There’s something not right about this hostel. Technically, it’s great. It looks well kept, has a decent kitchen, a huge hangout area and bar, and very importantly, plenty of toilets. But I don’t like it here and I feel an unexplained misery. I should be happy. I’m finally in Athens for Christ sakes. But underneath the shine, this hostel reeks. A weird atmosphere pervades my dorm. There’s a few French who only speak to each other, but apart from them nobody seems to talk at all. One guy is always lying in bed, looks like he hasn’t been out of it in weeks, like he’s given up on life or something. The curtains are always drawn and the place smells of damp sweat and depression. Every-time I walk in it’s like I’ve just downed a glass of misery.
My mood got worse when I made the dangerous mistake of trying something new and discovered the taste of Tahini – a filthy cross between peanut butter and mustard. (At least that’s what it tasted like to me). I flew into a rage and marched all the way back to the supermarket to buy a jar of peanut butter.
Hours later…
That guy who’s always lying in bed like a corpse… turns out he’s an Australian named Steve. Ended up having quite a valuable conversation with him. Steve has worked as a courier since he was 18. Now he’s 50. Went through a divorce a few years back; became fed up coming home from work each day to an empty house in Melbourne, then going to bed and waking up for work again the next day. So, he’s taken a month off and come to Athens. The problem is he doesn’t seem to be doing anything here. He was about to get scammed on some Wentworth Miller fan site until I told him it probably wasn’t a good idea to shell out two grand for a “fan card”.
Anyway, after talking with him I felt my own depressed spirits strangely extinguished, and after a shower and a shave I felt very much invigorated. I was supposed to be going on a date this evening. I’ve failed to mention it thus far, but one of the first things I did in Athens after getting my data loaded sim card was download Grindr, and I’ve been sending no small number of messages. Forced myself on a 2 hour walk in search of the nearest Lidl just so I could get some cheap razor blades and shaving foam. For most of the day I had little motivation to do anything other than desperately find the cheapest supermarket, but even my trip to Lidl turned out to be a waste of time. The guy went cold on me and the date fell through, by that point however, I was too busy enjoying some stuffed grape leaf gyros to care.
