Hostel

I felt inspired to write this piece after having the world’s worst roommate my last night in Wanaka. This roommate did not steal from us nor did he get pissed and urinate all over our belongings. However, in my opinion, the worst kind of roommate you could ever encounter is the snorer. This is not the kind of snoring you would typically imagine. We all get drunk and forget how to breathe sometimes, but at some point throughout the night we eventually roll over and for an instant, the rest of the room can enjoy a brief moment of silence. No, this guy was ruthless, and I’m pretty sure he never even learned how to breathe through his nose when he was a baby. He created the most earth shattering racket I have ever experienced in my entire life. A noise so thunderous I swear the walls were shaking. And the impressive thing about it is he was doing all of this in his subconscious. As his bottom bunker, I felt responsible to silence him for my other four roommate’s sake, but repeatedly kicking him for a solid hour and a half proved to be a futile means of exercise. I knew I would wake up tired and cranky because of him, and I think I am still bitter to this day. Luckily, this picture of Emily sharing my pain always makes me laugh as loud as his snoring.

I would like to dedicate this blog to anyone who has never lived in a hostel before or doesn’t know much about a backpacker’s lifestyle. It’s an experience that will make you feel like you’re a college freshman all over again. Except when I was living in McKay Hall at the University of Tampa, my one roommate and I both fluently spoke English. And it wasn’t a constant guessing game of who is coming and who is going. You can have the world’s most pleasant roommate, chat with them all night, and when you wake up, they’re gone forever.

Backpackers are constantly after anything free. Free breakfast, free unlimited WiFi, free towels, free DVD rentals, you name it. We all know how to ball on a budget; right down to bargain grocery shopping and even reintroducing cup of noodles to your diet. It’s not so much that we are cheap (even though I definitely still am), but rather the further we can make our dollar stretch, the longer we will have the luxury to travel and see the world.

If you are anything like me, you know that checking in as early as possible can help score you the bottom bunk. Shower shoes become your best friend, locks are always handy, privacy is a thing of the past, you wake up whenever the first person in your dorm starts to move, you never forget to leave for the bathroom without your room key, and at some point in your stay, you will inevitably whack your head on someone else’s bunk while fumbling around in the dark. In fact, that happened to me back in Te Anau, and I got a very painful bump on my forehead to show for it. Hostel living is without a doubt the cheapest and best way to travel, not to mention the best way to meet fellow backpackers from every corner of the globe just like yourself.

Adventure Queenstown Hostel has become like my home away from home, and I have been so happy to spend the holidays with such great friends, old and new. If you are curious about anything else going on in my New Zealand life at the moment, I would be more than happy to share with you. Please feel free to ask questions, send comments or inspire other topics of discussion and e-mail me at steph.m.dobson@gmail.com. Thank you so much for reading!