My First Time Staying in a Hostel
I had always wanted to experience a hostel. What’s a hostel really like? Are they grimy? Creepy? Normal? Dirty? Clean? Amazing? I had no idea, but I had to find out. And afterwards, staying in hostels became a way of life for me. But it started out pretty fuckin rocky… This is all about my first time ever staying in a hostel, and how it shaped my life forever.
I grabbed a couple thousand dollars in cash from my safe, hid the rest of the money in my closet, and hopped in a cab. The cabbie asked me, “where to”? I said, “JFK airport.” Not sure where to go, I bought a one-way ticket to San Diego.
Maybe it was 2AM when I landed, but I can’t remember. All I remember is I went over to a green shuttle bus that was parked in the pick-up lane.
The driver asked me where I was goin.
I said, “Can you take me to the cool part of San Diego?”
He dropped me off in the middle of The Gaslamp District and I put my backpack on the ground and looked at the chaos.
I went inside some bar and ordered a drink… like I always did. Now I’m sober, but I used to order drinks, and lots of them.
So I order my drink: scotch. Any brand’ll do. Didn’t matter. And I start pondering life as I normally did at moments such as these.
What should I do?
Why am I here?
Where do I sleep?
What do I fear?
I was scared of hostels, not sure why. What’s a hostel anyway? I don’t know, but I always wanted to try one. Just never had the balls. I was twenty-six years old. I googled “hostel san diego.” I was determing to make this my first night staying in a hostel.
Up popped “USA Hostels San Diego.”
It was only a few blocks away.
The bar was now closing, I was the only person there. In fact.. I had been the only person there since the second I walked in.
This felt like something I had to do. I’ll mark this down as a holiday in my life yearbook. Let the hostel holidays begin… Hostel holidays? Yeah that sounds right. So I stumbled over to 5th Ave and G Street and knocked on the hostel door.
Someone came through on the buzzer
Yeah?
I got a reservation.
A bed?
I made a reservation online. Just now. might not be in. it in?
I was so drunk.
Just got here from NY. I’m from NY. I just got here.
They buzzed me in, they checked my ID, they gave me a receipt, which was to be magnetized to the side of my bed, and a towel and key. I walked over to room five.
This felt odd.
I opened the door and flipped the lights on. There were eight people asleep in their beds. I hit the light switch again and found the flashlight app on my phone. What a noob I was.
I stumbled around the small room like a dipshit, aiming my light in peoples’ faces. I found an empty bed. My head was dizzy as I made myself comfortable. I fell drunkenly asleep. The noise of “the Party Room” down the hall made me feel like I was missing out on youth as I drifted off.
EY!
I woke up.
Thehs someone een me fucken BED!
Some british sounding dude starts screaming at me, drunk as a muthafuck.
THEHS SOMEONE IN MA FUCKIN BED!
and he marched out the room and started demanding
AH NEED ANOTHA FUCKIN BED! THEHS SOMEONE IN MA BED!
Dammit, I was in was his bed. All his shit was right there next to me. Fuck. I got up–nervous as shit–and hopped in another bed at the other side of the room.
I woke up startled as hell in the morning and remembered everything. Holy shit… What if this guy kicks the shit outta me? I looked over at the bed and he wasn’t there.
Was he still drunk? Or awake and wandering around? Did they give him another bed?
I looked at his stuff and his stuff was not there.
Fuck… he could be anywhere.
I hadn’t seen his face last night; it was too hazy and I was sleepy as fuck. He coulda been anyone, but I’d remember that accent forever. Anyway, I made it my goal to get revenge. Boy oh boy would I get even with him… and I did. It was the most wondrous feeling of my life. Like a great holiday to be remembered. One of the best hostel holidays to be celebrated. I’ll tell ya all about it…