My roommate Curtis and I arrived in Buenos Aires a week earlier than the other 18 University students in the program so I was able to experience something unlike anything else I have known: hostel life.
Although I refuse to see the horror flick Hostel, the previews and word of mouth still contributed to some of my assumptions about hostel life. I thought the place would be unsanitary and full of a collective suspiciousness toward mysterious strangers.
In fact, the hostel is probably the most fertile social setting I have ever spent a week of my life in, and for 27 pesos a night (about $9), I was very impressed with the living conditions.
Almost all of the people staying at our hostel in downtown Buenos Aires were traveling alone and had been doing so for extended lengths of time. They were all used to the hostel ritual of meeting someone in the afternoon and partying like old friends the same night.
The people were very interesting. Each was a traveler and had a story. The majority were from Europe. My roommate Curtis, Sarah from Sussex, Paul from London, Mark from Ireland, Lars from Norway, Tim from Australia and Patrick from Houston made up my hostel crew over the week.
For me, it was like a crash course on the world outside of the United States. Accents are great, and everyone has something to talk about because everyone has a very different home. Once we were in the bar, Curtis and I tried loudly, drunkenly and with a tinge of homesickness to explain Louisiana to everyone.
One thing that came with such easily accessible friendship was easy detachment. I had a hard time with this concept at first, but everyone else seemed to have it mastered. When it is time for a person to leave, they are gone, and that’s that.
Over the course of the week people floated in and out of the hostel and in and out of the constantly evolving social scene that lived in the tiny bar on the fourth floor of the building.
I remember all of my hostel friends because it was my first time to experience this phenomenon. But for some of the travelers who had been staying in different hostels every week for nine months, I imagine it becomes very difficult to really remember all the people they’ve met. I hope they haven’t all forgotten me.
—-Contact David McCoy at [email protected]