Auberge.

One day I woke up feeling miserable in one of the most beautiful places in the French Capital; The Latin Quarter. The fifth arrondissement. A place with a unique vibrant and artsy feel. One of the oldest neighbourhoods in Paris. The landmark of Shakespeare & Company. The birth place of my French journey; La vie en France. The language of love and beauty. La ville d'amour. Here I am a young man with the passion to seek out the wonders of a foreign land and be surrounded in a language that I did not speak. As the days leaped onto the next in the mid spring season, growing out of my Aussie skin and slowly transformed myself into clone of a Parisian.

I had slept restless due to the movement of two people, who were humping, bumping and panting above my bunk. The floorboards were rattling most of the night. The mixtures of sounds that echoed throughout the room and into the quite Rue Mouffetard, where the hostel sits. The 18th century buildings are glued together like stone walls. It was built to last forever. The hostel and the building itself is over a hundred years older than any house that I have ever lived in or have ever known, yet perfect in every way. Standing strong throughout the years it had earned its rightful place in the history of the city. The window panes were clear, but thick as a beer bottle. Although it was very dark in the room I could see clearly in the dormitory, I witnessed the other travellers finding some difficulty to get to sleep but could only imagine what the couple above me, acting out as some horny drunk animals."Arrêt arrêt" I speak to myself in French in the middle of the night, begging them to stop, hoping he comes quickly. I covered my head with the sheets but sadly my imagination only got worse as their moaning grew louder. The continuous thumping eventually stopped "Oui, c'est fini" I talked to myself again in a calm deep French accent. After a few moments of silence, I was relieved and could sense that other guest felt the same way. Then, the bunk began to shift side to side like a rollercoaster ride, the people above are moving at it all over again. "Putain!" I cursed out loud in my foreign tongue.

The wild couple most likely knew that at one point, everyone else in the room had a glance at their performance during le nuit expect for me. Maybe it made them feel more aroused. Across from me in the opposite bunk was a young Asian girl, curled up with her blanket and clutching it in wide-eyed panic, watching the couples' performance. She glanced at me and we made eye contact for a split second. I looked into her eyes with curiosity. Many questions ran into my head with my disturbed raison d'être énervé.

No one in the room had the courage to do something about the awkward situation. There was nothing to be done. There was no personality abrasive enough, stereotypically American enough to approach Roméo et Juliette then pull them apart from each other. The feuding fathers of the Capulets and the Montagues would have done so. Maintain the balance of silence and peace surrounding the two families. Although, as annoyed as I was, and with my patience to near breaking point, I felt a softness of my soul. I couldn't blame them for making love in this place, almost on top of me. A boy who meets a girl by chance in a hostel then slowly after a night out bar hopping like frogs, the two wander in the unknown streets of Paris and surrounded by Archangels statues, who watch the people endlessly. The chemistry between the two youngster develops throughout the night while the alcohol clears the night air and instils in them the carefree love of the young.

La vie de l'hostel can be anything. Hostelling gives you the chance to meet those new people you would never otherwise encounter in your day-to-day life; those unexpected surprises are what makes it special. Whether it be a bad night's sleep to inconsiderate bunk mates, witnessing a live sex show while in the youthful stages of innocence, or finding someone to love, if only briefly, in a room full of people...

#France #Travel #Hostellife #Lifeexperience