Recording summary · November 2018
The Hardest Thing About Living in Japan.
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Overview
Daniel prepared for a move, tested camera equipment, and experienced administrative and language hurdles living in Japan despite passing JLPT Level 2.
Daniel experienced social isolation and obstacles making local friends while working from home, and presented Bob Ross-inspired Microsoft Paint landscape art in a segment titled 'Drawing with Daniel'.
Themes
Morning routines, packing boxes for relocation, and comparing a new clip-on wide lens with an older lens.
Challenges foreigners face with complex Japanese administrative systems contrasted with perceived low English proficiency among Japanese citizens.
Daniel relying on his wife for administrative setup tasks such as banking, phone contracts, and fiber optic internet.
Feelings of isolation, limited interactions, and hurdles in building friendships with Japanese locals while working remotely.
The debut segment of 'Drawing with Daniel', featuring Bob Ross-inspired landscape drawings produced in Microsoft Paint.
Developments
Daniel and his wife went to an internet shop to establish fiber optic service, but the provider declined foreign debit cards.
Daniel and his wife went to a Japanese bank to open an account and spent an hour listening to an explanation of the account.
Uncertainties & gaps
Whether Japanese people's interest in foreigners is predominantly restricted to those desiring to go abroad or study English, as Daniel described.