I usually stay in hostels when I travel, it’s very affordable, and I like the atmosphere more than a hotel. At the hostel you always see people in common areas sharing their experiences and their tips about traveling and sometimes the conversation goes beyond that to discuss life in general. It also has its downside, in a hostel you’re usually sharing a bed in a dorm with 6, 12, 16 and sometimes more in the same room, so it has its inconveniences and probably it’s not suitable for everyone. Staying in hostels taught me a on how to cope with inconveniences and to be less uptight about little things. For example, I used to get very annoyed if I was awaken by noise because many times when I get up at night I can’t go back to sleep after, but now I think I am better at this.
I went to stay at this hostel in Buenos Aires, although it’s not that clean but the hostel is conveniently located close to many tourists’ attractions. I always prefer hostels that are not frequented by foreigners because I like to hear more from the locals and this one had many common areas. I entered the room and it had 6 beds, each 2 stacked on top each other and the room was cramped because it doesn’t have a lot of place and doesn’t have any windows but has a door to a little space to bring some light but not much light was coming through. I greeted the only person who happened to be in the room at that time, he was a man in his 60s. I proceeded to setup my bed, the 3 beds on the top were available but the one bed on top of this man was full of his stuff. When he saw which bed I selected, he advised me not to take it because the guy who usually slept on the bottom bed snores a lot to the point where he shakes the bed when he snores and he started to imitate him. So I thanked him and took the other bed on top and across from this middle aged man. I asked him where he was from because I felt the heavy accent, he said he was from Germany. We started to chat a little and he said he’s been traveling for 2 months, and 2 days ago he fall from that bed at night and hurt his leg. So he was recovering in his bed and cannot do much. He started to give me some tips about traveling to my next destination, but I had hard time understanding his Spanish. Later the wifi connection was strong and I went to sit close to the reception area because the signal was better over there. Then the man came to the front desk and he was telling them that he needs a doctor. In many countries in Latin America, the doctors do home visits, actually this is common in many countries around the world, only in the US and Canada we don’t see this.
Around midnight, I was awaken by the doctor and his assistant when they entered the room and were trying to talk to the German tourist. They also had hard time understanding him, they tried to speak to him in English but the only foreign language he spoke was Spanish. Finally, they told him that it’s probably some inflammation and that he needs to take some anti-inflammation and some ice to for a couple of days and if he doesn’t feel well after that he can have some x-rays.
I was really amazed by the staff at the hostel, they were very helpful to him. I asked the next morning if he wanted me to go get his medication from the pharmacy and he thanked me, but he said the staff at the hostel already did. I also noticed the other guy in the room who prepared some food for him. I later asked the German man if he feels okay and he smiled back while eating and said, look what’s better than this and pointed at the food in front of him, he said the only thing that’s missing is some sunshine. Really wonderful people everywhere.
