On Sunday, my friend Kana Takio and her father visited us. Besides being a really good friend, Kana also tutored me in Japanese for three years. (5th-8th grade).
At one point, Kana whipped out her camera and aimed it at me. You should know that I downright hate impromptu pictures of me. Like, a lot. I will always reject a photo op, simply because I am not Gisele Bündchen and my face does not look good in pictures.
Anyway, in embarrassment, I covered the lower half of my face with my hand. It was a reaction. I didn't think anything of it. From across the room, my mother was pointing to her teeth and covering her mouth, then shrugging her shoulders. She did this a couple of times before I ignored her.
Later, when my mother and I were washing dishes:
"I saw you cover your mouth when she wanted to take a picture."
"Yeah, I did."
"Didn't you tell me it's impolite for Japanese women to show their teeth when they laugh?"
"I might have, but that was eons ago. Why?"
"You covered your teeth."
"...."
"I think you're absorbing that culture."
"But I'm not even there yet."
"Doesn't matter. You just did a very Japanese thing as a reflex."
"....."
COOOOOOOOL.
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