u/Ok_Firefighter_9575

I'm a 17-year-old exchange student from the U.S. staying with a host family in Japan, and I've noticed something that I'm curious about.

My host mom is really kind. She smiles, talks with me, helps me, and has been very patient while I adjust. But I've noticed that while she's talking to me she's very expressive and smiling, and then as soon as the conversation ends and she turns away, her face immediately becomes completely neutral.

I'm not trying to criticize her at all—I'm just wondering if this is something other people have noticed in Japan, or if it's just her personality. In the U.S. it feels a little abrupt to me, so my anxious brain keeps wondering if I've done something wrong.

Has anyone else who lived with a Japanese host family or in Japan noticed this? Is it a common social habit, or am I just overthinking it?

PLEASE READ I simply came here to ask so I know if it's a cultural norm maybe or something I as an American was blind to and didn't know about not sure why people think I'm stereotyping them?? I'm a confused 17 year old in a forgan country if I knew the answer I would have not come here if she was black white anything and did that I would ask the same question??

Hi im a 17 yr old extange student studying in Japan today was my first day and as a person with brown skin and curly hair and clearly a forganer it was so embarrassing. Everyone there was Japanese except one British teacher and I understand sure people will look you are different but bro and one point it was so embarrassing about the seclusion the laughing the pointing that during lunch I hid in the bathroom and cried hopefully no on noticed my eyes from after I cried but it was just so embarrassing tho as the day went on more girls started trying to talk with me and show me around and seeing the British man helped so much It pulled me back to reality that I'm not the only one who stands our and ya school was fun but also I felt like such an alien and well I wondered did Japanese students really like me did they really even want me in there school?

Don't correct me idc if my post anything is spelt wrong I just want advice or something on the actual situation not post

Guys I leave for Japan tmr and buying gifts for my host family has been so hard so far I have a liek 7 packs of amarican candy a note and like 2 pa booklets and I have matching tissue paper for the bag bruh 🙃 and for my little host sister I have a note and anaime braclet and anime stickers idk bruh where I am there is littiraly 0 actuall my state themed items am I cooked anyone have any ideas of what do do if anything more btw I'm an exchange student so I don't know them yet

Hey so I'm 17 yr old F growing up when I was younger I always thought I was on the taller side or more mature but as I got older I realized i haven't grew like at all since 12 littirally same hight and weight no changes infact for some reason I look younger then 8th grade me.

I'm short not very big and and I was at the doctors not to long ago they showed me my updates from growing up and after 2020 I just stayed the same some how and I'm not really sure how I mean it's not that I wanna be super old or anything but even my voice too sounds like I'm 12 sometimes when I'm playing online games people automatically think of me as younger or freands ect say I look around 12 and idk how to feal about it I mean I'm glad I can still fit my clothes from when I was much younger but idk. Also, sometimes friends comment on my appearance or jokes about it. Sometimes it's a bit funny but sometimes makes me think about it.

Summery, is it weird not to grow much and still look 11 or 12 at 17.

Has anyone ever accidentally gotten stuck in a role like this?

I'm a 17-year-old girl and I've been learning Japanese for a while. Sometimes I join VRChat groups to practice speaking it.

A few days ago I joined a group and mostly spoke Japanese. Because I rarely spoke English, people started assuming I only spoke Japanese and barely knew any English.

The funny thing is that I never actually told anyone I couldn't speak English. I just never corrected the assumption. Now I've played games with these people several times and made a few friends in the group.

At this point they seem to think I only know basic English, when in reality English is my first language and I'm completely fluent.

I haven't lied about where I'm from or anything like that. I've just kind of let the misunderstanding continue because I'm shy and, honestly, speaking Japanese feels less stressful sometimes.

Has anyone else ever ended up in a situation like this where a misunderstanding just snowballed and became your "thing"? Did you eventually explain it, or did you just let it fade naturally?

Also, would you find this weird if you were on the other side of it?

Or would it be chill to just continue as is sometimes picking up new vocabulary words?

Has anyone ever accidentally gotten stuck in a role like this?

