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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   450 thread views

Transnational Thursday for April 17, 2025

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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I'm not that into watching other people talk about Japan. I will say I happened upon this account by a European German girl living in Kyoto that made me rethink everything about living here. She makes every day seem like some sort of glorious moment of learning and experience, whereas I'm buying a coffee at the Family Mart. I realize this is because her channel is highly produced and she is probably insufferable to actually know (as she is probably filming everything). I'm convinced my life is reality, whereas what she is doing is for the cameras. But it certainly is beautifully made.

Going to China briefly from Japan definitely makes it clear how much unconscious expertise is required to live in any country. Getting reset right back to the “ohgodohgodhowdoieat” stage reminds me that when I first came to Japan I spend a solid hour in the supermarket trying to figure out how to safely buy eggs and rice to make TKG. Even making microwave gyuudon required sending a panicky text to a friend to check that the 1m30 on the label was correct and I wasn’t going to get food poisoning if I heated it for less than the 7 minutes specified in the UK. It’s humbling.

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