2575“So this are words from my host family in the Czech Republic,” Nahomi explains in her audio clip.

”When I was there I was just 17 years old. I was a typical Japanese girl, in Japanese culture we should not do anything to spoil the harmony of the community. So I did care about others too much.

”When my host mother asked me what I wanted to do in the Czech Republic, I couldn’t answer anything because I didn’t have my own opinion.

”Then she told me this, that nobody can understand what you want to do so you have to say your opinion. It was a big shock for me, it was very different from Japanese culture. From that time I changed my opinion, I say what I want to do and I don’t care about what others think so much.”

Taken in Los Angeles, USA during the SOTM World Tour.