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How do I survive the drinks-after-work with business talk when trying to stay sober?

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beekr

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
82
I have the stupidest problem but I'm going on a super important business trip to Germany soon, and these guys I'm going to be working with keep saying things like "I'll talk to you about (some particular thing related to project) over a beer", 4 times now, all different people. I'm scared because I quit drinking 4 years ago, staying sober, but what do I do when we go out for this business drinks thing? It'll seriously impair my ability to bond with them when I order a fucking iced tea or whatever the hell they serve that's non-alcoholic at restaurants and pubs in Germany, could even damage my working relationship with them. So even though I'm really nervous about the work aspect of it and succeeding there, I'm even more worried about this. Any advice? Should I warn them ahead of time or something? Many thanks!
 
Tell them that you stopped drinking, most of them will respect that.
But a German will never believe that a non-alcoholic beer tastes like a normal beer. They won't respect you for that.
 
mongos said:
Tell them that you stopped drinking, most of them will respect that.
But a German will never believe that a non-alcoholic beer tastes like a normal beer. They won't respect you for that.
Click to expand...

Lol.

Get a non-alcoholic weizen or pilsner, or just have a coke. No one will think any less of you for that. Germans normally aren't the type to get smashed when they say 'over a beer'. They more than likely mean literally one or two beers, and maybe some snack food. If they want to go out and have fun/party that is something else, but also respect sobriety. It just isn't much fun to be sober with a ton of drunk people around you.
 
Shimmer.Fade said:
Lol.

Get a non-alcoholic weizen or pilsner, or just have a coke. No one will think any less of you for that. Germans normally aren't the type to get smashed when they say 'over a beer'. They more than likely mean literally one or two beers, and maybe some snack food. If they want to go out and have fun/party that is something else, but also respect sobriety. It just isn't much fun to be sober with a ton of drunk people around you.
Click to expand...

I wish it was like this in Scotland. Everyone I know around me drinks and often drink a lot. It is so not fun to be sober with drunk folk around you and while I know what I put in to my body is my choice entirely, I feel like our culture makes it easier to slip in to dependency. Especially if you suffer from mental health issues, alcohol can severely fuck my head up but I can't seem to rid of it out of many drugs I've been dependant.


That's why this site helps me so much - instead of drinking I'm reading/typing.


A close family member worked in Germany for a while and said there was beer served in the works café. It fascinates me, in a positive way.
 
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