Recording summary · April 2019
Feeling depressed, lonely and bored - Life in Germany sücks
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Overview
Frustrations arise during a trip to Germany, including Düsseldorf, over the lack of convenience stores, ready-to-eat sandwiches, and convenient food shopping compared to Japan, England, and Malaysia, alongside dissatisfaction with local retail customer service and shopping practices.
Daily life involves isolation, boredom, feelings of depression and loneliness, declined invitations, hours spent indoors gaming and making videos, and spending time alone after a German woman failed to meet up at the hotel.
Local experiences include disturbances from hotel corridor noise and Sunday church bells, feelings of intimidation and insecurity around local residents, nostalgia for Japan, an altercation with a cyclist, and viewing the River Rhine, bridges, and an old church while questioning if other German cities are more interesting.
Upcoming plans entail switching hotels, meeting a 23-year-old Turkish viewer in about a week, visiting Spain briefly in May to meet another person, and returning to England.
Themes
Difficulty finding convenient ready-to-eat sandwiches, avoidance of speaking to staff when ordering food, and shopping inconveniences involving plastic bags.
Purchases made at Rewe To Go and an underground shop, including sandwiches, Krombacher beer, a smoothie, gyoza, and German moisturizing cream.
Incident of feeling trapped inside a supermarket and exiting through the entrance.
Reflections on packing choices, including regret over a heavy Blue Yeti microphone and satisfaction with a 15-inch gaming laptop.
Comparisons of convenience food culture and retail customer service across Germany, Japan, England, and Malaysia.
Social isolation, declined social invitations, personal hygiene habits in isolation, and daily routines playing games and creating videos.
Sunday shop closures, loud church bells, and disturbances from people speaking in the hotel corridor.
An altercation with a cyclist on a brick cycle path, perceptions of German aggression, feelings of intimidation, insecurity regarding male physical stature, and nostalgia for Japan.
Dinner menu consisting of a BLT sandwich and KitKat, and packing to relocate to another hotel.
Developments
Daniel purchased food and drinks at a Rewe To Go shop.
Daniel exited a supermarket through the entrance doors as another person entered.
Daniel purchased moisturizing cream in an underground shop after guessing the meaning of Feuchtigkeitscreme without internet access.
Daniel walked around streets in Düsseldorf and found only two shops selling sandwiches and easily purchasable food.
Daniel received invitations from people to go out for drinks or hang out.
A cyclist rang a bell, approached Daniel on the brown brick path, and muttered an apparent German swear word after Daniel stepped aside.
Daniel prepared to eat a BLT sandwich and KitKat before packing to move to the next hotel.
Uncertainties & gaps
The exact meaning of a German phrase guessed to mean skincare for men.
Whether Daniel should stay in London or return to a mother's house after returning to England.
Whether Daniel should accept social invitations rather than staying alone.
Whether perceptions of local people as rough stem from Daniel's self-described social anxiety.
The exact German words muttered by the cyclist passing Daniel.