This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2460.
Three phrases to compare cultures with Michael from Happy English.
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So many of our most amazing connection conversations come from comparing our cultures.
Today, our special guest will share three ways to do this using high-level vocabulary. as we compare Japanese and American culture.
Let's get into it today. Are you still translating from your native language into English in your head?
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Hello, Michael. How are you today? Welcome to the show.
Thank you, Lindsay. Thank you. It's great to be here.
Excellent. I'm so excited to have you on again for, I think, the fourth or fifth time in our podcasting careers.
So super glad you're here. I'm going to take a minute to introduce you to our audience for any new listeners that maybe don't know your name or your voice.
So, listeners, today I have Michael from Happy English on the show.
Michael is a passionate English instructor with over 30 years of experience helping people speak English better.
Michael started his professional English teaching career in Sendai, Japan in 1994 and since then, He's worked in international education, both in and outside of the classroom.
And Michael, you are back in Sendai again.
Is that right? Have you gone full circle in your career?
I've... Yes, I realized that every 30 years in my life, I moved to Japan so far.
And yeah, I just got here like four months ago.
I am so excited. And just so our listeners know a little bit of your background.
What great American city were you in during that time in between?
In all that time and since I was born, I was in New York.
Yes. And I would encourage our listeners to check out our back catalog. of amazing episodes where you and i have talked about new york about the culture the slang we always love learning about new york New York's a great city.
Absolutely. But today, Michael, we are gonna talk a little bit about your move to Japan. and more broadly for all of our listeners about how we might compare one culture to another culture, because I've also lived in Japan.
You've lived there twice now. Um, probably on a more integrated level.
I lived there for about a year and a half and taught English at Eon in Tokyo.
And I saw some major differences. So I'm super interested interested to know how we can talk in English about comparing cultures and what your biggest things you've seen that are different. between Japan and the U.S., yeah?
Yeah, sure, sure. so the first phrase that that comes to mind is in contrast to a I can give you an example.
In contrast to living in the US, here um people don't barbecue in their backyard in the summertime Yeah.
Yeah. Let me just back up before we go into the first phrase.
Michael, I want to ask you a more broad question when you So you've been there for about three months now, since March?
Yeah, three, four months, four months, yeah.
Yeah. So when you stepped off the plane since March, what has been the biggest area of life in which you felt the biggest difference?
Is it food? Is it like relationships? Is it work?
Is there one bucket? Yeah, probably the one thing is the food.
Okay. Okay. The food. Yeah. The typical American meal, you know, there's a protein.
We'll have a meat. or a fish, and then a starch in a vegetable.
That's a really typical American dinner, for example.
But here there's always a salad and some pickled vegetables.
There's a variety of smaller portions of each thing, but more of each thing.
And it's something that I hadn't really remembered. um but yeah that's that's yeah so in the u.s you're more used to eating maybe more of fewer things, like a higher quantity of fewer items.
Is that right? Exactly. Exactly. You know, a baked potato and some chicken and some broccoli on the side.
That's kind of a. Yeah. typical you know American dinner but here it'd be like yeah you'll have like like two small pieces of chicken And some rice and some salad and some vegetables and some miso soup.
And it's like, wow, there's always this thing.
That resonates with my experience too, Michael.
In Tokyo, we used to go out a lot. with coworkers and we'd go to izakaya right and we would sit in order so many different dishes and share them.
And they were such a nice variety of things.
I love that. But So we just had 4th of July here, Michael, in the US.
And what I did, we grilled, right? We grilled bratwurst. and hamburgers with our family.
And so tell me more. Let's bring back in for our listeners that phrase.
That phrase, that first phrase to compare.
Tell us about the food culture, grilling culture.
Yeah, so here's the grilling culture. Like...
I love grilling. In fact, when I lived in New York, I would even barbecue in November. yeah yeah i love the taste of food cooked on a grill yeah and um the distance between our house and the property line on one side to the neighbor's house is one meter, right?
Yes. And to the other side is two meters.
And so in the backyard is really small. And so I said, oh, you know, I'm looking forward to the summer.
