I woke up at 2 p.m. — a day that got off to a late start after falling back asleep. The hiking plans, the date I had forgotten about — before I knew it, it was all time spent with people. Aya at the front desk, the girl I met in the park, the friend who came to the supermarket with me. Everyone's hearts were surprisingly pure, and before I knew it, it had become a memory for life.
I woke up at 9 and had breakfast. Bread and cheese and scrambled eggs, tomatoes and cucumber. It was a simple breakfast, but it filled me up. I went back to bed and fell asleep again. I was incredibly sleepy and couldn't resist. When I woke up it was 2 p.m.
Tomorrow's hike — I can't decide.
I kept thinking only about what to do today. I asked the tour company in Russian, "What tours are there tomorrow?" and kept agonizing over whether to choose a simple hiking course or the 20km route in the same area.
The 20km route would probably give a greater sense of accomplishment. But I've never done serious mountain climbing. I don't have the shoes or the layered clothing. System 1 was running at full throttle the whole time, and I got irritated for no reason.
I messaged Aya, whom I'd become friendly with at reception, on Instagram DM: "Hey, are you at the hostel? I want to ask you something." No reply. I headed to the sports center anyway.
Inside there were lots of gear and many bags from NIKE, Adidas, and Columbia. But since I came without a purpose, I had no idea what to buy. In the end I turned back the way I came and returned to the hostel.
The afternoon spent with Aya at reception.
When I got back Aya was there. "Hey Kota~" in her usual friendly voice. She let me into the office and we talked about all sorts of things together.
She told me where to go, explained things like this is how it is here, and that these shoes wouldn't withstand the cold. She taught me every little thing.
Even when customers came and she was a bit busy, she answered my questions carefully and looked things up for me politely. I thought she was truly kind and warm.
She was very sociable and apparently gathers hostel guests for a party on Saturdays. Yet she said she gets really tired after talking to people and doesn't really like talking that much. That surprised me. I realized she's human too.
Aya is working at the hostel now, but she doesn't seem to know what she wants to do in the future. I suggested, "How about working at an international organization?"
She can speak a little Turkish and seems to like Turkey so much she stayed in Marmaris for three months. She said she wants to learn Chinese next. What she said was very interesting.
A guest came, so we moved up to the third floor. We ate sweets that a Belarusian friend had given us. They were coated in sugar on the outside and sweet, but very sour inside. They were strange candies.
Aya ate them with such joy and took photos. She had no distracting thoughts; I really thought her heart was pure. Why are Kyrgyz people so beautiful-hearted?
Then we talked about what to make on Saturday. When I suggested, "How about onigiri?" she immediately said, "Oh, nice!" So we decided to make them today as practice, and pulled in the other guests.
Are there people this quick to decide and so friendly? They have a childlike heart, or are just very pure. I thought people like this, so human, are truly wonderful.
A date at Oak Park (Oak Park)
Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten that I had a date at 7:30 p.m. I had arranged to meet a Kyrgyz girl I met on Bumble a few days earlier at the park.
I headed to Oak Park (Oak Park). It was already my third time there. I arrived first and waited on a bench. Waiting without much nervousness or expectation, she appeared, ran up with a smile, and greeted me with a hug. Our faces were tense for the first 30 seconds, but I naturally started with, "How was your day?"
She works in IT and seems to be in a position where she teaches subordinates. She said she was tired because she even took on a colleague's work today.
She once studied Japanese a bit and came to like Japan because of anime. She loves Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer, she said.
We sat on a nearby bench and talked for about 30 minutes. She said she wants to go to the Philippines next year to see BTS in concert. Even though she doesn't understand Korean, she said she likes the music just by listening.
Just looking at her face I could tell her heart was pure. Personality really shows in the face, I thought. Her way of speaking was elegant and her fashion sense was beautiful.
Candid talk at a downtown cafe.
We walked to a cafe in the city center. It seemed to have been newly renovated. At a terrace seat I ordered a Sebastian chocolate cake and sencha. She ordered lemonade and handed it to me with the straw, asking, "Do you want some?" I had thought she was refined and a bit distant, so that surprised me and made my heart skip a bit.
The beauty of the heart that shows through her smile.
Come to think of it, the more someone has been hurt in love, the more complicated and closed off they tend to be. Maybe because in Kyrgyzstan the idea of love equaling marriage is still strong, it seems like few people cheat. Exactly because of that, I wondered whether everyone's hearts remain pure.
We talked about fashion, work, and favorite music. When I asked what she does on weekends, she said her hobby is mountain climbing and she often goes to refresh herself.
In Japan it seems more people use weekends to rest. But I remembered data suggesting that people like her, who dive into nature and fully enjoy it, have higher happiness. I thought that was really great and I liked it.
She liked elegant, old-money style, and wore a simple silver ring. Her perfume was a white-lily type, not strong, with a soap-like scent. I thought it suited her very well.
She doesn't like men's colognes; she prefers gentle scents. I suggested she'd probably like Narciso Rodriguez's White Musk. Her MBTI is apparently ENFJ or ENTP.
We had been talking and it was 9:30. She paid the bill by QR code, speaking in Russian. I should have paid, but she did it since I'm a guest. I appreciated it.
As we walked through the park a bit, we talked about our dreams for the future. She said she wanted to be an independent woman. Someone who can buy what she likes without looking at price tags.
I told her I felt she was suited to be an entrepreneur. "When the time comes, you'll surely become one," I said. She's someone with initiative, so I thought she could definitely do it. She's a woman who leads.
The time I shared with her was truly fun and exciting. Every time I saw her smile my heart skipped a beat. I think I was struck every time by the beautiful heart that shone through her smile.
Before calling a taxi and parting ways, I looked her in the eye and told her how lovely her smile was and how happy I was to have met her. I'm usually shy and can't do something like that easily, but this time I did it naturally. I was really happy. I hope we can go hiking together again.
I realized that because I'm meeting different people and talking about many topics, I'm able to talk about a wide range of things. I think it's really good and maybe even wonderful.
A night that started with grocery shopping
When I returned to the hostel and called out, "I'm home!" to Aya, she told me she couldn't leave reception during the night shift and asked me to do the shopping instead. The four of us — Liza, Roma, and a Kyrgyz girl whose name I'd forgotten — went to the supermarket.
Liza used to work in IT and now seems to be in a management position in the automotive sector. When I said I was going on the tour tomorrow she asked, "Can I join?" I was honestly nervous about a Russian-language tour, so I was super grateful.
Nori, tuna, rice, cling film. Shopping completed successfully. I paid at the register first, and Aya would reimburse me later.
I've never been to a hostel this flexible, friendly, and with such a close distance between guests and reception. I think it's the best hostel in the world.
The night we made onigiri together
When I brought the things I bought to Aya, she took them out of the bag one by one and watched with great curiosity, asking, "What did you buy?"
We moved to the kitchen downstairs and everyone made onigiri together. Aya was the most curious and wanted to know all about shaping them and how to cook the rice. She sliced cucumber, mixed it with tuna, and made her own original sushi.
Other guests joined in — someone played the guitar, someone laughed while eating their meal. Everyone was friendly and it was great.
I felt really happy thinking that I was part of that circle. That I was blending in here. While everyone was speaking Russian, I spoke a lot of Russian too. It was a great atmosphere, and we took lots of photos and videos.
Kyrgyz fermented milk drink, Тан (Tan), was also on display.
The onigiri were a great success. Food eaten together with everyone was incredibly delicious.
I can only be grateful to Aya for organizing this. It became a lifetime memory.
