Pilgrim House -

(this photo is not mine, it's from http://www.pilgrimhouse.org/ i slept in a different bed but in the same spot, directly underneath that awesome painting on the wall)



After a long but beautiful day of driving on Interstate 40 West (i got sunburn on my face), I arrived in Memphis at 9 or so p.m. My destination: a hostel known as Pilgrim House, located in First Congregational Church, a service-oriented church community hosting a number of very cool organizations within their walls (which is how I lucked into learning about this hostel). I followed the directions into the city, but was baffled when I turned onto a street with the wrong name on the sign (WTF?). Thus, I circled around to a nearby mcdonalds, and, ordering a Big n' Tasty from their dollar menu (that sandwich isn't even around in the north anymore), asked for directions to the church. The cashier was very helpful; turns out the street I had turned onto was correct, and that I was close. Arriving at Pilgrim House, I wasn't sure what to expect--my only previous hostel experience was in New York. Upon entering the hostel, I was greeted warmly by the folks that were in the office--young folks around my age. I met four people - Zac, Kate, Matt and Anna - and was struck with the strange feeling that I had met them before (perhaps in a dream?), and the related feeling that I will see them again in the future. Zac, Kate and I soon got into some conversations about hip-hop. Between the long day of driving and the feeling right at home with them, I think I probably came across as very opinionated and a little bit self-focused, in our conversations. Realizing it then, but not able to do much about it, I was glad that they were still very warm and did not seem offended by my broad judgmental statements about hip-hop, or whatever else. The room that I stayed in was a shared room (actually two connected rooms) called Rainbow rooms. There was no one else in the rooms, so it was like having a private room which was really cool. There was a painting on the wall, directly above the bed I slept in, which was very powerful--I wish I had taken a picture of it (luckily someone else did and I posted it above). After conversing late into the night, I stayed up and spent a couple hours on craigslist, looking at jobs and housing in salt lake city. (SPOILER WARNING! to tie this together: as I post this, I am in SLC going emailing to these very same listings I found in Memphis)


The serendipitous nature of learning about Pilgrim House and the people I met there, coupled with the Christian and historical significance of it all definitely had a strong effect on me feeling that this was another stroke of destiny, and a blessing upon my trip. Thanks to everyone I met, you'all were very helpful and welcoming, and really made my experience great.