We can barbecue. I'll make Japanese yakitori chicken on a stick.
Yeah. Sure, you see them at the festivals, right?
You always see that. And I'm living with my in-laws, right?
And my father-in-law said, oh, no, no. Do that so like in contrast to living in the States, people don't barbecue here.
Interesting. But, but, You guys like grilled meat.
There are grilled meat restaurants. Yeah.
That's right. Yeah. So the thing in Japan is the amount of livable land is very small so everyone has a you know, the the house is really a at the tucked into the edge of the property.
So nobody wants to grill outside. Because they don't want to offend the neighbors with the smell or the smoke of a barbecue.
Yes. Interesting. So, you know, go even further and use the in contrast to write in contrast to the US.
It seems like we're We're talking about politeness being or respect for neighbors being maybe more important in Japan than in the U.S.
Would you say so? Yeah. Yeah. And again, in contrast to my life. back in the States, like you have to always be very careful about You don't want to put the garbage out too early because that'll bother the neighbors.
So we're always aware of not annoying the neighbors.
Interesting. But in New York I mean, you're also living on top of other people.
Essentially, when I lived in New York, you and I have parallel lives in a sense life in New York. life in Japan.
I lived in those buildings, the apartment buildings with the external fire escapes.
And you know, four floor walk-ups, right?
Fourth floor walk-ups. I mean, where did you grill in New York?
Did you go to the roof of the building or did you have a backyard?
No, I lived in the suburbs in New York. So I had a house and I had a backyard and everybody grills, you know.
5 or 6 p.m., you walk out in your backyard and all you smell is, oh, okay, maybe he's making steak.
Oh, man, I smell burgers over there. Like, That's a great smell.
Yeah. That's the smell of summer. Yeah. And here...
Yeah, yeah. We're missing that. No, I can understand.
Dan, you're feeling I'm not a big meat eater, but I actually love the smell of barbecue, the whole thing, being outdoors, eating outside.
So maybe you'll have to go to a lot of street festivals to get that smell, right?
Or the beach or something. I'm not sure.
Yeah. Okay. So that is something. Also, I think in contrast to living in Japan, in the States...
Like you said, the barbecue, even if you're not a big meat eater, That's an event, right?
You cook the food outside, you eat the food outside.
It's a whole cultural experience. It's not just cooking the food.
Yeah, lawn games, sitting in reclining chairs out of rondag chairs.
It's a whole thing. Um, so interesting.
Okay. So that's a big difference. And that might hit you in terms of culture shock hard in the summertime, but yeah, What would be another way then, Michael, that you would compare Japan to the U.S.?
? another another phrase yeah um even though it might look similar uh it's like apples and oranges Oh, I love that.
Okay, tell us more. It's like apples and oranges.
Two different kinds of fruits. You really can't compare apples and oranges, right?
Yep. So life here is like apples and oranges.
And I'll give you a concrete example of that. recycling.
You recycle where you live? We do, but sometimes I see at different houses and restaurants they don't, believe it or not.
It's weird. In Denver, I was shocked. On the East Coast, in Cambridge and New York, we always did.
And in what way did you recycle? Like, how do you separate the garbage Oh, yeah.
It's not nearly as intense as what I saw in Japan, too. so you basically have a big recycle bin and you throw everything in there that would conceivably be recycled and but it doesn't work well in the States.
Tell us how it works in Japan. It's like apples and oranges.
Okay. So first of all, I'll give you an example.
Yeah. There's a calendar each month published by the local community of what to recycle on what day.
And so let's talk about plastic, for example.
So, you know, you have a bottle of water, right?
Now you'll notice I took the label off because this is empty and this is going to go out.
In Japan, in America, you just... Throw the whole thing into the recycle.
But here, we peel off the label. That's one day.
We take off the cap. Right. And this little plastic piece, that's another recycling day.
And then the bottle itself, don't crush it.
Just like that, that's another day. Okay.
So there's, yeah, everything is divided.
Wow. Incredibly divided. you know uh it's organized isn't it it's it's very very it's too organized Glass bottles, today was clear bottle day.
