I arrived at the hostel in Sultanahmet, which is the area of main
attraction in Istanbul. Immediately, the owner and receptionist were
aware of my situation. I was told to hang out for three days before they
would get me trained for work. I got to know the people I would be
working with, and befriended many hostel goers. Then, about two days
into my stay, the owner pulled me aside, “you will work as a host, make
people happy, sell beer and water, take them clubbing, talk, and nothing
else, you are here to make the people have a good time. Hours will be
from 7 PM to 2 AM” (At this time I will not talk about whether I got
paid or not due to certain reasons, however, I did get breakfast and a
bed to stay in.)
So, I am safe, I am working, which not only am I making people have
fun, I am having fun. We were to play loud music until 1:30 AM as per
the owner’s instructions, and so there I was, blasting my favorite
music, singing and dancing along to it freely, in front of dozens of
people, getting them to join in. The next thirty days consisted of
nights of playing “Psychologist,” drinking lots of beer, taking people
to “Araf,” a gypsy club in Taksim, and taking advantage of my freedom.
I learned during this time, that life doesn’t need to be so bad. You
don’t have to follow the normal 9 to 5 idea of work, and if you are not
having fun, there is no reason to waste your time, your life. I am free,
and I will use my time wisely, I will take advantage of life
completely, waste no time in a place that I am unhappy.
I also realized that I would go through all of this again, knowing
what I know now. I never would have had the chance, or the guts, to
travel Europe alone, but because these things happened, a whole slew of
doors have open wide for me. I have decided to hostel jump, and this is
how I am getting through Europe. I will be able to see much more than
originally planned, and who knows when I will make it back to the United
States, maybe in six months, maybe a year…I am not in a rush to get
back to a place that I have no home. The odd part about this, is that I
am strangely comforted by the fact that I have no idea where I will
be…at any given time. I am not making plans, they seem to fall through
anyway, as they say “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your
plans.”
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