how to get a job

Bed Station Hostel,

July 18

When I was thrown out in the middle of Khao San Road after an hour's shuttle bus ride, I said goodbye to Shushma, a Londoner with Sri Lankan roots, with whom I could talk about everything we expected during the bus ride. According to Google Maps, my hostel is just one cross street away. Luckily I thought to download the maps, I need to get a sim card first. The Bed Station Hostel is located in the backyard and is only marked with a Din A4 sized sign. The whole hostel is super designed. The staff is young and very friendly. I had to wait another hour until check-in. The perfect time to explore the nearby area and find out that I couldn't withdraw cash from six different ATMs with my credit card. Panic. No joke, panic. When I finally got back to the hostel and sat down at my laptop in the hostel, I found the mistake after a lot of clicking back and forth on my bank's website. Hopefully it works now.

Check-In

Okay, at least my credit card works for payment. Thank goodness. 🍀 My 12-bed room is on the 4th floor and with every step it gets more humid and stuffy. The straps of my backpack are slowly cutting into my shoulders. I haven't had 20 kilograms on my shoulders for that long... 🤷🏽‍♀️ When the hostel employee unlocked the room door with my key card, I was infinitely relieved. There is air conditioning in the room and I have FINALLY arrived! 😍

After stowing my luggage in my locker, I was looking forward to taking a shower, changing clothes and brushing my teeth. The downside: the shower is also on the 4th floor and as soon as I walk out of the shower cabin I'm immediately sweaty again. This humidity is insane. 💦 After the shower, I was busy updating my loved ones back home and 'calming down' my totally exhausted self. Laid down. For six hours. Oops. Woke up at 11:30 p.m. local time. Oh well... who needs food anyway, I thought. After all, I got breakfast on the plane.

Friday July 19, 3:10 p.m. local time.

I'm starving. Since the 'breakfast' on the plane sometime around 7 a.m. yesterday, which consisted of a bread roll with spinach filling and a sponge cake, I haven't had anything edible.
Jetlag got me like .
I fell into a sleep coma and my body took back 13 hours of sleep overnight. My stomach thought around 2:30 p.m. that it could interrupt my Sleeping Beauty sleep. Looking for food. Now. I don't think a fried egg with 2 toasts ever tasted as good as the one from the first restaurant I could find today.

The area around Khao San Road is incredibly overwhelming. Before I knew it, 2 hours had passed and I felt like I had only walked around the block. So many new impressions and especially so many new smells. Smells that I have never smelled before, nor could I assign them. When I stood confused in the middle of a street once again, Sharma approached me. He grabbed my necklace and asked me if I knew what kind of stone I actually had around my neck. I answered his question and we started talking. A conversation about stones. Anyone who knows me knows that this is not so unusual for me.

After talking for 5 minutes on the street, Sharma suggested going to a café for a coffee. Since I was pretty aimless anyway, I agreed. We talked literally about God and the world for an hour. Sharma is an Indian gemstone dealer who is constantly on the go all over the world. The conversation was incredibly funny, but also profound and there was not a minute of silence. Sharma told a lot about his family in India, about his faith, the universe and his job, for which he seemed to be very grateful. Of course, I asked about it, because who wouldn't like to have a job where you can travel on the company's expense all the time?

When I finally wanted to say goodbye after the coffee had been empty for a while, Sharma asked if I also wanted to work during my trip. I confirmed his question and two or three moments later I suddenly found myself in the back room of a jewelry store in the middle of Bangkok. Probably Sharma's boss was sitting across from me. Sharma closed the sliding door behind me and for a moment I thought 'Well, that's it for 'Take care of yourself, Joy!' '. The following half-hour conversation included the process of exporting jewels and gemstones. In the end, I had nothing but my German passport to thank for the nice conversation with Sharma in the café. This was decisive for the job offer I received from his boss. I simply take gemstones worth 10,000€ with me to Germany and get half of the profit for it. All perfectly legal, of course. I decided to leave the room as quickly as possible, said I would think about it and left.

I decide to take the positive from the day, the complete sensory overload of this incredible metropolis, the free coffee and the really good conversation with a stranger.