Okay, we put out all the clear bottles. Okay, but there's also brown glass bottles and And there's green glass bottles.
Yes. And so... So when I say it's like apples and oranges, it's completely different.
Yeah, it's almost like you can't call it recycling in the US, what we're doing here.
I'm not sure what we're doing. What we're doing, like I said, is not working.
I think there's a lot of rejection of items we put in there because it's not organized enough.
But I remember when I lived in Tokyo, there was always a netting over the trash.
So I don't even know what I did with my trash.
I don't even know. But I was afraid to go in there.
I was really afraid. Everything was in Japanese.
I didn't read kanji very well. and very organized, let's say that much.
It's like apples and oranges. I love that expression, Michael.
Are there anything else that you might compare like apples and oranges, things that just can't be compared?
Um, Yeah, I can't off the top of my head.
So like, getting back to food, right? Mm hmm. the variety of vegetables here and pickled vegetables and boiled vegetables.
You know, coming from an Italian-American background, Everything was olive oil, garlic, and spinach.
Olive oil, garlic, and broccoli. Very, very simple, right?
Basic, yeah, basic. Basic here, but here it's like it's steamed and it's boiled and it's... Wow. dashi soup stock and it's yes yes Just the variety of food compared to the States, it's like apples and oranges.
It's like apples. That's a good example.
Yeah. So hitting our nutrition goals, right?
That's one thing I loved about Japan is that how healthy the food was.
Like I said, the vegetable, the fish. was just incredible.
Whereas in the U S we have a lot of ultra processed foods.
Maybe you don't see that quite as much there.
I don't know. Yeah, that's, that's the other thing.
Like, there isn't, you know, there isn't that processed food culture here.
You know, it's really basic. um eggs when you go to the grocery store here right the eggs are not refrigerated They're just kind of hanging out there in the store.
Yes. You know, they can, they even eat, I don't, but they eat raw egg.
I remember. Yes. Because it's fresh enough that you can do that.
Yes. And I personally can't because you know.
We call that mind over matter. I can't eat an egg.
Our eggs are not as fresh. I remember that too, going out for sukiyaki and I noticed my co-workers started putting their meat into the egg.
And I thought, oh my gosh, I was always told by my mom, I can't do that.
I can't eat raw eggs. Then I learned later, it's just that they are so much more fresh in Japan.
Again, another really good way to compare cultures, apples to oranges, right?
And we don't have to be talking about food, of course.
Right, Michael? We use this expression. Yeah.
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Okay, what would be our third? Let's go for one more and maybe a story if you have a story there.
Um... So in the States, when you go to a restaurant, right, it's pretty common that that you can order something off the menu or a variation, right?
Yes. you say you know hey can I get a baked potato instead of french fries oh yeah no problem usually that's If the food exists in the kitchen, they're more than happy to do that for you.
Yeah. Whereas in Japan, there's a menu.
Okay. And you can order what's on the menu.
I see. Okay. That's basically it. Okay, I love it.
So you use the phrase whereas, right, to make the comparison.
Um, yeah, that's interesting. So there's no, uh, I've actually never done that, but I've always wanted to do that in the US request something that's not on the menu at all, but I know it's very simple and is made out of the ingredients that are already in the kitchen.
Is that something you used to do a lot? I understand like tweaking your order.
Like I want cheddar cheese instead of Swiss cheese on my burger.
But going in and asking for a grilled cheese if it doesn't exist on the menu. is that something that you've done before or would do?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, um, In the States, it's pretty easy to do that, depending on the restaurant, of course.
Sure. Sure, sure, sure. Yeah. It's not weird to ask, right?
Yeah, I agree. you know, like, you know, you just don't do that because they have a menu.
Okay. Whereas... It's whatever on the menu.
Is this, I mean, I love talking about cultures and cultural differences.
Does this point to something that you know about the culture In Japan that you can articulate?
Yeah, so... If I have to describe Japanese culture in one word, that word would be uniform.
And not only do public servants wear uniforms, people who work in customer service wear uniforms. kids wearing uniforms in school, but the culture is uniform.
