For those of you who have never spent time in hostels...

I am dedicating this post to hostels because I am currently not staying in one. Instead, I am paying a wopping $7.50 per night for my own bedroom and what looks suspiciously like a hot water shower in a hotel. At first I balked at the price since I have been paying between 2 and 6 dollars for shared dorm rooms, until I realized that $7.50 wont even get you a meal in the States.

I think everyone should have to spend some time in hostels. No matter how cool you think you are, you are guaranteed to meet someone (usually European) who quit their job and has been travelling (alone or with a friend) for at least a year through Central and South America. And their pack is usually way smaller than mine. Besides the super intense solo traveller, you are also guaranteed to encounter the following:

1. The group of incredibly attractive Scandinavians. They all hang out together, they are all beautiful and they drink beer like water.
2. The Israelis. Chances are they are on their year long tour of the world after finishing 3 years of military service. So far, all the Israelis I have met have been the funniest, nicest group of people. If you are fortunate enough to share a dorm with an Israeli or 2, try to chat them up.
3. The Canadians. If you hear someone speaking "American" English, its usually best to ask if they are from Canada first. I got this advice from a British guy and so far its working out great, since the Americans dont care if they are mistaken for Canadians whereas the Canadians can get annoyed if you assume they are from the States. Some Canadians are great, some of them suck. I would rank them the same as the travellers from the US in that you get your good ones and your bad ones. I guess you can go ahead and stick the British and the Australians into this category as well, although I have laughed more with the English and the Ozzies than with the Canadians.
4. The single Canadian/American guy. This is the only trip he will ever take. He doesnt speak the local language and he takes about 500 pictures everywhere he goes. He probably works with computers and his friends back home think he is awesome. I first encountered this in Argentina when we met Jeremy during our Easter break trip.
5. The people from other Spanish speaking countries. Half of them are travelling the continent selling jewelry. They have really awesome dreads.
6. The people who dont belong and complain about everything. Like the girls in my dorm last night, who were visibly pissed that other people kept opening and shutting the door. In a 6 person dorm. At 9 p.m. on a Saturday.

And finally, some commonly heard questions/comments in hostels:

• Do you think this _____ (snake, caterpillar, vine) is poisonous? (So far the answers have been no, yes and yes, respectively)
• Have you been robbed yet? (Automatic cool points if you have. I would still rather not answer yes to this question, though)
• Did you hear about the other people who got robbed? (This is a great conversation starter)
• Are the showers nice? (This is a more or less pointless question. Chances are, the showers arent nice. But that doesnt mean you wont be using them all the same)
• Well, my guidebook says... (The guidebook is overquoted, but still so helpful at times)
• The drunkest I have been was in... (And we all know what a good idea it is to get faded in a place where you are obviously a tourist)

I left Leon at 7:30 this morning and spent 3 hours in a chicken bus going down the worst pothole, I mean road, I have ever experienced. It was so bad that at one point my seat actually flew up in the air and came off its track. I still managed to sleep the entire way, though, which impressed a couple of Canadians sitting across the aisle from me. I am currently in Matagalpa, and tomorrow I will try to get myself over to a coffee farm, then probably head to Esteli on Tuesday. After that, I am still up in the air as to whether I should head to Honduras or to the Nicaraguan coast. We shall see...