To travel is to go in search of the unknown. This often leads to fun and strange surprises. Differences in cultures can be more pronounced than expected, but there's no better way to plunge into this new way of life than meeting and interacting with locals.
Our ambassadors Caro and Aymeric have gone to explore Japan! You may have followed their depart on Instagram or on their page, @elcolordelcamaleon; today, they're filling us in on their experience!
Having been in the country since Wednesday, they both agree that Japan is certainly a wonderful place that offers a significant cultural contrast.
Our biggest question: why are there so few TalkTalkers in Japan?
« While the Japanese are a very friendly and polite people, they are wary of welcoming strangers into their home, as they often have very little space and very little free time to spend with guests. Their home is their retreat, after long work hours and long commutes, where they can wind down and relax.
When they want to meet up and have a drink or eat a meal, the Japanese don't stay in, they go out... they aren't used to having even their family or friends over to eat or sleep in their home, so you can imagine why they are hesitant to welcome a stranger.
The Japanese have very little vacation – 2 weeks a year is the legal maximum. So when they go abroad, they don't mind paying for fancier, more comfortable lodging, as they're usually only there for a few days to a week.
Not many Japanese speak a foreign language: very few speak English, and even less speak French, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian. So it's a bit difficult to spread the idea of linguistic exchange. In general, they speak only Japanese, which is in itself a complex and varied language. Additionally, in Asia, the more useful foreign languages are Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean or Vietnamese.
However, we did participate in a linguistic exchange program on Saturday organized by OSAKA. There were about 60 people there, and we were able to speak to many different people who were interested in practicing foreign languages.
We spoke very carefully in trying to convince them about the benefit of using TalkTalkBnb, and even though they admitted it was an ambitious project because of the cultural differences, they really liked the idea.
At the end of next week, we will go to Kyoto, and perhaps we will have more success!
Follow our ambassadors' travels:
Caro and Aymeric on Instagram, their blog and Facebook.
TalkTalkBnb on Instagram
TalkTalkBnb on Facebook
TalkTalkBnb on Twitter
