The Hostel Experience
Taking part in a short-term EVS in Slovenia, Hostel Idrija has been my home for the past two months. Having stayed at a hostel only once in the past (in fact, it was the same one when I visited Idrija 2 years ago), it took a little getting used to this new situation.
Travelers, students, hikers, bikers and even locals find their way into the hostel. I have met them all.
A regular day would look like this: Walk into the kitchen to find a girl cooking and listening to hip hop music and then move to the lounge room and meet a French couple who biked their way to Slovenia. Then, sit on the terrace taking in the mountainous landscape all around, whilst listening to world travelers talk about their adventures around the world.
This is the hostel experience- the whole world under one roof.
No, not everything is perfect. It is not supposed to be. There are times where it can get overwhelming (at least for me) or even isolating as you might find it difficult to connect or relate. But, as in any other uncomfortable situation in life, you either leave or you push through. And since I lived in the hostel, the latter was my only choice- and it worked!
And while I sit in the lounge room, right now, writing this, I reflect on my experiences these past two months. And I smile.
What is it that makes us human? What is the one thing that makes us who we are?
Each other.
To sit down with another and devote yourselves to each other. To hear stories from completely different points of view, to learn about countries and cultures you had never heard of. To share a dining table and spend enough time with a person you just met and realize that this stranger, is just like you.
To Be, to Listen, to Share, to Live. To Give and Take. That’s where the magic is. A Hostel is a place where it encourages this kind of interaction as people, strangers, share the same room, bathroom, kitchen and lounge room.
From this beautiful two-month journey in Idrija, I took so much. Memories that I will forever carry in my heart. People with whom we shared stories and worries and dreams.
You can google the word ‘Hostel’ and you will come across a general definition-unsatisfactory and bland. Therefore, here is one a little sweeter:
Hostel: To find a home.
Thekla Christofi