Hostile Life? Not really.

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The good and the bad thing about staying in hostels is that no two are alike by any means. Essentailly, there are a number of things you want to look for when you choose a place to stay. So far, on our trip its been a pretty short list: free breakfast, no (or short) lock-out time, free sheets/towels, laundry facilities, bar, baggage storage, and finally - no curfew. If you can manage to find a hostel with all of those (and a cheap nightly rate of course), you've hit the jackpot. Unfortunately for Nick and I, the hostels we've stayed in normally fall short on at least two to three of these things. But you make do, and essentially the struggle adds to the experience.

Once your able to get past the fact that no place will be totally perfect, being in hostels is really interesting and fun. You meet new people every night, with new ideas and different perspectives. And generally the people who stay in hostels ar the adventurous type - who have a lot of cities to visit, have a strict budget to adhere to, who aren't afraid to sacrifice comfort and privacy to truly experience the backpacker's Europe. It's envigorating to be around travelers. Everyone is young, interesting, and eager to try out new things and meet new people. I've had some great conversations about music, life, politics, etc.

Sleeping quarters are always interesting. If you make it through a night without having to deal with courtyard noise, smelly roommates, loud roommates, squeaky beds, uncomfortable beds, weird sleep noises, or some guy who lets out earth shaking farts every hour on the hour, then you've accomplished a great feat. I've found beer helps all of these, but the light sleeper might find little to no sanctuary in these rooms. But, after about four nights, you can sleep through just about anything. There is a lot of talk about theft in these places. I haven't seen it (knock on wood), and I've found that if you make sure to introduce yourself to your roommates it gives them less of a reason to treat you like just another body. They end up being more considerate while your sleeping and the conversation in the mornings and evenings is much more open.

Then there's meeting friends or travel buddies. Essentially, everyone is traveling alone or in small groups, so they are all looking to meet other people to have company while sight seeing. I'm reminded of a term from Fight Club regarding these kinds of people- "single-serving friends". You have these people that you know only for a day or two tops, who you use to make your own experience more interesting. In our case, the company is greatly appreciated. Nick is one of my best friends in the world, but when you've spent 36 days right next to one another day and night, you start to run out of things to talk about. New people mean new conversations and an opportunity to learn about culture in a different part of the world. A lot of transitions in conversation are filled with, "well, back in the U.S.", or,"where I'm from...". It's comments like these that serve as the birthing point of every cultural exchange we've had thus far, and each of the conversations that have started like this have been openly embraced. It also helps to meet people who know the language of whatever city you're staying in. It can save you a lot of grief the that comes from getting on the wrong train, ordering food, talking to police, etc.

All in all, it's been a rewarding experience. And it's definitely not nearly as bad as I had expected. In short, it's just like living in the dorms during your first few weeks of college, but the people are much, much cooler.

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Comments

[Lisa Fisk]

Sounds like you guys are having a great time. I'm so jealous of both of you!! I hope to see you in a couple of weeks when we come to Kansas.