Recording summary · September 2018
Why I Hated Living In England [7cb-fE7yChU]
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Overview
Daniel relocated from England to Japan due to dissatisfaction with various aspects of English life, including workplace beverage rituals, handshaking practices, dating dynamics, aged architecture, limited train frequencies, ticketing systems, racial abuse, and a lack of belonging.
In workplace settings, Daniel experienced conflict over beverage preparation expectations, including being reprimanded at a petrol station and seeing an office assistant contract end after refusing to make tea.
In Kent, Daniel dealt with limited train service, brief ticket office hours, riding a bicycle eight miles after missing an hourly train, and evading fines by submitting false address details when caught without tickets.
Daniel, born to an English father and a Malaysian mother, faced repeated questioning about origins, racial abuse, and mockery in England, feeling safer, more accepted, and better suited to life in Japan.
Themes
Reasons for relocating to Japan and dating preferences regarding height and attraction to English versus Asian women.
Dislike of Western handshaking customs and appreciation for the lack of handshakes when meeting people in Japan.
Frustrations with British workplace beverage etiquette in offices and at petrol stations.
Old village and town architecture, low train frequency, and ticketing difficulties in Kent.
Experiences of racial abuse, foreign treatment, belonging, and identity related to having an English father and Malaysian mother.
Developments
Daniel left England to live in Japan.
While working as an office assistant at the same company as his father, Daniel was told by a coworker named Gordon to take drink orders at 9 AM and 3 PM.
Daniel refused to prepare tea in the office, resulting in a reprimand from his manager and the end of the employment contract.
While working at a petrol station, Daniel declined drink offers for eight months and was later reprimanded for making a personal drink without offering to prepare drinks for coworkers.
Daniel missed an hourly train home following an appointment at the job center and rode a bicycle eight miles back to his village.
Daniel avoided paying fines on approximately two occasions by providing a false address or altering details like the postcode.
Uncertainties & gaps
Whether Daniel's office job ended through being fired or through quitting following the disagreement regarding tea preparation duties.