Why do many japanese dye their hair to brown, red, blonde...?

I started to be interested in japanese culture since childhood. My first introduction to it was through 70's and 80's movies. The first thing I noticed was everyone had black hair, except for the old people. Of course it sounds obvious, but when we are three years old it's a big surprise to know that all asians have black hair.

But, a bigger surprise happened when I started to watch movies from 90's to nowadays. The black hair of japanese people have suddenly become brown, red, blonde, all the collors! 
And I asked myself why. Why are japanese people dyeing their hairs? Well, if we take a look at the celebrities, we can get the answer: it's fashion! I don't know who started it, but now everyone wants to do it - specially young people - because it looks cool.

I've many friends in Japan with colored hair, maybe much more than the ones with original black hair. I've asked some of them for what reason they or people they know do it. Many confirmed it's because of fashion and because make people look younger, specially women. But, others said it's because some japanese want to look like foreigners. And the first step for it is dyeing the hair.
During college I read a book that mentioned that. Ceuntries ago, when japanese gates were closed to the westerns, the beauty pattern was korean because according to japanese of that time, korean women had a delicate beauty. But, when the gates were open and the westerns started to come, the european beauty started to be more valorized. The biggest proof of that was how japanese stopped to paint theirselves as asians and started to draw their selves as caucasians like we see in manga and anime until nowadays.
Some say that's why Goku, the main character of the anime Dragon Ball, was the biggest hero of Japan in 90's because he looks like a japanese - black hair - but, looks like a foreigner - blonde hair - when gets stronger. 

But, having colored hair is forbidden in some moments of life. High School students, for example, cannot dye the hair or even use earring. The same for some company employees. For this reason, many japanese with a different look are university students or adults who work for companies which do not prohibit them to do the same.
And this maybe better. People can be more happy if can assume their own style, since it's not exaggerated. Are there people with the same fashion style in your country? So, upload some pictures off them in Taptrip! 
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Why foreigners like our country more than we do?

The previous posts were about events held in Africa. I don't know much about the culture, but now I am very interested in going there, specially after watching the video.
Thanks to Taptrip,  I could make friends in many countries and I can count on them if I need someone to introduce me the place. This year I've been in France and a brazilian friend took me to hang out in Paris. In Japan a chinese friend went with me to show the shopping area of Tokyo. And both looked more excited than in telling me things about each country people from there. Then, we think: why foreigners like our country more than we do?

This is me with friends. We are all foreigners who love Japan.

According to Ana Gasparoto, Taptripper and student of Tourism in the University of Sao Paulo, people interested in some other country can fall in love for its culture, maybe much more than locals. 
"In Brazil I've met two argentinians who decided to open a youth hostel in Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte. I think both know the city much better than any person who was born and raised in there. (...) After all, outsiders can see things that insiders cannot see." - she said.

And this is me with foreigner friends who live in Brazil and love it much more than I do.

So, maybe I will not be surprised if, after landing in Africa, a russian takes me to have a walk around. Have you also introduced another country to someone or had an outsider who did that for you? So, share your story in the comments! 
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Do you really know your country?

Do you know why Sugar Loaf, a tourist attraction of Brazil famous in the whole world, has this name? Because it has the same form of refined sugar.

yummy?

And do you know why Aomori ("Blue Forest" in japanese), a tourist attraction of Japan, is called like this? A forest is supposed to be green, but a long time ago, blue and green were the same color for japanese.

is this forest really blue?

And the big surprise is: many brazilians and japanese people don't know it. Only if someone - normally a foreigner - asks and, then, they need to search for the answer. That's why introducing your own country for people from another countries can be so fun and interesting. You can learn things that even you didn't know.

"so, let me tell you about my country..."

I have no more time to hang out with my foreigner friends so often, but I can still introduce my country to then through Taptrip app. And you can do the same. It’s very simple.
After you choose ‘Make a tour’, you can upload pictures and information of your country and share with people from the whole world. The same way my Asian friend was very glad to know my place, many other people will be happy in knowing yours too.  So, be a Taptrip guide and introduce your country to the world. Download Taptrip App and make friends in more than 200 countries worldwide!
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Do as the babies: 3 tips to learn a foreigner language!

Many people have difficulty to learn another language, specially when they are already adults. After we got used to only one kind of pronunciation, it's hard to adapt our brain, tongue and body to another idiom.
But, you can learn and speak another different language if you follow the first steps you did to learn your native one when you were a baby. In other words, you only need to apply the tips below:
1) Listen. Nobody born and starts to talk right after it. We first listen to our parents and other people talking to us and then we started to assimilate what those phrases mean. The first words probably heard were 'mom' and 'dad'. Every time you listened to these words, you probably thought about your parents immediately. Now you need to do the same with the language you want to learn. Listen to it very often until you start to assimilate the meaning of each word.

2) Repeat. After learning the meaning of main words, it's time to repeat them just like babies do when they are growing up. Maybe you can find the same difficulty as them to pronounce correctly, but you will get used to it after talking everyday.
3) Be patient. The same way as a child takes years to speak a language, the same may happen to you. So, do not rush. If takes 3 or 4 years for a kid to speak properly with adults, it's OK if you need the same time. 

Although Taptrip has a translator tool which allows you to talk to people from other countries in any language, the app is also very good to learn other idioms. While you chat with someone, you can visualize the original message and the translation below, what helps you to increase your vocabulary. 
So, keep the babies' rhythm to learn a new language and keep enjoying Taptrip to increase it.
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Foreigners as guides of your country: is that really unusual?

Salvador, Bahia, one of the most famous tourist destinations of Brazil. My parents went to watch a presentation of Olodum, an afro-brazilian music group which became popular in the whole world after making a video clip with Michael Jackson. After watching the show, my parents were attended by a guide who was going to tell them more details about afro-brazilian culture. They were expecting to meet someone local, but surprisingly the guide was from Netherlands and spoke a very good portuguese.

For some people it may be strange to have the own country introduced by a foreigner, but for other people it's not that unusual. According to Ana Gasparotto, student  of Tourism in University of São Paulo, ''people interested in knowing more about other country can end loving it''. 

For her, there are many reasons why a foreigner decides to be the guide of some other country, like: the opportunity to show the country from other point of view, having a public excited to hear his / her stories or even giving something back to the country which welcomed him / her very well. 

Mariano Copes is one of them. He is from Argentina, but has been living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for four years. According to him, the local geography can be the main influence when someone decides to live somewhere abroad. His cousin, for example, went to United States to be a temporary ski instructor, but liked it so much that decided to stay and guide people who go there to practice this sport.

So, you don't need to be a native to be a guide of somewhere. You only need to like, have a good knowledge and interest about the place. 

Are you currently living abroad and would like to show how much you admire the country where you are staying in? You can be a guide in Taptrip and show it to the whole world! Many people are looking foward to read your stories too. 


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