I haven't done like a proper sit down video in a while and I think this is the time to do one because my goal for this channel is to give you guys as much information, updated information as possible about living in Japan, not just traveling, I will be doing plenty of travel videos for you guys as well.

Don't forget to follow me on all of my social media platforms.

I'm mostly active on instagram, I post a lot of behind the scenes stuff and things like that.

Okay, so there's a lot to cover about this topic and I didn't talk about it the last time I went home because I had some reverse culture shocks, but this time has been the most shocking going back home was the moment that I realized, oh my God, I'm so disconnected from my own culture.

I feel very out of place.

This is something that really struck me when I went back home and I didn't expect it.

I thought it was going to be very, it was going to be a lot easier going back home this time than it was the first time and I'm going to explain what kind of reverse culture shock I felt after living in Japan for six years, I have changed so much and I really want to discuss not only the reverse culture shocks, but how Japan has changed me in general after living here for so long.

I feel like people who move abroad are such brave, brave people because there's so much that you have to relearn of course you get used to it as you go along.

I'm going to talk about first, my reverse culture shocks and what I felt stepping off the plane, the first thing I really noticed is the lack of effort people put into their appearance appearance compared to Japan and I'm saying that I went from seeing women always in skirts and tights and high heels and fashionable jackets and things like that to sweatpants and top knots just seemed very unmotivated to me.

Maybe it's where I'm from, I'm from michigan, a lot of people were wearing sweatpants and pajama pants, everybody looked very comfy, comfy and cozy, like they were going to bed soon, even if it was like one PM people would be wearing these things and I'm so used to like dressing up and presenting myself and that's just kind of what society is like here in Japan and that's something that I noticed that was a big difference.

Another big thing that really shocked me is driving.

So when I went back home I had to renew my license, which is kind of funny because I haven't renewed it like in person in a long time, I haven't gotten a new picture in a long time, many years, I renewed my license and I was able to drive and I got in the car and I was just like what do I do, how do I turn on the lights, how do I turn on the windshield wipers.

I was testing everything in the car before I started moving because I haven't driven in a couple of years.

I drove the last time I went home and that was terrifying as well.

I'm not going to lie, it has been a very very long time since I drove.

This is gonna be a challenge.

Yay I feel like I went back in time.

I'm so short okay I made it to my first destination that was actually super easy and I feel like I haven't left America so it's totally fine but parking scared me okay parking scared me.

He did it, driving is stressful like stressful to the max.

I'm so used to getting on a train, opening up a book, turning on my music and just relaxing until I get to my destination, getting on a train in Tokyo.

Most trains are very quiet.

Yes, they're packed in certain times a day of the day which can be kind of stressful but most of the time it's very quiet.

People are kind of to themselves.

I can plan get my work done on the train.

It's just that that gap of time that you need because when you're driving you can't do anything, you can't text, you can't even calling can be dangerous.

Calling people can be dangerous, you can't read a book, you can't watch tv it's just honestly like I feel like trains are just my thing, another big thing, this is going to sound very negative but people in America can kind of have stick up there but they're not very nice.

Sometimes I feel like in Japan, a lot of people kind of fake being happy, maybe that's a bad thing but I like that because it kind of makes my day feel good.

I don't know when people, when I walk into a store and someone smiling and happy and talkative and all that stuff, I love that and I feel like in Japan that's what they have to do, it might be a little bit robotic but it does make a very stressful day less stressful, It's very rehearsed almost in America, it's like here you go.

Did you find everything you need blah blah blah blah, it'll be a little bit more natural, which I do kind of like well there's a lot of rudeness compared to Japan.

Another thing that blows my mind is everything is huge in America when you live in Japan for so long, I live in a tiny apartment, I eat tinier portions when you go to a restaurant, they don't give you so much food.

So when you go to America, they give you this huge plate of food.

I remember I went to the Rochester brewery when I was there in one of my videos and the food was so big, I was like, what the heck, I cannot finish this.

This is a size for like three people.

Even my house was big like walking into my house, everything was so wide and the cups and the mugs were too big.

I was just like intimidated and anxious.

Feel like a tiny person in this huge world.

That's the main thing that triggered a lot of my anxiety was how big things, how big the roads were, how far away things were, Everything was too big.

Too big.

That's not dana.

Is your house different?

Did you do something to it?

I'm so confused.

Do you remember me?

Maybe maybe she does.

It's okay to have my shoes on.

I'm not used to this reverse culture shock.

Oh my gosh, this is so like nostalgic.

Look at me, look at this parking jump so good, I'm gonna get out and it's gonna be all squiggly.

It's so funny.

This is national coney Island's menu.

So oh my God, look at everything.

It looks so good in american.

I used to come here with dana all the time.

This is like our spot.

This is where we used to go all the time.

Is there sugar in this?

Or maybe it's unsweetened.

I don't know, I don't know, but it tastes so different.

This is iced tea and it just tastes different.

What is this?

Oh my God, okay, so this is a honey, there's grilled or not grilled chicken, I keep saying that crispy chicken and then my greek salad and then we got some cheese sticks to share because I love mozzarella sticks, oh my gosh!

And she got chili, this is the famous like coney chili, I just tipped, I was so confused, dana helped me.

Another thing is, I felt like a foreigner in my own country, I didn't feel like I belonged, I didn't feel like I fit in like there was just something weird about myself, I noticed that I have changed a lot throughout my six years of living in Japan.

I think a lot of relationships have changed, you don't interact with people the same way, even family or friends, you're just a very different person and hopefully for the better people kind of treated me like how I was when I left for Japan, nobody has seen my changes or seen me grow up since I left for Japan, so nobody knows how to interact with me, I think sometimes and they don't realize that they don't know how to interact with me.

