Melody made a point the other day that you should never befriend the first person that talks to you in a hostel because you won't be able to get rid of them and how true....Maggie and I both have international pests, little hostel rats that always want to know- where we are going, what we are doing and how _____ (blank) is in America. They are clingy because they think America is cool. They think America is cool for all the wrong pop culture reasons like awful movies about dickheads in frats and easy girls. This isn't the majority naturally. We know some characters here and We have nicknames for them all- there is this Uraguan we have coined as Tony Danza. The resemblence is uncanny. The other day Tony D. gave us a candy bar out of the blue...our response was "Who's the Boss?.....YOU ARE!" (he doesn't speak much English and didn't have a clue what we were talking about but gave us a high five anyway).

The kitchen is especially fun around dinner- some of the non working Spanish have been sleeping and smoking weed all day so they are in the cooking zone. You get to see how different the world cooks in a collision of aromas. If you are staring at someones dish long enough out of repulsion, curiosity, or envy they will more often than not tell you how to make it or offer up a bite.

In typical fashion the boys are alot more friendly to us than the girls. The girls here have spent way too much time livin' la vida backpacker and are grubby, bloated,bitter, and most likely have a few too many take back sexual experiences with other hostel long termers. Reminds me of the beginning of college. What I've learned most since being here is that personality trumps nationality.