Haru Same = Spring Shark?

This morning my girlfriend woke me up talking about “Haru Same”.

In Japanese, “Haru” = Spring and “Same” = Shark.

So naturally, I thought she was talking about eating “spring shark”.

Which is why I asked if she ever had “winter shark”.

She calmly continued to explain the differences between spring and winter shark, and how spring shark tasted better.

To which I nodded, soaking in the new information.

A few seconds later, she burst out laughing.

“I finally got you!”

“Wait, what?” I responded.

“There’s no such thing as a ‘spring’ or ‘winter’ shark!”

I buried myself under the blanket in shame.

She went on to say that she was talking about the noodles, “haru same” 「春雨」, that she brought home last night.

And after my deep shame subsided, we shared a laugh.

This is almost a daily occurrence when living abroad learning a new language.

You make silly, child-like mistakes, even after 10 years in the game.

And the only way to deal with it is to accept the mistake and move on.

Many people give up on language or anything that is difficult because they get embarrassed from all the mistakes they make.

When in reality, the mistakes are the juiciest part of the journey.

It’s not that you made a mistake, it’s how you respond to it.

Anyway, that’s all I have for you today. Thought it was funny lil story and wanted to share.

Hope it moves something for you.

Talk soon,

Brandon “winter shark is definitely more delicious“

P.S. Speaking of mistakes, I recently made a lil edit to my website to navigate things easier. You can find the categories at the top bar to sort through my books and Japanese art from shokunin:

»Check it out here