was crazy aha
i love this! more of this small talk also!! I love that you're coming back with a fresh set of eyes. it's gotten so expensive here that it's ridiculous. love vids like this also!!
My boyfriend is originally from Colorado Springs, and took me to that store while we were there visiting his family last Christmas. I’m from California and was completely shocked by all the dead animals and guns too! Also love the BOJ sunscreen stick!
Love this!!! I agree with the ugliness of strip malls and all these places just dropped in areas that make no sense. The food portions are out of control! I love love love, the Ilia brand and the IT CC makeup. I want all the Japanese products you use! 😆😫
i love how you talked about small talk not being a thing in japan. my husband and i really fell in love with japan on our trip there and have it listed as a potential country to move to next, but a big con is the lack of social interaction that we’re so used to here in the states. my husband is a talkative extrovert and i just know he would get himself in “trouble” socially because he just wanted to give someone a compliment, or make small talk to share a nice moment with someone. our least favorite part of the trip was how we really only spoke to each other (other than transactional conversations) the entire time, which yes is partially due to the language barrier, but ultimately is just because folks keep to themselves. i’m sure we would make friends but i know i would miss smiling at and connecting with strangers (especially since i felt infinitely safer everywhere i went in japan vs the US). i love these style videos though!! i know it’s not your exact type of content but would love to hear more about the logistics of moving and remaining in japan as a foreigner. also any culture shocks you noticed your son had! or just parenting specific culture shocks too. love your channel 🫶🏼
It was a long time ago but when I came back to Japan after studying in American college for 4 years , I was surprised and a little disappointed by how "unfriendly " Japanese are. We just don't talk with a stranger like Americans do. At that time I even sensed certain coldness from my own people. Now after so many years, I don't feel that way any more. But I still miss "friendliness' of American people. I miss America; great people live there.
If you can figure out a way to STAY in Japan, do it. We left for good in Feb 2023 and have been back 3 times already and another trip is planned for a couple of months from now. I wish we had just not come back but we had to close out our careers here and take possession of all the stuff we had in storage. How much longer are you in the US?
A lot of older people in Japan will hang the Japanese flag in front of their house on national holidays. Apparently this was supposed to be for good luck and it was encouraged by the government but the younger generations don't even know about this anymore (my Japanese husband had to look it up when I asked why there were flags everywhere)
Haha when we went to japan we said “I bet Japanese people that travel to CA would be SHOCKED by the price of everything and low quality food at that!” Also the guns seem very Colorado that isn’t common in CA
Some restaurants have the audacity to ask for a tip when it's for a place that doesn't offer wait staff level services. The most shocking was a restaurant that had a screen-order thing at the register without any human interaction, and it asked if you wanted to add a tip.
I just moved back to the US from a country I lived in for 4 years with no tipping, this wasn’t a thing yet when I left! Now it’s everywhere, it’s honestly one of my biggest shocks
Seriously, I hadn't been to a restaurant for like 5 years😅 and my partner and our two kids just got basic meals and jt was over a hundred dollars Canadian. If you ever come to Canada be prepared to spend 100$ at any restaurant 😢
