Jason's Daily Notes

In the hostel, the guy above me was snoring very very loudly. Obnoxious American Jonny drunkenly returned around 4am and was loud, waking me up for a minute. I fully woke up at 8am and went out to shower. Jonny was obnoxious and still drunk. I was barely making a rustle but he loudly said "you're making a lot of noise"! I was laughing on the inside, but wasn't sure if he was sarcastic or not.

I got ready and went downstairs for the free breakfast - bread, cheese, müsli, coffee, etc. - I sat with Derek the Canadian, and Christian and Paola the Argentians. Naturally, we complained about our roommates. Derek and I tried to organize our rides with mitfahrgelegenheit (Derek was stranded in Frankfurt because his friend was evicted from his place near Dortmund).

Back at the room, I couldn't find my coat, nor could I find my room key. FUCK. Am I really that stupid that I just let my things get stolen?! I should have seen it coming - Derek had his spare change stolen the night before. There was really no sign of my coat anywhere, nor of my key. So I had to get a new room key from reception.

It was also essential that I have a coat in this snowy weather. And I bundled up, wearing 2 shirts and my scarf, then headed out, walking directly to the shopping street (Zeil). I could actually handle the cold, as long as I kept my hands buried in my pockets. The roads were covered with snow and slush - I kept having to jump over puddles for fear of getting my shoes wet. I went to Urban Outfitters, where there was nothing. Then to Galleria Kaufhof, which only had coats over €150 - no way. I then spotted H&M, where I found a decent and warm jacket for €39. Deal - I had a coat.

I then walked around, trying so see as much of the city as I could on this one day. I walked around the old Opera, past the big Euro symbol near Willy-Brandt-Platz, then past the Goethe Haus and back to the Ziel. I had a bit of hunger, so I went to a café (Ziel Café) and ate a flammkuche. The news was on the TV - discussing the travel chaos caused by the snow (a 100-car pileup near Frankfurt yesterday) and the anticipation as the college of Cardinals convenes in the Vatican to vote for the next pope.

All this time, I was refreshing my email; I had asked Jon to contact me again regarding the status of my job offer, but still nothing. I was starting to worry. Did I fuck up the end of our meeting (regarding my expected salary)? I hate being kept in limbo like this. I began to feel homesick.

After lunch, I walked onward to the Zoo (nothing to see there) and south to the river. The clouds had parted and allowed the sun to shine brightly. This resulted in the views across the river being quite stunning. In the sunshine, it felt good, not warm but not as bone-chilling as in the shade. I walked onto some bridges, in the old town, and along the river, taking plenty of pictures along the way. There were a couple of other tourists around, but in general the city was empty.

I got a WhatsApp message from Kayleen - Demi had told her that he would be paying back the deposit today! YES!

I returned to the hostel. Derek, Christian, and Paola had already left and their beds were made. I called home - my mom was getting ready to leave for the Philippines in a few days. I met my new roommate, Arisa from Japan, who is doing a round-the-world trip for 14 months! Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, and now Germany! Then, onward to Amsterdam and South America - wow! I also met Humberto, from Brazil, who owns his own renewable energy (solar/water) company and is in Frankfurt for a convention.

In the hostel room, Jonny came back, introduced himself to me (he's a basketball player in Germany, originally from Detroit) but he returned now with two friends who had a dog with them (Kyra). They hung out for a while and often left us with the dog! The dog was cute, but Arisa and I wanted to get some food! So we eventually left, leaving the dog with them as they smoked up in the bathroom, and got some Vietnamese/Chinese food at the restaurant just across the street. It was good.

We returned to the hostel, chatted with Humberto (Jonny and his friends were gone) and we all went down to get dinner. There, we sat with a girl whom I had helped to open the door (the doorknobs in the hostel are weird); she was named Cecelia and was from Argentina, visiting her boyfriend who had been studying in a small city in Thüringen.

During dinner, we found out that there was a new pope - Jorge Mario Bergoglio, from Argentina! (Now Francis I.) Very cool! We kept chatting and eventually retired to our rooms. I showered, then chatted with Mike, who was busy with schoolwork, and Fernanda, who urged me to go home, before going to sleep.