I'm a 17-year-old girl and I've been learning Japanese for a while. Sometimes I join VRChat groups to practice speaking it.

A few days ago I joined a group and mostly spoke Japanese. Because I rarely spoke English, people started assuming I only spoke Japanese and barely knew any English.

The funny thing is that I never actually told anyone I couldn't speak English. I just never corrected the assumption. Now I've played games with these people several times and made a few friends in the group.

At this point they seem to think I only know basic English, when in reality English is my first language and I'm completely fluent.

I haven't lied about where I'm from or anything like that. I've just kind of let the misunderstanding continue because I'm shy and, honestly, speaking Japanese feels less stressful sometimes.

Has anyone else ever ended up in a situation like this where a misunderstanding just snowballed and became your "thing"? Did you eventually explain it, or did you just let it fade naturally?

Also, would you find this weird if you were on the other side of it?

Or would it be chill to just continue as is sometimes picking up new vocabulary words?

Has anyone ever accidentally gotten stuck in a role like this?

I'm a 17-year-old girl and I've been learning Japanese for a while. Sometimes I join VRChat groups to practice speaking it.

A few days ago I joined a group and mostly spoke Japanese. Because I rarely spoke English, people started assuming I only spoke Japanese and barely knew any English.

The funny thing is that I never actually told anyone I couldn't speak English. I just never corrected the assumption. Now I've played games with these people several times and made a few friends in the group.

At this point they seem to think I only know basic English, when in reality English is my first language and I'm completely fluent.

I haven't lied about where I'm from or anything like that. I've just kind of let the misunderstanding continue because I'm shy and, honestly, speaking Japanese feels less stressful sometimes.

Has anyone else ever ended up in a situation like this where a misunderstanding just snowballed and became your "thing"? Did you eventually explain it, or did you just let it fade naturally?

Also, would you find this weird if you were on the other side of it?

Or would it be chill to just continue as is sometimes picking up new vocabulary words?

Has anyone ever accidentally gotten stuck in a role like this?

I'm a 17-year-old girl and I've been learning Japanese for a while. Sometimes I join VRChat groups to practice speaking it.

A few days ago I joined a group and mostly spoke Japanese. Because I rarely spoke English, people started assuming I only spoke Japanese and barely knew any English.

The funny thing is that I never actually told anyone I couldn't speak English. I just never corrected the assumption. Now I've played games with these people several times and made a few friends in the group.

At this point they seem to think I only know basic English, when in reality English is my first language and I'm completely fluent.

I haven't lied about where I'm from or anything like that. I've just kind of let the misunderstanding continue because I'm shy and, honestly, speaking Japanese feels less stressful sometimes.

Has anyone else ever ended up in a situation like this where a misunderstanding just snowballed and became your "thing"? Did you eventually explain it, or did you just let it fade naturally?

Also, would you find this weird if you were on the other side of it?

Or would it be chill to just continue as is sometimes picking up new vocabulary words?

Has anyone else had their departure delayed because they didn't have a host family placement or other logistics issues?

I'm supposed to be going to Japan for 6 weeks. I was originally supposed to leave very soon, but my departure got pushed back to June 30 because my placement isn't finalized yet. I'll still be there for the same amount of time, but I've been having a hard time with the delay.

I think what's bothering me most is the uncertainty. I don't have a host family yet, and I'm worried about what happens if one isn't found in time. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Did you get your placement at the last minute? Were you still able to go?

I had already packed my bags and canceled most of my summer plans because I thought I'd be leaving much sooner, so it feels strange suddenly having a couple extra weeks at home. I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's gone through something similar.

Has anyone else had their departure delayed because they didn't have a host family placement or other logistics issues?

I'm supposed to be going to Japan for 6 weeks. I was originally supposed to leave very soon, but my departure got pushed back to June 30 because my placement isn't finalized yet. I'll still be there for the same amount of time, but I've been having a hard time with the delay.

I think what's bothering me most is the uncertainty. I don't have a host family yet, and I'm worried about what happens if one isn't found in time. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Did you get your placement at the last minute? Were you still able to go?

