Day 176: At least he borrowed me a pair of slippers

It's really amazing how friendly some people are on Couchsurfing. Like the guy whose place I stayed at yesterday. Even before coming to Istanbul he had sent me the schedule for the airport coaches. Then he waited for me where the bus stopped at Taksim (he even had to wait 30 minutes longer than planned).

- I have dreads, so you'll recognize me, said this 24 year old law student.

Yes, that was pretty easy.

- What do you want to do now?

We agreed to have something to eat at a small place not very far from Taksim. While eating he told me he'd have his final exams the next day.

- Oh, you sure you don't need to study for it tonight?

- It's ok, there's no point now anyway. And the last one was about how to apply international criminal law to Game of Thrones, so I think it will be something similar.

He also pointed out that he wouldn't have accepted a couchsurfer if he hadn't had time. Well then. So we went to a bar and had a beer. There I found out that my friends in Istanbul was inviting me to BBQ and drinks on their roof top terrace.

- Do you wanna go there?

- Sure, but what about your exams?

- Don't worry. I'll tell you when we need to go back home.

Hm... well... let's put it this way, after a very nice evening in the Istanbul breeze and with an absolutely amazing view over the Bosphorus and drinks and excellent grilled meet with friends we finally arrived at his place at 2 am...

- Ok, it's not very tidy here...

- Don't worry, I don't care.

- The thing is there's a lot of glass on the floor. My girlfriend broke up with me two days ago. I was cheating on her and she got mad and started throwing glass.

Well yes, there was a lot of glass on the floor... but he gave me a pair of slippers, so I didn't have to worry about getting it in my feet. And he made the guest bed for me.

- I brought my own sheets...

- I promise, these are clean! Keep yours for the other night.

So sweet! He even offered to borrow me his transportation card and things like that.

When I finally went to sleep I heard the drummer he had warned me about.

- Drummer?

- Yes, it's Ramadan. He walks around, drumming, to wake people up so they can have a snack before sunrise.

Aha...

After not so many hours of sleep I got up. Had a shower, packed my things, put one of the gift vodka bottles on the table with a note. It was way past nine when his exam started so I thought he would be long gone.

- How do I do tomorrow if I leave after you.

- Just close the door, I never lock it, there's nothing worth stealing here anyway.

But just before I opened the door to get out, I peaked into the other bedroom, just enough to see a pair of feet on the bed... I guess he didn't make it to the exam. I feel slightly guilty now for potentially ruining his career as a copyright lawyer... But on the other hand it's his responsibility, right?

There's some broken glass on the floor

"Swedish" gifts for my couchsurfing hosts

Waking up somewhere in Istanbul...