Making all these grand travel plans has made me realise that I'm not a very flexible person.
Once I get it in my head that something is going to be a certain way, I obsess over it. I build it up and build it up and build it up until it sits upon a pedestal so high that nothing can reach it. Reality stumbles at its feet. And I am ultimately left dissapointed by my grand expectations.
In fear that my overseas trip is going to fall subject to this flaw of mine, I am making conscious efforts not to develop unachievable expectations. I figure, by having no pre-conceived ideas about how things are going to be and not creating fantastical scenerios in my head - like meeting Prince Charming or bumping into Anna Wintour in the street and her offering me a job - I can't be left miserable by what reality dishes out.
Therefore, I am being open-minded, flexible and accommodating.
And it's speaking of accommodating that I was recently faced with my first test - before I'd even left the country.
Before heading off to camp, I will be spending my first two nights in New York at the Hostelling International Hotel. Beds are bunk beds and accommodation comes in the form of the following:
1. One room with four beds
2. One slightly larger room with six beds. 3. One even larger room with eight beds.
4. One very large room with 12 beds.
Hmm - a far cry from the queen mattresses and 3000 count cotton sheets of Los Angeles SLS Hotel.
So here in lies the question - When staying in a hostel where it costs a golden goose egg to have your own room, do you...
A. Fork out for the more expensive rooms, share with three to five other people and be tucked in nice and tight beneath your comfort zone.
B. Forego buying a few coffees over the space of the next week and opt for the eight bedded room
C. Slum it with the other poor-as-beggers backpacking plebs and opt for the cheaper room which comes with the complimentary experience of being out of one's comfort zone and meeting random people you might never see again.
Tricky... very tricky.
As I weighed up the options, bouncing back and forth between the 4 bed room and the 12 bed room, I realised this was a defining moment. If there was ever a time to break through my inflexibility, barge through the Holier Than Thou travel routine I've developed (a result of travelling for work and getting spoilt for choice with pillow menus), then this was it.
So I made my reservation, clicking on the 12 bed room and keeping all my appendages crossed that I don't get stuck with someone who snores.
I'm so flexible, I'm like a human pretzel.
Ciao for now. xo
Well, I for one am very glad you chose the 12bed option. The truth is people who snore are just as likely to choose a 4bed dorm as they are a 12bed dorm, there are no guarantees who you're roommates will be no matter what room you get in, but in my experience the people in the 12bed are usually the most laidback people who agree with you, that traveling is about meeting people and having fun not snuggling up in 1000 thread count egyptian sheets. Especially if you're traveling on your own!!! Chances are you'll get at least 3 weird roomies, but if you're in a 4 bed dorm that could be all three of them, where as in a 12 bed dorm you'll have the 3 weirdos and then 8 others to choose from :) Also, the no expectations thing is definitely the way to go, you won't be disappointed, but nothing will go to plan and nothing will be as you expect it to be, it's just a fact you come to accept when traveling! so excited for you!!
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