I had already packed my bags and canceled most of my summer plans because I thought I'd be leaving much sooner, so it feels strange suddenly having a couple extra weeks at home. I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's gone through something similar.

Hi, I’m 17F and I’m trying to understand something I’ve been dealing with for a while. I’m not diagnosed with anything, so I don’t want to self-diagnose, but I’ve noticed patterns in my thoughts that feel a lot like OCD or anxiety, especially around moral and religious themes.

It feels like I have a constant “inner judge” in my mind—almost like a pastor, lawyer, or authority figure—that evaluates everything I do and tells me whether I’m right or wrong, even for very small things.

When something happens, even something minor, my brain often starts spiraling:

Was that my fault?

Did I do something wrong?

Is something bad happening because I messed up?

Is this a punishment from God?

Even normal situations can turn into long periods of overthinking and guilt. If I feel like I didn’t speak to someone correctly, or if I think there might have been tension in a conversation, I feel a strong urge to “fix it,” apologize, or confess it until it feels resolved. My brain treats almost everything like something that needs to be corrected or confessed in order to feel okay again.

A specific example is misunderstandings about myself. If someone thought I was younger than I am, my mind can latch onto it and treat it like a much bigger issue than it is. I might think about it repeatedly and feel like I need to go back and correct it, even if it’s not actually important.

This also connects strongly with religion and morality. I become very afraid of being deceptive or “wrong,” and even small things can spiral into feeling like I’ve done something bad. I sometimes interpret bad feelings or guilt as meaning I must be being punished or corrected by God.

At one point, I even started thinking that maybe these intense feelings of guilt were the Holy Spirit guiding me. But over time, it started to feel less like guidance and more overwhelming—like everything I do is being judged and needs to be fixed.

Because of this, I sometimes feel like I can’t just relax or exist normally like other people seem to. I see others just having fun, joking, or playing games without overthinking everything, and I wish I could experience things that way too. But my mind tends to turn even small situations into something I need to analyze, correct, or confess.

I’m trying to figure out if this might be scrupulosity or OCD-related anxiety, or something similar. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who relates or has experience with this.

Thank you for reading.

Just like the title I just did mine but I don't know if it's correct or what they are asking so would someone be up for taking a look.

Does anyone else's brain get stuck replaying an awkward social interaction even when it's probably not a big deal?

Earlier today, I had a conversation with someone from school. Nothing dramatic happened, and we weren't fighting or anything, but a topic from years ago came up and the conversation felt a little awkward. The other person even said it wasn't really my fault, but my brain keeps replaying the whole thing and making me feel like I need to "fix" it somehow.

The weird part is that logically I know this probably isn't a huge issue. I don't even have a way to contact the person, and they may have completely forgotten about it by now. But my brain keeps latching onto it and acting like it's an unfinished problem that needs to be solved.

Does anyone else with OCD experience this? Where your mind picks one social interaction and just keeps looping it over and over even when you know there's probably nothing you can do about it?

BTW this is not new I'm 17 and my brain sometimes looks at random things and likes to fix it especially with people and likes to make it end at almost a clean sweep or it feals like a cloud is over my head till I fix it.

Hi! I'm going to Japan soon for a school program and I had a question about money.

I have some money on a Cash App Visa card and some cash in USD. Would it be better to exchange some money before leaving the U.S., or wait until I get to Japan?

Also if before then where also should I get like a specific visa card or just carry cash yen

Also, has anyone used a Cash App Visa card in Japan, especially at 7-Eleven ATMs?

I'd appreciate any advice from people who have traveled to Japan recently. Thanks

I feel like I'm both an introvert and an extrovert, and I've always wondered if anyone else is like this.

One thing I've noticed is that my resting face naturally looks nervous, sad, or scared. I don't usually realize I'm doing it until someone points it out or I catch myself. It's not extreme, but especially around strict authority figures, in church, or in classes like Criminal Justice, my face just seems to default to looking worried. I've tried fixing it, but it doesn't really work.

In my Criminal Justice class, I'm known for being hardworking, respectful, and kind, but also very quiet. Conflict is difficult for me because I'm a people pleaser. If two people are upset and I can't help both sides, I end up feeling guilty and stressed.

