I want to start with my favourite travel quote, which gives me great inspiration and always reminds me that life’s not meant to be lived in one place: "We must take adventures in order to know where we truly belong.".
During the last few years hostels have become more attractive for me than conservative hotels. But, for the last 3 months hostel is the place I call ‘home’. So, my view might not be the most objective one, but sure it is one of the honest ones.
I came to Dublin as a fresh graduate who desired to learn and discover a new country, culture, people and experiences. For a girl who never shared her room with anyone before, even with a sibling, I had doubts at the beginning I just couldn’t imagine 8 females in a shared room and all of them staying alive. Well, we are so good so far. It has been like sharing a room with sisters from Brazil, Germany, Colombia and Spain. I was really lucky to have such nice roommates at once because I know sharing a room is not always easy. In time (extremely short) I had many friends from different parts of Europe and South America among the staff. It is like you live in a building but you also work with your neighbours. You eat with them, you party and travel with them. This experience abroad only got better and better with them.
If I had one piece of advice for people who are willing to experience joy of travelling I would say leave your prejudices and book a hostel. I began to live in
Dublin International Hostel on the same day that I started my internship at
An Óige Irish Youth Hostel Association. I should say living in the same place that you are working is one of the coolest and most comfortable experiences you can ever have. “You’re staying in a hostel just because it is cheap?” “What? So how many people do you share your room with?” “You stay in a hostel ah okay then (with the pity face)” I don’t know how many times these questions got asked before I started my volunteer internship and living in the hostel.
Now I will tell you why hostels can be schools of life and how much you can learn from them.
1) We are the same
Regardless of the age, nationality, sex and religion you will have the opportunity to live and meet with numerous people. You will see that we are all the same. We don’t speak the same language, we don’t even speak the common language at the same level but still we have the same needs, we love, we get hurt. We try to finish degrees, learn languages, get hired and make the people we love happy. The way we do them might be different and we might have different beliefs. Doesn’t matter, at the end we are all in this together.
2) You’ll have different kind of friends as never before
You will meet with solo travellers, crazy spirits, couples, older people, younger people, locals and students. Many of these will be people you would never be friends with your own country. In this diverse pool you discover yourself and will be inspired. Before I only had friends from the environment that I worked, studied or lived. They were all approximately the same age, from similar backgrounds and raised in the same culture. But here, I am friends with an American actor (he says so), a Romanian painter, Venezuelan family, French and Spanish history teachers, a Russian security guard and many Irish people who are full of craic. They all are living in the hostel as guests. What a combination!
3) There are always foreign staff in hostels
You want to get to know the city, culture, or country? You can always ask locals. But, in hostels you’ll always have the chance to ask international opinions as well. And believe me you learn a lot just by listening to several opinions and experiences about one city. International staff in hostels are people who are travelling as you so, don’t hesitate to ask questions or be friends with them. If you are shy when it comes to talk in foreign language, foreign staff will give you the opportunity to practice languages too. Most of the time they might not be native speakers so, relax and start to talk.
4) Easy to find friends
It always starts with a simple “Hi”. Something magical happens in how people can show up purer and real when they’re out of their safe place and open to express themselves without feeling stressed. That pureness and realness ends up inspiring others to be genuine, and that’s how you become friends with people when you’ve only known them for a few hours.
5) You’ll be surprised by how much you can learn just by cooking in guest kitchens
Guest kitchens are one of the best places where you can learn in hostels. You don’t only learn about the country that you are in but you also learn about the countries you’ve never been or even heard before. You talk, cook, drink, share together. I learned how to prepare Caipirinha which is Brazil's national cocktail, Italian coffee with the utensil called Mocha, Arepas which is like bread made by dough cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela and many others. When people smile back and say hi back to you that shows they are open to communicate. Ask what they are cooking and where that food is coming from. Easy peasy!
I only mentioned my very own experiences from my travels and staying at good hostels. That doesn’t mean all your stays will be unforgettable. There will be difficult experiences as well. To avoid these unlikable ones, before you book you should look at the location, the comments and recommendations and double check from different websites. Also, don’t forget you always can ask for a private room and still have these inspirational experiences and yet it will be cheaper than hotels.
Please bear in mind English is not my native language and this is only a modest attempt to share my experience abroad. I apologise in advance for any mistakes, if there is anything you’d like to point out or ask, please drop me an email
melisakizilkaya94@gmail.com.
Melisa Kizilkaya
