The first time I learned about hostels, I was in middle school, taking a standardized test. It was the Reading section, where you’re supposed to read a short paragraph and answer comprehension questions. The paragraph was about the reasons why the author liked staying in hostels.

“Hostels?” I thought to myself, a kid with an above-average vocabulary and knack for finding typos in everyday life. “Do they mean hotels?” But as I continued reading, I realized that the experience the author described was unlike any hotel I’d ever stayed in, rooms full of people from every walk of life. I conceded to the idea that there were some things that my 12-year-old self did not know. [Read more…]