The weird thing is that I'm not actually a quiet person all the time. Around friends, especially outside of school, I'm much louder and more energetic. In Scouts I'm often one of the loudest people there. I like dressing up, wearing skirts, ribbons in my ponytail, and expressing myself. I don't really fit the stereotype of the "quiet nerd."

I think part of the reason I'm quiet in Criminal Justice is because my teacher is a retired police officer. He's a good teacher and has always been kind to me, but I still get nervous talking to him. Sometimes my voice gets so quiet that he can't hear me. Most of our conversations are about studying, goals, or achievements. He's even told me that I'm a great student and wishes there were more students like me, but I still worry that he thinks I don't like the class because I don't talk much.

Another thing that affects me is my grandmother. Whenever I need to ask her something, my heart starts racing and I feel genuinely terrified, almost like the feeling you get during a scary scene in a horror movie. I overthink things constantly, and by the end of the day I'm often mentally exhausted.

Something else I've never really understood about myself is that sometimes when I go into a bathroom and see my reflection, I avoid looking at it. I'll cover part of my face or look away. It's not that I think I'm extremely ugly or anything like that. I just feel uncomfortable seeing myself sometimes, and I honestly don't know why.

Does anyone else experience this combination of being outgoing in some situations but extremely quiet and nervous in others? Or having a face that naturally looks worried even when you're okay?

I'm currently finishing up my Eagle paperwork and project requirements, and instead of being excited, I'm feeling stressed about the idea of an Eagle Court of Honor.

Part of the problem is that family members keep bringing it up and have strong opinions about who should be honored during the ceremony. There are a lot of expectations about things like parent pins, mentor recognitions, and who deserves credit for helping me get to Eagle.

The thing is, I don't feel like there was one person who got me here.

Different people helped me in different ways. Some people gave rides. Some helped with paperwork or my project. Some encouraged me to stay in Scouts when I wanted to quit. Some provided emotional support. Looking back, it feels like a lot of people contributed small pieces rather than one mentor or one parent doing everything.

Because of that, I feel uncomfortable with the idea of choosing one or two people to recognize above everyone else. The whole thing has started to feel more stressful than meaningful.

Has anyone else felt this way? Did anyone choose to have a very small Court of Honor, delay it, or even skip it entirely? How did you handle family expectations and the recognition parts of the ceremony when your situation wasn't straightforward?

I'd appreciate hearing from other Eagle Scouts or Scouts who have been through something similar.

Another thing that's been stressing me out is the 12 roses tradition.

A family member brings it up a lot and often talks about how my brother gave his roses to our mom. I get the feeling that there's an expectation that I should give my roses to certain people, and that has made the whole idea feel uncomfortable.

The problem is that my situation isn't simple. Different people helped me in different ways. Some helped with transportation, some helped with my project, some gave emotional support, and some encouraged me to stay in Scouts when I wanted to quit. I don't feel like there was one person who got me to Eagle. And like sure my grandma helped me but she also has not been the strongest mentor and has hurt me along the way.

I honestly didn’t expect the final Eagle Scout paperwork stage to hit me this hard.

I’ve spent basically the entire day working on my workbook, time sheets, printing papers, organizing everything, fixing numbers, and trying to get it all done before I leave for Japan in 18 days. My eyes burn, my back hurts from being bent over my computer all day, and I’m so exhausted that I barely feel like myself right now.

The project itself was difficult, but this final paperwork/review stage feels mentally draining in a completely different way. I feel like I’ve been working nonstop and I’m still scared I’m behind somehow littirally today at school all I was looking at was my phone and computer doing logs time sheets ect and at scouts I'm constantly pulled aside to work on my book while the other kids play I just am really tired and frustrated.

Not to mention my grandma who has been helping me with scouts and is more into my scouts since she did it for my other brother she is constantly lecturing me like I was working in my book a few ago and I was alr tired and she lectured me bc I left my scout uniform shirt on the chair and she is upset it can get wrinkled. Now my motion is really low.

For people who already finished Eagle, did you hit a point where you just felt completely burnt out during the final stretch? How did you push through it?

