When I took the decision to leave my first host family in Germany, I had to move quickly because I was kind of scared of them. I never packed a suitcase that fast (seriously). I got on the first train to get away from the city. It was a Saturday night, around 8pm. After my first train I was in a city that I’d never been before, waiting for my connection, with my 400 suitcases (you go girl!). When I finally got to Stuttgart, it was around 11pm. I was on my way to a friend’s house, but my plan was to meet with her only on the Sunday morning. I was going to sleep in a hostel that night.
So when I got off the train, people were going in different directions and I was trying to find wifi. I went to the Starbucks in the train station and sat down to try to find a hostel. Every. Hostel. Were. Sold. Out. Damn. AND, my phone was dying. So I went upstairs, found a plug. But where there’s a plug, there’s no wifi, obviously. I went back to the Starbucks to try to figure something out. And then the scary part began.
Two guys were walking towards me. They asked me if I had a place to stay, because they knew a place (YA RIGHT). I told them I was just waiting for my lift and they left. An hour later, they saw that I was still there. They asked again: “Are you sure you have a place to stay, cause we know a nice place”. I told them that I did have a place to stay, that I was fine.
There was a hotel right beside the train station. I walked over there and asked the reception guy if he knew if my friend and her mom had gotten there already. I gave him a name and he checked. He said he couldn’t find anything, so I told him I might have the wrong name and that I would wait here for a while and try to contact them. I was laughing in my head cause none of that was true, but I couldn’t go back outside. Eventually I think he figured it out and he kicked me out of the hotel.
I was back at square one, in front of the Starbucks, sitting on the ground like an old homeless lady. A few minutes later, I looked to my right, and there was a rat right beside me. I never jumped that fast. The two guys that asked me if I had a place to stay were laughing so much. I wasn’t haha. Anyways.
The night continued with back and forth expeditions between the plug and the wifi.
I ended up at my friend’s place on the Sunday morning. I was so grateful that she was there for me at that time! International friends are the best friends.
Make sure you always have a backup plan if you have to leave in a rush, or know a local in the country you’re going to visit visit.
Stuttgart, Germany, June 2015
Burningwaves 