east7

In other Back to Berlin news, I have finally scored a regular job which isn't bizarre or involve mopping floors with a rag! I applied to an ad I saw in Zitty (city mag full of listings), for a receptionist at a 'relaxed' hostel in Prenzlauer Berg. I managed to get an interview, and was completely bamboozled to discover I'd applied to the same hostel where I'd stayed when I first arrived in Berlin. Moreover, this is the hostel where my sister and her boyfriend had stayed in 2005 and befriended the Polish receptionist!

So I had my training at East7 Berlin Hostel in early Feb, which consisted of Nik (said Pole) showing myself and the other two new receptionists, Paula (German) and Bart (Dutch) how to use the Dorm software, make cappuccinos and engage in off-the-cuff witty banter with the guests. The pay is paltry (6,50€ / $10.95 per hour), but Berlin is cheap and at least I know where next month's rent is coming from. I have two bosses; Jörg, the wacky, easy-going German, and Pierre, a business-focussed, straight-laced South African.

My first shift at East7 was a struggle. I was ill (and had had a roaring fever a few days prior) and as nervous as hell. I foolishly accepted 3 different 'walk-ins', which were inevitably complicated bookings, involving Room Changes and mixed payments. Particularly tricky was a group of 4 Italian men, who spoke neither German nor English. The language difficulties inflamed my nerves and I accidentally took the wrong set of keys when I showed them up to their rooms...

The nightshift goes from 6pm until 9am, but the reception is closed between midnight and 7am so there is some scope for sleep. This scope is, however, somewhat hindered as the nightshift bedroom is also the noisiest in the building. Being woken up by the front door closing, or the sound of a drunken backpacker as they stomp awkwardly upstairs, is not unusual. Oh and on my first shift I accidentally left a sign out at reception reading 'If you need the receptionist, ring the doorbell', so that I was rudely woken at 6am by drunks wanting coffee. (Admittedly, I've become used to East7's night-time soundscape, but simply find it easier and more enjoyable to write whingey, cynical prose. Hoho.)

Soooo a month has passed and I'm feeling much more confident about my work at East7. I'm getting to know the rhythm of the place, making far fewer mistakes and really starting to enjoy myself. It's great being able to help guests with information, coffee, internet and the like. (Plus responding to emails and making complicated bookings appeals to my anal streak.)

Below: I don't have any photos of the hostel, but I thought it was time I posted new shots of my room, as I've accumulated quite a bit of 'stuff' in the last few months, and it's feeling much more homely.

the day to day

Back in Berlin, and back to day-to-day life; U-bahns and S-bahns, English conversation lessons and stressful episodes at discount supermarket chain Plus. And of course, enjoying nights-in with my WG. Such evenings are usually composed of drinking Becks or Sternburg half litres, talking quatsch and playing UNO. If a bigger group of people are involved, my flatmate Samuel inevitably instigates a game of Murder in the Dark. Unlike the version I used to play as a child, which involved running around in the dark and loudly screaming victims, Samuel's version is a much more sedate game of words and shutting one's eyes at specific intervals. He takes great delight in narrating the grand tales of murder and deceit, laboriously describing the gruesome details of each crime. It's actually a great game to play with a group of semi-drunk friends, as it requires a lot of unsubstantiated finger-pointing and lying, which is often highly entertaining.

Above: Samuel does his best That's Life cover pose.


Above: My French flatmate Marie relaxes WG-style, after a hard day at the gallery.


Above: Marie demonstrates a Punjabi dance move, whilst Andrew eagerly anticipates the next round of UNO.