Hostel life post, are you inn?

 Full power, no sleep, no shower

Life in a hostel can be fun but having a job definitely makes a difference in what things I can join in for. I've been keeping the techno to a minimum and trying to focus more on things that end, or for the very least start before 10pm.

There's always something going on in the hostel and Ehrenfeld in general. You don't need to look for events and other stuff, they'll come to you. My dorm mates wanted to go and see a local artist down in our coffee shop and then head out to the city. 

I'm supposed to be making arrangements for my future apartment, but I could join the guys for the gig. Really talented local artist Jenny Thiel, performed in the cafe. She does all her writing and melodies herself. Hmm, maybe you'd like to check out the IG page of the hostel for some better-quality material of the events.

Other stuff to check out later

There are also some Finnish artists performing down in the hostel bar. Thomas, the dude organizing the gigs Thomas here and at other venues is very fond of Finnish music. e introduced me to a couple of artists I'd never heard of. 

For example this Liimanarina. And here Liimanarina as a guest on Radio Helsinki. 

Kake puhuu and his one-man band Keuhkot is one of the event organizer Thomas's all-time favorites. 

Later on, I'm planning to go and see Mirja Klippel at a local venue in Cologne. Her Slow Coming Alive must be quite an experience live. 

One performance Like, really cunt created by choreographer Marje Hirvonen at TanzFaktur should be something else. 

Here's a bit about the ideology of the TanzFaktur behind the art.

 

THE TANZFAKTUR IS PART OF DIE VIELEN NRW Together against racism and right-wing populism: TanzFaktur stands for solidarity instead of privileges. It's about everyone. Art remains free!

Here's the NRW declaration by DIE MANY.

Dialogues on artistic freedom can be found on DIE VIELE's page. 

In a relatively short time, I'm already coming across a surprising amount of Finns in Cologne and Berlin, who maybe didn't find their place in Finland. Maybe I'll make another post about that later. 

I'm enjoying the fact that I'm seeing a lot of opinionated, situationally aware art that is used in inventive ways to describe the current phenomena in our society. There is the goal of exposing and drawing attention to some of our shortcomings.

Arrangements for my new home

I met up with Maren after the gig. I've been in touch with her about moving into their WG. She is on a sabbatical from her job as a teacher. Her plan is to start a couple month trip in Spain soon, so I'll be living in her room until she comes back. 

She seems really decent, I'm sad that she's going. I'm sure her friends who will live with me are also great but I'd love to have some more chats with her. I feel like we'd have fun together, but of course, I do wish the best for her travels. 

At a coffee shop, we talked about her job as a teacher in the public sector. She's working half of the normal schedule, because the job is well paid and she said she doesn't need to work more to live comfortably. They have talked about this at her workplace with colleagues, but many others don't do the same. 

In her opinion, people still seem to feel lazy if they're not spending 'enough' time at work. Of course, it also depends on the style of life you want to maintain. Her position seems very good though. She has been friends with the people she lives with since they were kids and in school together. Now they have been living under the same roof for almost ten years. 

I told her it's still very difficult in Finland to achieve this kind of arrangement, even if you have a legit reason, illness, or other condition that makes it difficult to work full time. Also, it is not that common to share apartments with the intention to build a comfortable life like that. 

Tell me if I'm wrong tho, but I think we're still slowly opening our minds to these options. 

Time goes fast in a place with people around

I really don't need to think about what to do with my free time. There's always someone with a plan and ready to go. 

 

I'm dropping in some of the art and scenes from around the hostel. Everything's a bit dark since I only spend time in this place after office hours. 

On my last night at the hostel, we got a herd of the most polite party animals from Berlin. They're spreading such positive energy and good atmosphere to the whole place. 

I enjoy sitting downstairs at the bar sometimes and pretending to be reading the news when this is actually going on.

Cooking with the guys of the day. My company pretty much changes every night, or at least there are some new additions to the crew. 

Mostly differences in the standards of personal hygiene is something annoying. Otherwise, I've got no complaints about the situation. 

Money just doesn't make cents over here

I'm spending a stupid amount of money on everything. This area is not the cheapest but I could have survived with much less if I didn't go for every shenanigan that's offered and did more research before doing just groceries or other shopping. 

For some reason, many places still don't take cards, or at least prefer cash. I've had quite a few places also say that there is a limit for paying by card. Normally not very high amounts but still more than I'm comfortable spending for the specific product or service in question.

At the office, they were embarrassingly polite saying that I don't have to wear safety boots every day. I explained that I actually do until I'll get a chance to buy a more reasonable pair since that's all I took with me from Finland. Makes sense though, I won't be spending that much time on work sites. Used Converse, 15eur at a second-hand shop downstairs. 

View from my window before leaving for work. 

Ramadan behind the corner

I've spent some time with Ihab, he's also living in the hostel for a bit longer. He has just finished his studies in civil engineering in Frankfurt and can't wait to go back to Algeria. He's traveling around Europe since he has a bit of time before receiving his official papers etc.

He's fasting because the month of Ramadan has started recently. Breaking the fast at the end of the day is clearly an important moment for him. For anyone who hasn't had the chance to experience Ramadan, might find this article helpful. 

We have been eating together a couple of times, first of all, our schedules happen to meet, and secondly, nobody should be alone at this time. Traditionally breaking the fast means celebrating and spending time with friends and family. 

There is a massive Cologne Central Mosque right behind the corner from the hostel. Even for a person who's not religious in any way, visiting this place is humbling. Of course, the building is interesting and beautiful, but the people inside really create a special atmosphere. 

There are no suspicious stares, mumbling, or questions about your motives and ideals. The people took me inside and somebody was always ready to answer any questions and tell me about the principles or just get to know each other. 

And not in an organized manner, but the people visiting to do their prayers seem to take care of each other and anybody who wanders inside with an open mind, even if they don't seem to belong. Even more impressive when you remember that these are people who haven't eaten and maybe even had very little to drink all day. I become irritated at the first signs of hunger.

The security guard by the door seemed to be there more to hand out cookies than to maintain some order. 

I'm not saying that Islam is a straightforward or unproblematic thing, but at the same time, there's so much to respect. I'd hope everybody had the chance to experience this kind of openness and some moments of unity that are very characteristic of these places. 

The welcome was overwhelming but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel ashamed thinking how any of these people would be treated by mine. This is something that's been stuck in my mind for a while now, and I haven't been able to forget.

I was surprised and happy to hear that my workplace is trying to be a bit more inclusive in this sense. We have two coworkers who are fasting, and one of them is about to leave the company. On good terms and everything. Because of Ramadan, we will have his leaving party after his actual last day at work so they can also enjoy the food.

Please enjoy a picture of my friend Ihab, he's now made it back to Algeria and sent me this.

Until next time!