There's a rule. There's always a rule for something, right?
Okay. Okay. Um, the menu in the restaurant, you know, that's what we offer.
Yes. So you can have that. And it's like, oh, well, There was a movie with Jack Nicholson, I can't think of the movie, where he asked for, he wanted to have toast and the woman said, we don't.
We don't serve toast. And he's like, all right, give me a chicken salad sandwich on toast.
Hold the chicken salad. this is in japan is it lost in translation no no that's a jack nicholson movie i forget okay okay But like here, it just, you know, you can get toast with your eggs if you want, but um only it only if it comes with that okay okay yes Like if you go to a restaurant, like for breakfast, right?
And they have the morning, they call it the morning set.
And you I say, oh, can I can I get, you know, some toast on the side?
They give you that look like you're from you know, Planet X, because, you know, it's not on the menu.
And I think that's, you know, The trains are on time here.
Oh, my gosh. Yeah, there are massive benefits.
Everything's punctual. Yes. When you call for the plumber...
And the plumber says, okay, I'll be there tomorrow at 11 o'clock in the morning. the plumber comes ding dong at 11 o'clock in the morning, they come in, they take off their shoes and they have all of the tools and all of the parts and to do the job.
Like clockwork. So they get it done. Yeah.
I mean, I remember how amazingly on time the trains were in Japan versus, you know, in New York, every weekend something is shut down.
One of the lines. is shut down, something breaks, it's kind of a disaster.
Absolutely. It's shocking that anything gets done.
And, you know, today's conversation, it's not about one culture being better than the other.
I love Japanese culture. I love American culture.
I love many different cultures. but it's about experiencing them and for our listeners today being able to compare so that is What I want our listeners, everyone, to pay attention to today is you've learned the key phrases to compare any culture with any other culture.
So just real quick, a recap, Michael, what were the phrases again?
So the first one- In contrast to the USA, we don't barbecue in the backyard here.
Yes, excellent. What was the second one?
The second one is comparing recycling in the States to recycling in Japan, it's like comparing apples to oranges.
It's like apples to oranges. Apples to oranges.
And our third one that our listeners should write down.
Whereas. A little bit more of a formal phrase.
Right. Good if you're taking one of those English tests, right?
IELTS, TOEFL, right? Whereas... In the States, you can easily order app order off the menu whereas in japan uh you should better stick to that menu and and Yeah.
And Michael, to wrap up today, any final piece of advice when you're new in a culture or just being reintroduced to a culture? kind of mindset wise in terms of how to take it in.
Do you have any tiny piece of advice for our listeners who are living abroad?
Yeah. English is a global language now and people are traveling more and going to different places. realize, and I don't know who said this, but somebody said one time that all human beings have the same wants and needs and desires.
And every culture has a different way to bring that.
So it's not, As you said before, Lindsay, it's not saying that one culture is better than another.
Yes. It's all cultures are different and so flexibility when you travel somewhere and you go, okay, Maybe we're going to speak English here, but the cultures, it's going to be a little bit different.
And so having that flexibility, will help you so that you're not all like uh right it just makes life so much easier when we're open to things looking different.
And yeah, good point. You are using the language, but it's going to look very different the way. things get done and we all have the same basic human needs, human connection.
Learning things, self-actualization, but we get there in a different way.
So well said, Michael. Michael, where can our listeners find your podcast?
Tell us a little bit, just for a minute, how to find your show, what you talk about on Oh, sure.
It's the Happy English Podcast. And, you know, you can type that into the search bar of your podcast. browser here or wherever you find podcasts just type in Happy English Podcast.
The website is myhappyenglish.com. And yeah, if you type in happy English Michael, you'll find me somewhere.
Awesome. Love it. Thank you for being on the show again, Michael.
And I hope to collaborate with you again, maybe next year.
We'll see, right? Thank you so much for having me.
It's been a pleasure and a lot of fun talking about culture today.
Absolutely. Thank you, Michael. Have a good day.
Bye. You too. Thanks. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English. your English level?
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