Hostels

So I and Ariana are staying in Hostel Heike. This is the same hostel that Madeline and I stay in the last time. The first time I stayed in Hostel Heike, was my first time staying in a hostel. I wasn't shocked about the arrangement because I had heard friends speaking about it, but I was still a little surprised. Hostels are basically, motels and dorms mixed together. Some hostels have private rooms others don't. However, if you come with a large group you could be able to secure an entire room to yourselves. The past nights we have stayed in 10 people dorm, no AC. It wasn't bad, It was an even split between the sexes, but two beds were empty. There are communal and private bathrooms that everyone shares. There is a communal kitchen, in which you can cook your breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Hostel Heike is run by Americans. They also own Mondu Taitu and Luna's Castle. Mondu Taitu is also in Bocas, however we opted to stay at Heike because its looks cleaner and they have computers (like the one I am using in the picture Ariana just took, below) that you can use for free. Luna's Castle is the hostel that we are hopefully going to stay in when we get to Panama City. All of the hostels (just the 3 I mention... not all the hostels in Panama or Central America may have this.) also have a free banana and pancake breakfast. They also rent/loan bikes and surf boards. Another thing I like about the hostel is that it had a safe box where you could place your stuff.
It is interesting staying in a Hostel, especially here because the most of the guests are westerns. Many people are from Europe. Between the last time and this time I have met at least 1 person straight down from Ireland all the way up to Norway. Including Belgium, Spain, and also Germany, Holland -side note I feel like I blogged about this already or was I going to and didn't? I don't know but anyways. Last night I learn how to play and Israeli game called Yanif. It is very similar to gin, but has characteristics of poker. The people I met from Israel are the only ones I have met that were from the Middle East or Eastern hemisphere. Although, I did meet a guy from Japan the last time and I also saw an Asian couple who didn't speak great English- No idea where they were from.
Americans-The Americans I have met pretty much have been very cultural. As in they are aware of how Europeans and Central Americans feel about us and take care not to give America a worse name. We also seem more patriotic then when we are at home.