Communication born from curiosity — What I learned at a hostel after a long time.
A hostel after a long time
Today I stayed at a hostel for the first time in a while. Until now I had been renting apartments on Airbnb and staying alone, but when I moved to the next apartment another person was going to stay there for two days, so I needed to stay at a hostel.
This time I used a place called European hostel. It's close to Fabrica and very accessible. As for the inside, it felt like a cheap hostel: the beds weren't washed and only the sheets were laundered.
Starting with "Hi"
The moment I entered the room someone greeted me friendly with "Hi." They spoke to me in Chinese and Korean. Unfortunately they didn't seem to know Japanese. Outside there was a kitchen, and I said "Hi" with a smile to the people there. Then they talked back and we had small talk.
There was also a girl who suddenly returned to the hostel from outside. She turned out to be Japanese. She was taking part in something called "20-day Nomadnia," where apparently you try out different jobs. After that she was going to do farm work in New Zealand.
We were talking like that. I was moved myself by how easily conversation flowed just because she was Japanese. I think Japanese people abroad at least have a willingness to take on challenges and courage. So I thought I want to talk more and more with people like that. Apparently she had come to look for something she had forgotten. Even so, being able to talk in such a short time made me feel the world really is vast.
Head of a company branch staying in a 1,000-yen-a-day hostel
I also met an Indian man; he apparently has an office in Kyiv, Ukraine and seems to be the head of a branch of an Indian company. He speaks Russian fluently and has apparently been working for about 30 years.
I found it strange that someone like him was using a hostel where you can stay for just 1,000 yen a day. He must really like meeting various people.
Yellow drink
I was sitting at that table, and normally I would think "let's go quickly" or something, but today I felt oddly peaceful. Even if I stayed seated at the table, I figured I could just speak to any new person who came.
Watching the Japanese woman, the Russian person next to her was making a yellow drink and timidly asked in a small voice, "What's that?" I thought that was really amazing.
Although he didn't seem confident, curiosity won out and he spoke up with the conviction that they'd probably answer. I thought that's important.
I also actually saw the yellow drink. I wondered what it was. But I didn't ask "What's this?" I thought it's probably because unconsciously I was thinking about how to continue the conversation afterwards, or something like that.
But in reality, talking without thinking about anything is the most natural and the conversation goes best. This is kind of a law of nature.
Because the person is being natural. If you act, you can't do it well, and if you try to speak well you start thinking and end up unable to talk.
Connections that start with curiosity
Anyway, I learned: curiosity — if something catches your attention, you should ask. Communication is born from such trivial things.
Also, I think persistence is really important. Not so much being annoying, but continuing to show interest in someone and keep talking to them. I felt that this attitude is what ultimately fascinates the other person and allows mutual connection.
People unconsciously feel more at ease with someone who is simply present than with someone who is there to be judged.