I think my habits have changed, I think the way I speak has changed, I've become very minimalistic since I left for Japan, Japan has taught me to be more minimalistic and to downsize on things and to not be so materialistic and that's another thing that some of my friends actually have noticed, I'm not sure if my family has, maybe they have, because I was always yelling at them, I can't take this home, I can't do this, my apartment's too tidy.

I was a lot less independent when I was in America, that's one thing that Japan has done to change me as a person, but people don't see the behind the scenes, so when you come home you're like a new person because you've lived in a different country, so your habits are different.

I notice that I apologize a lot more, which is probably a bad thing, but in Japan, this is a very apologetic country, I do that at home now, I'm like, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, or sometimes we mustn't comes out, I think this is probably the number one thing that shocked me the most, didn't expect to feel this way, but this was the most shocking thing that has changed me as a person and that is feeling homesick.

I miss Japan, I missed everything about Japan.

I think it also has to do with my location.

I lived in michigan, there's not so much around in my hometown to do, everybody's getting older and it's so strange to say that because this is my own country, a lot of people are married, they have kids, they have reached a lot of their goals already, so going back home was a little different, there's so much I want to see in Japan, it'll take a lifetime to see half the things here and I, I felt like I didn't complete that I had this anxiety like I went back home and it was almost that feeling like I wasn't going back to Japan and it was this panic in my head, this country has been the most amazing to me, even though I've gone through some hard times, I've experienced life in this country.

If you've experienced so much in one country, then that place is worthy enough to be called home.

And I felt very connected to Japan after living here for so many years, I feel very independent here.

I feel like I have my life and my career and I'm doing what I love, I'm teaching wonderful kids and I'm doing Youtube living in my tiny apartment and doing the things that I'm passionate about and love and being away from that made me feel sad, anybody who lives here moves here is so lucky to do so and maybe other people can say otherwise, but I love this country and I'm so passionate about it and going home made me realize that so much I'm just happy to be back and that was the one huge shock that I had reverse culture shock when I moved or not moved, but when I visited America, Japan has changed me in the best way possible.

I've gone through so many difficult situations and I could have gone through these difficult situations back home, but living amongst another culture, I think the main thing has been, I've become more open minded to other people, There are so many different cultures here, There are so many different ethnicities and, and different stories and people that have been born and raised in there in other countries like new Zealand or Russia Australia.

I have so many friends from around the world and I just learned so much about these people and their struggles and I've learned a lot about the Japanese people and if you've lived in another country for a really long time and you haven't been accepting of the way people do things in another country, then you shouldn't be here, you're being more negative about the country, then you're being positive.

I think that's a sign that this place is not meant for you.

I've always been very kind and accepting of other people and I think that's the most important thing when it came to anxiety.

This is a whole nother video that needs to be done.

But I have broken that barricade that I had when I had anxiety, I felt very suffocated before and now I feel very aware and accepting of who I am and understanding of what I need to do to keep my anxiety at bay.

Japan has put me in so many, so many difficult situations and I was forced into these situations that has made me a stronger and more driven person, I'm not afraid to go out and go far away by myself.

I am so proud of myself like, oh my God, I'm gonna cry to pack and move in a week.

Um, the internet company is going to come the next day after I move, it's like really humid today.

As you can see my hair didn't make it.

We're gonna go see the IKEA men, gorilla man, gorillas man means like sexy, good looking.

So we're gonna go check him out and hope that the gorilla checks us out.

To start my first video on this channel, you will find videos about my adventures in Japan.

I hope I'm lucky we're going to talk about culture shock in Japan.

It's not going to be a lot of common culture shock your shoes and I've learned how to take care of myself and how to better myself.

Another thing like I mentioned before, I've become less high maintenance.

I don't mind walking for an hour to get somewhere.

Like I'm not even kidding, I will walk for an hour to get to a location and you know why?

Because in Japan there's so much to see when you're walking.

You can walk for days and see so many cool things.

I used to not be like that going home.

I see like some of my family like, oh, I don't want to walk 20 minutes to the car, I walk 20 minutes to the car.

I remember when my family visited and I don't think they really realized, but they complained about a lot of things that I just don't complain about anymore and you have to really mentally prepare yourself and I thought I was mentally prepared because I've studied abroad in Japan but it's so different when you live here because there's a lot of adult ng that you have to do, I don't know how to adult in America, I'm just going to straight out say that, I don't know anything about health insurance, I don't know anything about living finding an apartment, I don't know anything about fixing a car.

I don't know any of that stuff you have to really start over, you have to start your whole life over.

Do I see myself settling down here?

I don't know like, I don't know, I have no answer, I know a lot of people have asked me that but I just, I don't know right now, I know that I'm happy and I think with somebody that has anxiety and has lived with anxiety living in the now is the most important thing that you can put your mind into.

I'm not even married, I don't have kids like those things haven't happened for me yet and I'm still young so I'm still in my twenties, living in Japan in my twenties has been the best time to spend Your 20's, please comment down below.

If you haven't had any experiences living abroad going home reverse culture, shock culture shock in general In another country, tell me your story.

I love hearing them and I hope to make more informational videos about life in Japan, but I also want to talk about more travel stuff.

So if you guys are just planning on visiting, I will try to make videos about that as well.

You guys enjoyed this video and don't forget to like it if you want to see more content like this and don't forget to hit that subscribe in bell button because nowadays on youtube you have to double subscribe what Youtube.

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Thank you guys so much and I will see you guys next time.

Bye bye.

Come on.

Mhm.

Mhm.