Hey im 17 and So I may have accidentally handed one of my scout leaders a binder/book to look through for an Eagle Scout project thing… and forgot there was a sealed letter addressed to someone I’m VERY obviously attached to sitting in the clear sleeve of the binder

The envelope literally says “To [name]” with a little flower on it. It’s sealed, but still.

The problem is I’m pretty sure I’ve already accidentally made my feelings obvious over time because:

* I talk about this person a lot

* I once said one of the reasons I don’t want to leave scouts is because I don’t want to lose contact with them

* we went to the mall + roller skating together Valentine’s Day weekend

* I have called them my “best best friend”

* we’re always together at scouts

* I literally draw on them/play with their hair and once we showed the scout leaders all the doodles like it was an art project

So now I’m sitting here realizing the letter probably just connected every dot imaginable.

Be honest: if you were the adult in this situation would you immediately assume I had a crush or would you just ignore it and move on

Hey I'm 17 and for as long as I can remember noise has botherd me anyway one sound that completely kills me is the sound of my mom's slury voice or her voice when she drinks or is in hangover she drinks often usually at night so I avoid her best I can anyway last night I got woken up by her and I heard her slury voice and i tried my best to drown it out then this morning her voice was still a bit slurs but for some reason she wouldn't be quite my headphones are not working well and she knows I can't control my how sound affects me and she keep talking the sound of her voice genuinely not even annoying it sent me into like a fight or flight mode I put my hands over my ears and tensed my body she saw me and jokes with my cousin I don't know what's wrong with her she does this all the time even when I'm eating then she purposely made the exact sounds that she knows bothers my ears and at the busstop I immediately got out the car then had to sit there.

I don't wanna sound like someone who wants it all there way and want to control the world but I can't stand it I don't know if I have misophonia but just sometimes I wish I could turn off all sounds like my ears are so sensitive and sometimes my body reacts quicker then I think when it comes to sounds and I get overwhelmed I cover my ears I tap my fingers I try to run away and it sucks. And she says it's attitude and Like I wish my ears were not this sensitive but I can't stop it

PLEASE IGNORE THE TITAL I MISSPELLED IT IK BUT IM UNABLE TO CHANGE IT

Hi , I’m 17 and in high school, and more and more I’m realizing I’m literally a nerd.

I used to do sports, but now I mostly do chess club seasonally, faith club, and school. I barely talk to people besides my main friend. Most of the time at school I have my headphones on while studying or doing work. During lunch I usually use the time to finish classwork instead of socializing.

I’m in criminal justice for half the day, and honestly all I do is study. Every morning when I walk in, I study until class starts. During break, I study. At the end of class, I study. During running assessments, when nobody was looking, I’d even pull out flashcards because I hated wasting time when I could be studying. Kids in my class know me as “the guy always studying,” and my teacher literally uses me as an example sometimes. I barely talk to anyone there. I’m always trying to stay on top of my work and do things that’ll help me for college later.

The more I think about it, the more I realize I might actually be the stereotypical nerd.

I’m always on my best behavior, especially around adults. I hate when people take random silly photos of me because I’m paranoid some future college or job could see them. I don’t cuss, don’t fight, and I avoid doing anything that feels out of character for me. Even online, every time I comment on something, I save the post so I can go back and delete my comment later — even if the comment wasn’t bad at all. I’m just super careful because I’m always thinking about future jobs and opportunities.

I like talking to people, don’t get me wrong, but during class I usually prefer not to because I don’t want to get in trouble for talking. And God forbid a teacher overhears drama, complaining, or something they don’t like.

I feel like I’m both introverted and extroverted at the same time. I like being around people and included in things, but my social battery drains fast.

I’m not making this post to brag or say people should study more. It’s mostly just me ranting because I’m realizing I really am a nerd.

And honestly, part of it probably comes from when I was younger. There was this character in a manga I used to read — he was a stereotypical high school nerd who always carried around a little notebook to study from. Some people in the story joked about him, but I always saw him as inspiring instead of embarrassing. Looking back, I think I accidentally became that guy.