Loser's Club

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The Generator youth hostel is a wonderful establishment. Dirt cheap and safe accommodation in central London. With a late night bar. Generous prices in the bar, gaming activities, big screen TV, and pool tables. What else is do you need? This bar naturally attracts the better part of the clientele visiting the hostel. Would almost be a crime not to honor its activities with a couple of beers. The crowd is split up into the groups in which they arrived. We have the Scandinavian guys joining in on the trivia games. We have the American high school kids chatting around the table. We have the gang playing a game of pool. We have the group of French high school kids drinking and smoking. We have the more quiet crowd chatting over a late bite to eat in the dining area. And we have the group of single guys standing at the bar watching the soccer game on the big screen TV - the category in which I fit in. Youth hostels can be ideal places to meet people with the same interests as yourself. Make temporary friends, travel companions, or drinking buddies. This particular scene is however merely a reminder that I’m not here to party. A London hit and run. Little time and energy to spend on getting wasted and join the crowd in their cheerful attempt to “do” London. So I join the “losers’ club” at the bar. Exchange a few words with the Canadian guy who is constantly scanning his cell phone for messages. Appears to be in a similar situation; on a temporary stay trying to pursue a career abroad. Still not completely willing to totally let go of the bar environment, and with a certain curiosity for what a beer tastes like in this particular spot. But beyond the stage of school/buddy trip partying in a foreign land with likes. Must be obvious that we know nobody, not even each other, maybe not even ourselves. But the guy does make a good point: “At least breakfast is included.”…

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