Shadowing Practice: New York to Japan Diaries | End of year trip with parents & fiancé, buying wedding rings, hot spring - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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To end the year, I went on a very special trip to Japan.
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To end the year, I went on a very special trip to Japan.
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I had an exciting trip planned already with a brand,
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so I decided why not extend my stay and turn it into one big family trip with all my favorite people.
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And a big thank you to iHerb for sponsoring this video.
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So, let's start from the very beginning.
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Going to Japan tomorrow, which is exciting.
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I'm going with Taiba, which is,
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they do the facial mist that I really like,
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so I'm really excited to be going on this trip with them.
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My parents are actually going to meet me in Tokyo my dad has been literally dreaming about traveling to Japan.
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My dad has actually been studying Japanese on his own.
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I'm really excited to go on this trip with him as well.
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And then Blair Salceman is also joining me.
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So it's going to be one big family trip and we've never done this before.
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So this should be very, very fun.
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I'm packing right now and I'm watching Dynamite Kiss.
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We made it to Tokyo and we're staying at the Tokyo Edition Hotel.
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We cannot wait till I take a shower.
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Wow, cute.
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I honestly feel so lucky to have these opportunities to travel and see the world while connecting with other viewers and creators.
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I've been creating content for some time now,
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but I still think what an insane time we live in.
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I'm just some ordinary person filming myself and documenting my life on the internet.
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So times like this make me feel very grateful and it's just such a surreal experience.
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I feel very well rested.
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It is the first official day in Tokyo and this view is insane guys.
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So today is day one of Tokyo festivities.
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The dress code is black and gold.
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I'm not used to something so like so bold
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and then for shoes
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and then for shoes i'll probably just wear my comfy heels from the row these are
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so comfortable such a great investment i like the toe and it's low and the leather is really soft cute
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I just got ready and I'm about to head out but first things first,
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I need to take my supplements.
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More than ever before, I cannot live without my supplements
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and I get all of my supplements from iHerb
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and a big thank you to iHerb for sponsoring this portion of the video.
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So part of my daily supplements is I take NMN and Gold C which is vitamin C from California Gold Nutrition.
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I'm at the age now where I'm very interested in anti-aging
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and there's been a lot of buzz about NAD+ and NMN is a precursor of NAD+,
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which supports its healthy aging,
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skin health, cellular energy, metabolism,
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and overall wellness support for immunity.
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So I've been taking this and Gold C,
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which I've gone through so many of these jars.
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I've been shopping on iHerb for several years now because they have the best curated selection of products from supplements,
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sports nutrition, beauty, baby, even pets.
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And all their products are authentic,
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directly sourced from authorized distributors.
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Shipping is fast and free.
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Returns are easy.
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So you can really shop confidently on iHerb.
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So if you're interested, you can get a discount on your iHerb order by clicking the link in the description.
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I documented the trip with Taiba on my Instagram so you can check it out there,
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but it was a fun two days of learning about Japanese culture and connecting with other creators.
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I'm gonna be honest, I was struggling a bit with the jet lag,
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but I pushed through.
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Checking into our new hotel.
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Guess who this is working?
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After the brand trip came to an end,
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my parents arrived in Tokyo from Korea.
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Post-retirement, other than visiting me in New York,
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This was my dad's first international trip,
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so he's been looking forward to this day for months He's also been studying Japanese through books and audio,
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but never really had any speaking practice So he tried asking simple questions like asking for the menu and honestly,
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I was so impressed He learned entirely on his own
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I'm going to go.
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He spent the past year learning basic Japanese vocabulary.
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When he goes on daily walks,
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he turns on Japanese audiobooks to familiarize himself with words and phrases.
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He said that as he's getting older,
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it's gotten harder to retain information,
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but I'm still so proud of him.
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I Have to take my parents to Don Quijote.
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My mom loves stuff like this
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Don Quijote is a store that carries literally everything and anything you can possibly think of from beauty,
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home, toys, snacks
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Just literally everything There were a total of seven floors at this location
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and we maybe have gotten up to the fourth floor till
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I saw my dad's energy Completely deplete after being overly stimulated Now we're gonna try the standard sushi bar
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We ended the night with standing sushi Which ended up being
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so good My parents love a good no frills Casual sushi experience
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We're staying at the Aoyama Grand Hotel I stayed here last time
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We're staying at this hotel because it's very convenient and the room is actually very spacious.
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So Blurry Sauce Man is going to come,
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so I'm going to go.
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I got us another room.
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I'm so happy that Blurry Sauce Man was able to join us on this trip.
