Dunncannon So Far..

My roommate is a tall, long-legged Hungarian girl who speaks English with a beautiful accent. Her long legs make this short legged Asian girl jealous. She is also very active, in many sense of the word. She doesn’t idle around writing cheesy travel journals, neither does she sits still just because she can. Thanks to her, I am a proud owner of a bike – I’ve been here for the total of three hours. Thanks to her, I did all of my grocery shopping too. After we got back home, while I was completely pooped out, she went out again for a hike. She came back completely invigorated. I will never understand that. She is also active in the sense that she doesn’t wait for things to happen. She goes out and initiates contact, and actively acquires whatever it is she needs. She’s unafraid to ask for help. She’s confident in the way she talks and moves, and it makes me wonder how she could be like that in an utterly unfamiliar place. Maybe it’s a European thing, I don’t know but I like that about her.

After I got the job, the winery I will be working for sent me an email with all the important information. It had a suggestion as to where we should stay, and I followed that suggestion. I decided to stay at the hostel that they recommended. So let me talk about the hostel.

The lady at the reception was extremely nice. The check in was a total breeze; I paid my dues and she gave me a key. She informed me about the layout of the place. I nodded at all the right places while all of the information was leaving my brain as soon as they entered. She gave me three tokens and told me that they were for the showers. According to her, one token provides five minutes of hot water. It was an interesting concept and I had no idea why they would deprive their guests of long hot showers but I still nodded. After that, with a smile and a nod, I was off to see my room.

I already talked about my roommate so let’s skip that part. Let me explain about my room. There are two beds, a tiny cupboard, a tiny TV, heater and zip, nothing else. It’s a tiny room and there really isn’t much room for anything else but no drawers or cabinets is a little weird. So naturally, my clothes are splayed around in my closet with no organization what so ever. I don’t really remember what I packed so it’s been a game of hide and seek in the mornings, whenever I try to dress myself.

Showers are outside of the room, just like a dormitory. I have to go to a different building within the grounds to go to use the toilet or to take a shower. It kind of reminds me of our beloved Sereno, maybe except for the fact that I need to limit myself in how much hot water I use. Apparently, the hostel’s showers are run by solar energy. In order to not waste too much hot water, everyone is required to grab some tokens from the reception (they are free by the way) and put in however many tokens one might need. One token gives you about five minutes of hot water (yes they are true to their words I can testify) so if you want to take a fifteen minute shower, then you put in 3 tokens. It’s an interesting concept, I’ve said this before. I’ve learned that when you are on a time limit, and when the punishment is ice cold water pouring down on you all of a sudden, it is possible to take less than fifteen minutes shower or even less than five.

The kitchen, so far, has been the most nightmare-ish type thing I’ve witnessed. It’s communal, just as to be expected, and it is divided into which building you are staying in. For example, if my room was green 5, I go to the kitchen that was designated for green rooms from 1-10. They have cupboards all against the walls labeled with colored number cards (again, the whole room number thing). Inside these cupboards are plates, bowls, cups and utensils that are yours during your stay. There are refrigerators that are communal and you must label all of your food items or risk your food getting stolen. It does not smell very good in there; I think it’s the smell of particular spices and other food ingredients someone might be using. It smells like combination of fish and hundred years old tofu, and needless to say, it’s not pleasant. Add the dirty sponge meant for washing dishes to the list and you got the nightmare-ish-I-don’t-want-to-go-in-there-again-kitchen.

To minimize the amount of cooking I do at the kitchen the food items on my pantry is as follows: Tofu, Salad greens, dressing, fruits, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, hummus and sausage. All I need to do is wash some veggies and grab hummus. If I want more protein I can cut up some tofu or microwave the sausage. I miss real food.