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Country culture

Today I would like to talk about some of the interesting "country manners" I have noticed in my hometown. Some of them may be similar to Japanese manners and some may be interesting to you. I am curious if any of these manners are the same in Japan.

One thing that many people do where I'm from is to say ma'am or sir to everyone. They do this as a sign of respect. It is the polite way to address people in English. Using ma'am or sir is especially common in the southern part of the US.

The next thing is carrying groceries to cars. This is not at every store. However, the grocery store in my town does this for us. Since the town is small, the cashier puts the groceries in the bag for you, and then puts the groceries in a cart. After you pay, there is a worker who pushes the cart to your car. Then they put the groceries in your car for you. I think this is very nice. It's like a southern hospitality thing. I'm not sure if they do this in other small towns in the US, but it is very common in the area where I'm from.

When you check out at a grocery store, there is also a lot of small talk. The cashier talks to you about your day or the weather, and sometimes people in line with you also talk to you. I think this is also a nice thing. People are very friendly, but some people may not like this. In Japan, everything is done by yourself, and there is no small talk. I'm not sure if this is different in other parts of Japan though.

Another difference is something that some people in Japan also do. This is holding doors open. In the US, at least in smaller towns, we always hold the door open for the next person even if they are far away. We wait for them until they can come through the door. This is considered very polite. Most people in my town do this. I was raised to think that this is very common, and that I always have to do it. Because of that, I still hold doors open in Tokyo, even if people are a little far away.

One last thing that people do in my town and other small towns in the US, is waving to other cars when you pass them while driving. I didn't think about it before, but when I moved to Asia I realized that people don't smile or wave to strangers. However, in my hometown this is very common. Anytime I drive past someone, I wave. It's not a big wave, but we like to let the other person know that we are saying hello to them. We also wave to people who are in their yards if we drive past their house. I really like this culture. It makes you feel safe and also close to your neighbors and other people living in your town.

These are just a few of the little differences that I noticed after moving to Tokyo. Do you do any of these things? What are some interesting things you do for politeness in Japan that people don't do in other countries?

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