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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 1997)
Hostel Territory Til l NURSING THAT DREAM OE H1TEING THE ROAD AND TRAVELING across the United States? It the spirit is willing but the pocketbook isn’t, there’s still hope: hostels. Yep, the United States has ’em, too. In tact, there are hundreds of these dorm-stvle lode ings all over the nation. Without age restrictions, and at a price that usually hovers around $10 a night and never exceeds $30, hostels are a great alternative for free spirits on a budget (read: college students). “ I here’s a wide age range, but most of the people we see have just graduated or are about to, says Ben Moore, owner of Hostel of the Rocky Mountains in Denver. “Thev are on that big adventure before ‘real life’ sets in.’’ GOT HOSTEL FEVER? • The Hostel Handbook for USA and Canada by Jim Williams; e-mail infohostel@aol.com •The Let’s Go series, St. Martin’s Press; available in bookstores everywhere •Hostelling North America, Hostelling International; (202) 783 6161 •http://www.hostels.com Skip luraiio, one of the many student adventurers who pulled up a cot at a hostel in Anchorage, Alaska, was a prime candidate lor hostel life voting, adven turous and low tin cash. The hostel offered him an attractive benefits package (food, shelter, etc.) in exchange for a little extracurricular employment. “It means I clean toilets, sweep and mop floors anil put clean towels in the bathroom," he says, “anything that needs to be done in exchange for staying here." It certainly isn’t the Holiday Inn. And while some travelers might revel m that tael, INevv York hostel owner Jim Williams says he and other hostel owners see far too many travelers who complain about the decidedly un-hotel-like environment. “lor some reason, when American students travel in F.uropean hostels, they’re open to all sorts of diversity and quirky environments,” he says. “But when American students stay in American hostels — which are exactly the same they expect hotel accommodations — private rooms, ice machines. That’s not hostel living.” For those who can hack it, the experience is worth more than yuppie luxury. “In a hotel, you’re isolated,” lurano says. “In a hostel, you’re part of a group. It’s very communal.” So communal, in fact, that many first-time hostelers quickly toss aside the guidebook they arrived with and instead go on the advice of fellow hostelers. And how. Turano’s tip sums it up better than any guidebook: “Hostels aren’t for every one. But if you can get used to the idea of sleeping in the same room with a bunch of strangers, then you’re okay.” travel ....By Echo Gammel, U. of Anchorage. Alaska / Photos courtesy of Hostelling tte'sm&tf&Hmi International — American Youth Hostels Mehndi Madness Back in the hay, it was jelly shoes. Throw in some banana clips, a few grungy flannels and a piercing or two over the years, and you were the hippest kid around. But what’s today’s fashion forward girl to do if she wants to get her hands on the latest trend? It’s simple — she gets the latest trend on her hands. Henna tattoos have been spotted on celebrities like Ciwen Stefani, Mira Sorvino and Carmen Idee era for months, and now they're cropping up on a campus near you. I.oyola Mary mount U., Calif., sophomore Narda Malakzad had her hands stained in the Middle Eastern tradition called mehndi after reading about the custom in the Los Angeles limes. “I wanted to check it out because it style seemed so spiritual,” says Malakzad, who was henna-tattooed twice, the first time on her hand and later on her bicep. “I decided to do it because it wasn’t permanent, and it was brand new — everyone who saw it was like 'What the hell is that on you?”’ Answer: a pasty mixture of henna powder and lemon or lime juice that’s delicately paint ed on hands, feet, arms, chests and around belly buttons in elaborate patterns. The designs last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks — but the trend seems to go on and on. Cornell U. sophomore i Aliya Iqubal, a native of I Pakistan, says seeing niehndi I on craze-crazy Americans 1 amuses her, especially since \ it’s traditionally a wedding rit ual for brides. “But it’s great to see,” she says. “Mehndi has intri cate patterns that make it so beau nil, so wny snouiun t tney enjoy it, too: Irendsetters are enjoying it so much that many college-town tattoo parlors are adding this “new” art form to their services. Middle Hast meets Midwest at Stained Skin Tattoo Studio in Columbus, Ohio, where pierceol ogist Katie Johnson says she's had so many requests from students at nearby Ohio State U. that she's teaching herself how to do it. “All kinds of people have requested henna tattooing,” Johnson says, “so I’m trying to adopt a procedure and develop a technique.” She’d better hurry, before this fad goes the way of the Pet Rock. “It’s like fashion,” Malak/.ad says. ‘T.veryone will be sick of it in a couple of months.” By Tara Munyan, Ohio State U./ Photo by Ben Kofran, Ohio State U. * Anne Bancroft — Anna Italiano • Jennifer Aniston — Jennifer Anistonapoulos * Jason Patric — Jason Miller, Jr. • Elizabeth Berkley — Nehama Pnina • Tom Berenger — Thomas Moore • Charlton Heston — John Carter • Luke Perry — Loy Luther Perry III • Billy Idol — William Broad • Cher — Cherllyn Sarkisian a Whoopi Goldberg — Caryn Johnson • Coolio — Artis Ivey, Jr. • Jackie Chan — Kong Sung Chan * Dennis Franz — Dennis Schlachta * Waiter Mathau — Walter Matuschanskavasky * Traci Lords — Nora Kuzma * Huey Lewis — Hugh Cragg III .•
