The following morning

I am presently at the complimentary breakfast that is held from 8:00 am–10:00 am in the London Equity hostel at Paddington Place. I arrived to breakfast at around quarter till eight o’clock a.m., and only a young European couple, male/female, are here waiting as well.

This Equity hostel is crowded and the layout reminds me of the hostel that I stayed at in Montreal Canada while I was there for a University research conference in relation to my previous graduate studies. This London Equity hostel has small rooms with a maze like atmosphere, which is also indirectly testing my anxiety. I figure that I should see if I might get accustomed to this claustrophobic atmosphere in an attempt to take “baby-steps” in lieu of tackling my anxiety. The comfort is that I do have access to going outside if I like, but the needed small, loud, shaky, invariably full elevator will surely remain a challenge.

 

The Breakfast Layout

I hear “Karen Carpenter”, still dear to me, playing via surround-sound within the breakfast area downstairs which also contains an open computer, a red phone in the design of large juicy lips, and an adjacent more cozy bar area for sitting and talking more intimately with friends. The music playing appears to be oldies and newbie’s as the pleasant voice of Diana Ross has quietly followed. Only occasionally, a few of the latest hits might be heard playing.

The breakfast style is continental thus complimentary free and comfortable as you get it yourself. You have access to coffee, and bread that you yourself place in the revolving oven. A few of the breakfast items consists of wheat/white bread, plain yogurt, berry yogurt, butter, plates, jelly, white coffee cups with a large silver decanter of hot water, and more.

At around 8:20 a.m. this breakfast space started filling up quickly. A famous oldie titled: “Say Jude” is now playing … and … I am really enjoying my morning.

 

Morning Reflection

This morning I got up a little tired, as I decided not to use my sleeping device, because I did not want to disturb the other women sleeping in the room. I decided to check on the electric situation for my computer as well as the electricity situation in relation to my sleeping device.

I went to the front desk to ask about the outlet-plug and bought a three -pound costing adapter to plug in my electrical devices in favor of the country “London’ that I am now visiting. I unfortunately lost some of my writing work because I did not hit the button on the wall correctly to turn on the plug adapter.

The young handsome I believe ‘gay’ Italian man working at the front desk of the hostel informed me, after my asking, that the bank machines are down the street, and to the right. I did this at the airport before leaving and found the procedure of extracting money to be simple. You simply put your bankcard in and press the necessary buttons as you would as if you were using an ATM in the United States. Interestingly the money comes out already converted to pounds for you.

I am also in need of some real sleep that would require me to use my sleeping device. Later at the London Equity hostel, I talked over my sleeping device concern with the Muslim attendant, and he said that I should announce to the Australian women in the room that I have a sleeping device. He informed me that the Australian women are cool and intelligent women.

July 21, 2010

Well, I explained to the Australian women last night about my sleeping device machine and they were totally fine with me using it. The ‘exceptionally’ beautiful Bahrain woman in our hostel room stated that she once had such a problem with her asthma and that she sometimes had to use a similar machine though with medication as well.

 

Conversing with the Muslim Attendant 

The Muslim man stated that living in Britain for five years offers anyone British citizenship. We both laughed simultaneously as he said that this is what he did to acquire British citizenship. The Muslim man said that if I were to live in Britain for five years that I would then have dual British as well as US American citizenship. The Muslim man went on to say that teachers are paid well in Britain, and I would be paid in the Britain pounds, which means that the money I am paid would be almost double the weight in relation to the US dollar. The Muslim man also pointed out that people are not so uptight in London and that if a person walked down the street naked in Britain, no one would do anything, though they might turn their heads, but they would see it as none of their business. The Muslim man said that it is comfortable in London.

 

Australians/Travel

The young Muslim man informed me that Australians usually after completing school will travel abroad for at least six months, and usually the destination for this travel is Europe. He stated that some Australians use the Equity London Hostel as a base to then travel to Amsterdam, Paris, and other European countries.

He said that Paris is only one hour away by the train located just a few minutes’ walk down the street from this Equity hostel in London, and that Amsterdam is only one hour and a half by that same train, and Germany is only one hour away by that train as well and this is the reason why some people use this London Equity hostel as a base for their travels throughout Europe. I had wondered why the Australians have such a great deal of luggage with them.