Yesterday i was waiting for the tram and this random guy came up to me, i reckon he's in his 50's, and started to talk to me in German. He began by saying that he hasn't seen me before. [I think he must be that tram stop regular and perhaps a little on the crazy side. I don't know.] So then he went on to make small talk and i tried my best to answer him in German.
We understood each other, so that's good.
He continues to stare at me and is curious about where i am from. Then he goes on to ask whereabouts i live. I say nearby and tell him the suburb. Of course NOT revealing the street or location, in case he ends up being some crazy stalker or wants to chop me up into pieces.
Then he passes me this paper with curled corners. Written is his phone number and instructions when he can be reached. He goes by the name of 'Christoph'. I eventually introduce myself and wish harder for my tram to hurry up. Seriously, it was the longest 3 minutes ever!
I'm thinking he lives on his own since the area seems to be highly populated by pensioners and nearby is the Unemployment office. And he goes on to say, that any time i can call him. He seems friendly. But then again, so do rapists and murderers.
He bids me farewell and hops on the tram. Then waves good-bye to me as though we've known each other longer than the 5 minutes. It's only polite to wave back. So i return the gesture.
Thank god i didn't have to take the same line because that would have meant i'd be stuck talking to him. I wasn't in a very buddy-buddy mood.
And i'm sure it's not common practice in Germany or in most countries to be handing out numbers at the tram stop to random Asian girls. But i was courteous and wished him a good day.
...
I told J that story and then he got me all paranoid.
Then he busts out with, "Should you leave and i don't receive a call, what is the latest i should wait before i raise the alarm?" Then it got me thinking. OMG. What if there was an emergency and i was unable to find a pay phone or was in trouble?
It gets dark around 5pm now and the walk back to the flat is very quiet. It runs off the main road and although it's not that far before i get to the front door, it can be quite scary.
I've passed J my handphone to use, since calls from the hospital cost a handful. So the past week i've been calling him the second that i leave and the minute i return.
Believe it or not but J isone of the very few the only person that i know that doesn't own a handphone. For him, the idea of being contacted 24/7 and hounded by calls from work/pesky individuals/strangers are more of a nuisance than a convenience.
...
So after the hospital, i dropped by Saturn [a big electronic store] and checked out how much a cheap pre-paid handphone would cost. And considering J's handphone usage was about 25 Euro every 2 days, i figured there must be some cheaper alternative.
Apparently calls from one Vodafone to another Vodafone as well as to fixed lines costs only 29 cents the first minute and after the 2nd minute it's free!
oOOoo free is good.
So for 30 Euro i get a basic Nokia 2310 which has an inbuilt radio. [One never knows when one gets stranded and needs some tunes to keep company]. Plus it has 5 Euro credit... wooOoohoo *cracks open the party poppers!*
So what, it's not the latest in technology. It's not a touch-screen or have fancy little buttons arranged like a mini keyboard. And so what if the pixel quality is questionable and it can't check my facebook or read my spam email.
It's affordable. It does what it says it does. And it keeps communication channels open.
[That said, i still miss my Sony Ericsson. FYI I will be temporarily using J's SIM card/number until he checks out of hospital.]
We understood each other, so that's good.
He continues to stare at me and is curious about where i am from. Then he goes on to ask whereabouts i live. I say nearby and tell him the suburb. Of course NOT revealing the street or location, in case he ends up being some crazy stalker or wants to chop me up into pieces.
Then he passes me this paper with curled corners. Written is his phone number and instructions when he can be reached. He goes by the name of 'Christoph'. I eventually introduce myself and wish harder for my tram to hurry up. Seriously, it was the longest 3 minutes ever!
I'm thinking he lives on his own since the area seems to be highly populated by pensioners and nearby is the Unemployment office. And he goes on to say, that any time i can call him. He seems friendly. But then again, so do rapists and murderers.
He bids me farewell and hops on the tram. Then waves good-bye to me as though we've known each other longer than the 5 minutes. It's only polite to wave back. So i return the gesture.
Thank god i didn't have to take the same line because that would have meant i'd be stuck talking to him. I wasn't in a very buddy-buddy mood.
And i'm sure it's not common practice in Germany or in most countries to be handing out numbers at the tram stop to random Asian girls. But i was courteous and wished him a good day.
...
I told J that story and then he got me all paranoid.
Then he busts out with, "Should you leave and i don't receive a call, what is the latest i should wait before i raise the alarm?" Then it got me thinking. OMG. What if there was an emergency and i was unable to find a pay phone or was in trouble?
It gets dark around 5pm now and the walk back to the flat is very quiet. It runs off the main road and although it's not that far before i get to the front door, it can be quite scary.
I've passed J my handphone to use, since calls from the hospital cost a handful. So the past week i've been calling him the second that i leave and the minute i return.
Believe it or not but J is
...
So after the hospital, i dropped by Saturn [a big electronic store] and checked out how much a cheap pre-paid handphone would cost. And considering J's handphone usage was about 25 Euro every 2 days, i figured there must be some cheaper alternative.
Apparently calls from one Vodafone to another Vodafone as well as to fixed lines costs only 29 cents the first minute and after the 2nd minute it's free!
oOOoo free is good.
So for 30 Euro i get a basic Nokia 2310 which has an inbuilt radio. [One never knows when one gets stranded and needs some tunes to keep company]. Plus it has 5 Euro credit... wooOoohoo *cracks open the party poppers!*
So what, it's not the latest in technology. It's not a touch-screen or have fancy little buttons arranged like a mini keyboard. And so what if the pixel quality is questionable and it can't check my facebook or read my spam email.
It's affordable. It does what it says it does. And it keeps communication channels open.
[That said, i still miss my Sony Ericsson. FYI I will be temporarily using J's SIM card/number until he checks out of hospital.]
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