The 411 on Mixed Dorms: Sometimes You Will Come Back to Your “Empty” Room In Your Towel To 7 Irish Lads on Holiday
The *one time* I decide to change back in the room after my shower because the entire room left that day is, of course, the time I come back to a room of 7 Irish guys.
This is honestly just a funny story about how I always have shit timing and how 7 Irish friends ended up being really sweet.
I remember within my first week I met two of my friends in Greece: Charlotte and Emily. We were in an all girl dorm at the time and one of them mentioned something along the lines of “I think the worst possible scenario is you get a mixed dorm and you come back to a room full of a bunch of lads who know each other on holiday, and you’re the only girl.” I was still within my first week of traveling and staying in hostels for the first time, and so I was still getting comfortable with hostels and agreed with them. Well, little did I know, about 6 weeks later, that scenario would come to life for me. But it ended up being a super positive experience, and if anything, I kinda wish I went out with them that night.
Some people come back to the room and hold their towel over themselves and do some little magic tricks to discreetly change in the room after a shower. I, however, am someone who just changes in the shower stall because it is more private and easier in my opinion. However, one day about 6 weeks in, I found myself in the room where literally everyone else in the room had checked out that morning. So, for the first time, I decided to just come back to the room to change after my shower. I go downstairs, take my shower, climb the spiral staircase back to the little attic room, open the door, and I see the heads of like 4 men turn to look at me. *I grab my clothes and head back downstairs to change*. So much for the one burst of confidence. That is simply how the world works though isn’t it, you finally decide to do something and you end up staring at 4 Irish guys in your towel.
In all seriousness, the men (thankfully) ended up being really sweet. One of them came over to my end of the room to ask if it was okay if he opened the window and then started chatting with me for a bit and he was really friendly. Another one announced to me that they were leaving soon and then when they did he said “we are headed out now so you have the place to yourself" and then his friend needed to go back to grab something and he said “I already told her she has the room though.” Later two of them came back to the room for some more drinks and I was still chilling in the room and they got chatting with me and they were also super nice. They told me that when they came to the room they could tell by my shoes that I was a girl and that they felt bad and were going to go to reception and tell reception that they could move me if I wanted. They also apologized in advance for their friends, saying that they can sometimes be loud and obnoxious when drunk, and so they apologized for any loud drunk friends in advance. Later when I was asleep, two of them came back before the others. The one went downstairs to brush his teeth and told his friend to turn the light off as soon as he left. His friend didn’t. He came back and was like “I told you to turn the light off when I left she’s sleeping! Why didn’t you turn the light off?” Honestly a group of respectful kings. My only regret besides coming up in that towel is not going out with them (as if they would have even wanted a young American girl tagging along with them on their guys night out). Note to future self, should you ever find yourself in a room with 7 respectful Irish kings on their annual holiday, go out with them.
In all seriousness, I did find myself as the only girl in a mixed dorm a couple of times and never ran into any issues. I still recommend having the good old Self Defense Water Bottle near you just to be cautious. But the several times I ended up as the only girl ended up being really positive experiences. Honestly, it can be a little awkward and uncomfortable at first, especially if all of them happen to be in the room at the same time when you first come in. But, at least in my case, I think they could tell it is a somewhat uncomfortable situation for a girl, and ended up making conversation and offering things to make me more comfortable. One of the other times I was the only girl in a mixed, I ended up meeting a guy who grew up in my same city and went to the same college (which is in a whole different state from where I grew up). We drank wine in the room, talked about our favorite Pacific Beach bars, and I even ended up following his friends Golden Retriever Puppies Instagram lol. He also told me that whenever I needed to change I could just kick him out. So, while these are some funny stories about my experiences ending up as the only girl in a mixed dorm, their point is to take away some of the fear of the possibility of ending up in this situation. Of course, I still think it is super important to be aware and cautious, because safety always comes first. But, people are mostly good, and you may just end up finding yourself in a room halfway across the world with someone who is super similar to you, or, 7 Irish guys.
- Lauren
