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
.•