I don’t write about travel because I want you to get a kick out of seeing the Eiffel Tower.
I write about hostels because I want you to meet people.
I want you to stay in accommodation with a social common room so that you can meet someone from a country you have prejudices against, so that you can debate with a country you are at war against, and so that you hear the stories of people who live at risk in their own homeland.
TheHostelGirl.com is light hearted – I want you to love the hostels I love because I have had fun in them, and I want you to visit the places I have visited because they are beautiful and rich with history.
But most of all I want you to meet people. I want you to understand what it’s like for people who come from other countries with different outlooks on life – even if you only talk with them for one night – because they will give you an insight into how others live.
Since I launched this blog my about page has remained pretty much the same. I write there that I believe hostelling advances international understanding and acceptance amongst thousands of travellers worldwide.
[Tweet “I believe hostel travel facilitates multicultural understanding and this is what we need today.”]You don’t even have to travel to make the effort to understand the lives of others.
A task for my readers…
Today, with the news of the launch of air strikes from the UK Government, I want you to do one thing that won’t even require you to leave your own country.
Go to your nearest hostel and book two nights there. Whether it’s 10 minutes away or 3 hours. Book two nights.
If you have friends in that city – don’t tell them you’ll be in town. Instead, talk to the travellers in your hostel.
Talk to them. Ask them where they’re from; why they’re travelling; what they love the most about their home country – and if you disagree don’t shut them down but try to understand.
Just try to understand the opinions of someone who has been raised in a different environment to you.
You don’t have to ask their opinions on Syria, or air strikes, or war. Just ask them about their life.
Hostels are breeding grounds for international conversation and, above all, this is why I write this blog.
To encourage you to stay in hostels. To encourage you to socialise with people who may not carry the same opinions as you and can initiate a semblance of multicultural understanding. To encourage you to see that cultures are not divided by straight lines but instead carry similarities between them.
Let me know how you get on.
9 comments
I’d love to take up this challenge, but right now every extra euro I get is going toward my March trip to Lisbon (5 hostel o/n’s)
However, the night before I leave, I’ll be staying in a hostel in Tallinn and promise to take notes on the conversations. Will that do?
Well that sounds like a good enough reason not to take up the challenge… or at least to have deferred it until Lisbon 😉 And absolutely – I can’t wait to hear about your future hostel travels Martha!
Thank you for saying this! I know so many people scared of travel now, and worried to spread their wings. If anything we need to travel and get to know people and cultures MORE now than ever!
Hey Ashley – I couldn’t agree more! It makes me think of one of my all time favourite quotes by Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Keep travelling! 🙂
Hello
This is a very interesting article. The way the author has written about the beauty of meeting people while leading a hostel life and the tasks assigned to readers makes it different from the normal blogs you come across.
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Thanks, Leong Siew
Love this post, Katie. I’m staying in my very first hostel in Valencia and I’ve already met people from South Korea, France, Ireland and even a few from home. The conversations we have had are so interesting and definitely advances my understanding of other cultures.
I love this reply, Tiffany! And I’m so pleased you’ve shared your first hostel experience with us! Which hostel is it? I had such a fabulous time in Valencia last year – make sure to hire a bike and visit the Garden of Turia! 🙂
A bit more about Valencia – http://thehostelgirl.com/three-bicycles-two-germans-and-a-brit-explore-valencias-garden-of-turia/
Quart Youth Hostel! It was really nice. Your adventures in Valencia looked like so much fun! Much better weather than I experienced, but beautiful nonetheless!
I’ve just looked them up – they look great! We were lucky with the weather – but I’m so glad you thought it was as beautiful as I did!
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