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This is our first trip together in a solid two years,
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so this was really special for us.
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Many times when I'm traveling for work,
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it can be very content focused.
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For the remainder of the trip,
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I really wanted to feel like I was living in the moment,
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and not just for the purpose of capturing content.
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I decided to ditch the makeup and just wear comfy clothes and it was the best feeling ever.
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Oftentimes, as a creator, vacations are some of the best time to capture fun content,
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but it felt so liberating not thinking about content,
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but just truly living in the moment.
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Yes long.
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Youday, I got the anxiety.
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Yay.
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It is the next day and for lunch today we're getting tempura.
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We came an hour early just in case there was going to be a line and there's no one here.
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After all my work stuff,
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I completely just started wearing very comfortable clothes, like I mean sweatpants.
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I'm not wearing any makeup and it is the best feeling ever.
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It's a pizza!
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We kept our bellies full with the most delicious meals.
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We were browsing around Ginza and popped into Tiffany's to see if they had any wedding bands we would like.
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It's a bit soon, but we secured our wedding bands.
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And this is my first blue box.
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Can I put this?
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We are at Shinjuku Station,
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about to head to Hakone.
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I'm really excited because this is something that my parents have been wanting to do.
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So one thing my parents wanted to do for a very long time is experience onsens,
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Japanese hot spring baths.
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We're staying at Gora Kadan, a beautiful ryokan.
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It was an experience of its own.
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It felt like we were on a retreat,
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just letting our mind and bodies rest.
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We spent our days being in nature,
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taking baths, catching up on sleep,
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and everything we would want from a vacation.
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So this is my parents' room.
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Do a quick room tour.
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This is their bedroom.
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And then they have their own private onsen, which is so cool.
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Oh, this is so beautiful.
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This is insane.
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You get the nature and apparently this is a steam sauna.
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You can turn on a button here,
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one of these buttons, and then it turns into a steam room.
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They are one of the most important people in my life and my favorite.
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I love spending time with them and the older I get,
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the more I learn to appreciate them.
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I love seeing them fascinated and curious of new cultures as this is their first time.
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What a privilege it is to witness a moment where they truly feel at peace.
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Good morning everyone, I just woke up.
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The view is in this thing.
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We were checking out of our room here at Gorkha Don.
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It was so beautiful and very, very relaxing.
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My parents are leaving tonight and Blair's ultimate man and I are staying for two or three more days.
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So yeah.
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Bye.
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I was recommended to try this ice cream.
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It's green and purple grapes, I believe.
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Smells really good.
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Let's do a taste test.
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oh my god I was expecting it to be like really hard but it's not
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Let me see.
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Wow.
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This is Boy Sauce Man's ice cream.
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It's like a wafer with vanilla ice cream and chocolate inside.
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It looks very cute.
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It's really good.
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I like mine better.
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It's good, but...
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Context & Background
The video "New York to Japan Diaries" captures the journey of a content creator as they embark on a family trip to Japan, highlighting personal experiences and cultural elements. The speaker expresses excitement about traveling to Tokyo with their fiancé and parents, making it a significant family bonding moment. The narrative includes reflections on travel, the joy of exploring new cultures, and the importance of wellness through nutrition, which adds a layer of personal commitment to self-care. This context provides a rich backdrop for learners of English who wish to absorb conversational language used in everyday situations.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- I can't wait to... - A common phrase used to express excitement about future events.
- I've been dreaming about... - A way to articulate long-held desires or goals.
- This view is insane! - Informal expression to convey amazement or awe.
- I'm really excited about... - A phrase to express enthusiasm regarding something upcoming.
- I feel very grateful... - A heartfelt expression of appreciation for experiences or people.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To effectively use the shadowing technique with this video, follow these steps:
- Watch the video once: Familiarize yourself with the context and the speaker’s tone. Pay attention to facial expressions and body language as these can enhance understanding.
- Listen and read along: Use a transcript if available, or follow along with subtitles. This will help connect the spoken words to their written forms.
- Pause and repeat: Utilize a shadowing app or video player that allows you to pause frequently. After each sentence or phrase, try to repeat it aloud immediately, mimicking the speaker's intonation and rhythm.
- Focus on pronunciation: Pay close attention to the pronunciation of keywords and phrases. Repeat these several times until you feel comfortable with the sounds.
- Practice with shadowspeaks: Continue practicing by recording yourself and comparing your pronunciation and fluency with the original. This self-assessment is crucial for improvement.
Integrating these phrases and following the shadow speech technique can significantly enhance your fluency. As you learn English with YouTube, remember that repetition and consistency are key to mastering conversational skills.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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