Hostel living

I haven't really described living in hostels in much detail, so I will do that now. It is an interesting experience to say the least. The hostel in Auckland was pretty much awful--it was huge, with multiple floors & tons of backpackers. The showers were horrendous...the tile floors were so dirty & the shower space was so small. Even worse, to save on water, the showers were set up so that you had to push in a button for the water to start and it would only run for about 10 seconds with each push. Plus, the shower curtains were so thin & not weighted down with anything on the bottom. So, a shower experience consisted of pushing this stupid button every 10 seconds while also fighting off a shower curtain that kept coming in toward the water haha. Luckily, our hostel experiences since then have been MUCH better--clean showers with water that runs as long as you want & no attacking curtains.

The hostel in Whangarei was more of a small lodge in the mountains..really great feel to it. Our Bay of Islands hostel in Paihia was definitely the best--very spacious, 3 kitchens, outdoor seating areas, balcony, big dorm rooms, and really pretty scenery. The Whitianga hostel in the Coramandel Peninsula was really neat--brightly colored little houses instead of just one big building with dorm rooms. The Mount Maunganui hostel was not so good--3 shower stalls, 2 ridiculously tiny sinks and 2 toilets for a total of over 20 people. Oh, and they charged $2.00 for the use of a comforter during your stay there. I, being my stubborn & cheap self, opted NOT to pay for the use of something that should be included in my stay. Therefore, out of pure principle, I slept with my beach towel over my body & pants over my arms haha.

Our current home in Napier is quite nice. The upstairs lounge area is huge with 7 comfortable couches, a pool table, nice TV, and a dining area. There is a second lounge area downstairs with 3 couches, a TV, and 6 computers for internet access (for $4.00 per hour of course). We can also rent out DVDs for free from reception, so all of us backpackers have been taking full advantage of that. Everyone in this hostel for the most part is here long-term, so everyone works during the day & chills at the hostel at night. It has been such a growing experience to live in the different hostels, with different roommates, surrounded by people with so many different cultural backgrounds.

Before now, I never experienced dorm living, so this has been all new for me. I have shared rooms with anywhere between 2-8 other people since I've been living in New Zealand--mixed dorms and all-girls dorms. It is so funny because the guys are always SOO clean in comparison to the gals. You can walk into a mixed dorm room & know exactly how many guys and how many girls are in the room just by looking at how messy each area is haha. People all go to bed at different times and get up at different times, so it takes some getting used to. I finally invested in some good ear plugs a few weeks ago & the difference is amazing. Now, I have no problem sleeping as long as I want...roommates can go in & out of the room all morning and I sleep like a baby.

Some other things I have learned while living in hostels--many things I took for granted back in America are now luxuries! For instance, hairdryers are rare, baths are out of the question, non-backpacker food is expensive, and being able to shave with soap and water in the shower is no longer a common option. I have learned the art of dry shaving & have lost at least 2 pants sizes since living in New Zealand. I blame the weight loss on primarily living off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches & ramen noodles for the first month or so of my trip, along with doing a lot of walking and very little sitting. Now that Sonja & I have settled in one spot for a longer period of time, we are eating actual meals & cooking. Hopefully my pants will start fitting again! Well, until next time!

Cheers,

Ash