The only way to travel

Traveling is expensive. For college students, whose income consists of part-time jobs snagged during the evening and summer holidays, wanderlust can become a backbreaking expense. The discouraging exchange rate in Europe and sky-high prices drive young adults to cheap hostels during their treks around the continent. \nHostels provide the bare necessities – a bed, a shower, and (hopefully) a roof without leaks. The popularity of affordable hostels has led to the creation of a “hostel culture” composed of the growing group of young people who travel looking for good company and a good time. Along with the creation of a hostel culture comes hostel etiquette; however, a set of explicit or implicit rules that hostel patrons violate at their own risk.\n1. Be friendly – Hostels function on the unwritten rule that employees and patrons can only live happily in lack of luxury if they are kind and courteous to one another. Hostels are perfect places to meet people interested in seeing the sights, especially if you are traveling alone. If a college traveler doesn’t to want to spend all day alone in the cybercafe, they would do well to look around the room and smile vacantly until someone smiles back.\n2. Be grateful – Hostel rates usually run at least 50 percent lower than any budget hotel. If a traveler is lucky enough to find a cheap hostel that also offers a free all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, it is perfectly acceptable to eat one gigantic free meal a day to save money on food. In this case, however, the hostel patron may not either complain about the food or ask impatiently when the cafeteria staff will get around the refilling the juice pitcher. \n3. Be cool – A growing group of travelers are card-carrying partiers, who hostel hop alone across the largest European cities in search of a good time. Hostel party animals may be recognized by their social prowess and battle scars – bruises, cuts and broken bones occurred while drunk in the line of duty. If a hostel party animal chats you up in the hostel common room, consider yourself lucky. If a hostel party animal extends an invitation to a partying expeditions, you are bound by honor to accept. \n4. Be tactful – If one or more of your bunkmates starts to snore off his three pints of the local brew, it is acceptable to either cough loudly or ask him or her to roll over. If both fail, it is then acceptable to either throw rolled-up socks at the offender or physically roll him or her over.\n5. Be flexible – Hostels exist not only to provide cheap, safe accommodation for the thousands of young (and old) people intent on traveling the world, but also serve as invaluable resources for traveling advice and companions. Hostels can be dirty, stylish, small or located in the red-light district (beware the Stay and Learn Hostel in Frankfurt, Germany), encouraging young people to adapt and grow as self-confident travelers. Hostels reward college students who play the rules of the game with the time of their lives.