It has been so hard for me lately to make myself get up and write this blog. There is so much to write about, and finding time in between shifts and sleep has been interesting.
Intermission Hostel in Bergen, Norway is a relatively small, cozy Christian hostel located about 10 minutes from the harbor and the Fish Market. There is a large dormitory with about 65 beds, a well supplied kitchen, and a common area with big comfy couches, a large table, a piano and a couple of guitars lying around. The common room is definitely my favorite, with large old windows which open up to the cool breeze coming through. Its very light and airy, and has some interesting Scandinavian furniture, tall tables with stools, low chairs, and lots of places to congregate and talk. I must admit, the dormitory is a little bit stark and not as comfortable as I imagined, but the community atmosphere definitely makes up for it. The building from the outside looks like an old, white typical Norwegian home with decorative trim and the white paint chipping off the windows. We live in an apartment downstairs that has 3 very small bedrooms, a kitchen, den area and one bathroom. It took a little getting used to, sharing a bathroom with 5 other people, but I think we've finally got the hang of things. We also made a work schedule with 4 shifts. Morning shift is from 7-3, and includes cleaning, checking people out, making sure breakfast is running smoothly, and just sitting at the desk being in charge. The Cleaning shift is a person who just helps with the cleaning when the hostel is locked up for the midday. We close from 11-3 so we can clean the hostel and have team time together. The cleaning shift also makes lunch for the day, the one meal we all eat together downstairs. The Afternoon shift is from 3-10, and consists mostly of checking people in, setting out afternoon tea and biscuits, and doing lots and lots of laundry. The Night shift is the most interesting, from 10-7. We pretty much hang out until 12 or 1, depending on if its a weekday or a weekend, to lock up the hostel at night. We have to count money and then are free to sleep for a few hours before going to the train station in the morning for the incoming 7am train from Oslo. We go there with a dorky Intermission Hostel sign in case anyone needed a place to stay, they could come with us. I think if I were a person getting off that train, I would be a little frightened of coming to our hostel, because I think we all look groggy eyed and not very friendly that early in the morning, especially after a late night. We have 2 days off a week, and we rotate through the whole schedule so we always have changing schedules.
I found that after the first nervousness of getting used to it all, helping people in and out, and making sure everything is running smoothly, its really a good job. Its fun because a lot of people will come just to talk to you, unless of course you look big and scary and like you are so sick of people that you just want to be left alone. While we were traveling for all of last month, I noticed things that I appreciated and liked in other hostels, and one of the things I liked was when the people running the hostel would just come over and talk with you. It's always interesting to get to know other people, so I love to be open and willing to hang out with other travelers. It has taken some time for my body to rest and get used to a relatively normal schedule, staying in one place and having the same bed, but I think I'm finally relaxing and settling in here.
Last night I had the night shift. Earlier in the day I was feeling really sick, with headaches, body aches, sore throat and just really tired, so I knew that it was only by the grace of God that I would make it through that shift. I figured I would lock the doors, hurry count money and just go to bed. Apparently God had other plans. After a couple of hours on shift, most everyone had cleared out and gone to bed. Two Australian guys were unabashedly hitting on two Swiss girls, which from my perspective, was entirely amusing. I totally knew what was going on the whole time, and it was fun feeling like a fly on the wall, listening in to their conversation the whole time while pretending to do official things. It was great. I couldn't help but smirk several times at what they were saying, I hope they didn't notice me. Another guy was by himself in the common room just playing the guitar. He had been talking with a French girl, Colle, earlier, but she had left to go to bed. He was playing along with the music I was playing (OneRepublic, great album!!!) on the guitar for a while, and then he was quiet for a really long time. I had met him earlier, his name was Andor and he and his friend (whose name starts with a B) were from Budapest, Hungary. He seems very thoughtful and quiet, so I walked over with my tea, plopped down on the couch and asked him what he was thinking about. Suddenly he just opened up, like his thoughts were overflowing and he just needed to get them out. He told me about how as an Eastern European traveling in a Western European culture, he found that a lot of people look down on him because he comes from a poor country. He was surprised that this would even happen, that people would see him as less just because of where he came from. He ended up venting as I listened, pitching in once in a while, but letting him do most of the talking. He was too bothered to go to sleep when he finished, so we basically sat around for 4 hours talking about life, family, religion, travel and culture. Pretty much we talked about everything. The best part of the conversation was when I told him about what we were doing here, how we're from a Christian college and we're here to share what we believe with others. This led to a conversation about his own searching, and how he's interested in researching different religions. There was my cue. In my head I was praying, Ok God, here I go, you're just going to have to speak through me because it's really late\really early in the morning. I asked him if I could share what I believe, and he was totally open and ready to listen. So God opened a way for me to share the Gospel message with him, about God's love for mankind, Jesus Christ's sacrifice and how we are now called to live a live in a relationship with him. He listened, and told me about his own beliefs so far, but there weren't any probing questions or intense interest. After that conversation when he finally grew tired enough to get to bed, I prayed the whole night that God would touch him, pull at his heart and open up his eyes to the truth. Andor is staying here for one more night, maybe a couple more if we can convince him and his friend, but I'm praying desperately that God would work in mighty ways and show himself to Andor.
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