At 4.45pm, The Hostel Girl turns one year old, prompting a formulaic post about lessons learned and future plans. But today, there’s really only one thing on my mind…
Our Community Rocks
You guys are awesome. As the first year in which I really threw as much as I could in to this blog and solo female travel, any expectations I had about how difficult or lonely the journey might be have been thrown out of the window.
To the readers, subscribers, travellers, friends, family, hostel staff, BlaBla car drivers, train drivers, bus drivers, travel bloggers, former guests, business travellers…
It is thanks to all you that any of us get to travel. Without just one of those people mentioned above my travels would have looked very different this year, and probably so would yours.
The Importance of Community
When I’m asked why I rave and write about hostels, my answer is always the same:
“Each hostel community is to me just like a little London. Within each common room you find individuals from all over the world coming together to talk, laugh, discuss, party, and learn about each other.”
I don’t enjoy spending a lot of time in London. Neither do I enjoy spending a lot of time in Paris.
But the multicultural spirit of both cities is the key factor that keeps me returning time and again.
In fact I have plans in Paris on Monday, and they haven’t changed. Why?
How Parisians responded to the #CharlieHebdo attack… http://t.co/O1qrPOGOJ1 pic.twitter.com/KnnfELpPM6
— The Independent (@Independent) January 8, 2015
Because Paris is not afraid. Neither is London, Berlin, Dublin, and all the European cities who held candlelit vigils for yesterday’s attack on freedom of speech with the shooting of 12 at Charlie Hebdo HQ, Paris. Saturated with “Je Suis Charlie” signs and buskers playing the French national anthem on violins, these peaceful gatherings illustrated that murder cannot suppress free thought and opinion.
Cultural understanding, exposure, and education, are the backbone to this blog. In the About section of this blog is written:
The way a hostel brings together travellers of all different ages, interests, faiths, and nationalities and forces them to live side by side in dormitories, drink side by side on pub crawls – or even to learn to surf together – is such a beautiful thing in a world full of war and turmoil mostly brought about by a lack of understanding of other cultures.
The way in which Europe has rallied around the destruction taking place in France is hope that the gunmen wont succeed in dividing the communities that make up the great multicultural cities of Europe.
Whilst the world is divided into nationalities and religions, the worldwide community shows us time and time again that events such as the Paris shootings provide far more evidence of communities standing together, than breaking apart. And yesterday, the worldwide community stood together for free thought, liberty, and freedom of speech.
Of course, each event such as this is a test on our communities, and with far-right politics gaining traction in European governments, we can only hope that the kindness of men overcomes fear.
All my love and gratitude,
