Vox Clamatis...
Letter to the EditorLetter to the Editor
Survival guide works on both sides of the pond
Dear Editor:
Reading Pritam Andreassen’s article, “The European Family Vacation Survival Guide” (Sept. 22 edition) would have served me well throughout my trip to America. As an English girl visiting American relatives up and down the California and Washington [coast], I completely agree with Pritam’s sentiments.
Aunts and uncles the world over seem incapable of letting go of the idea that, however far out of our teens we may be, we are still small, lost children, parentless, in (horror!) a foreign country. The fact that back in England I had been living away from home for several years was simply irrelevant in their eyes.
My saving grace has been the West Coast’s abundance of hostels. Two weeks of lavish attention from family members makes a 12-hour Greyhound bus journey feel like a breath of fresh air, and the hectic lifestyle afforded by hostelling the diversion we’ve been missing. Several weeks later, the novelty of shared space (from bunkbeds to showers) wears off and the notion of home-cooked meals beckons enticingly. So it’s off to the next destination, with Auntie’s hospitality ready and waiting at the other end. The best of both worlds.
Personally I don’t think I could survive one without the other — they balance each other out so well. Returning home to real life in two months will require such an adjustment that I may just have to pay a visit to my local YWCA for some more of that cozy hostel living.
By the way, I came across your newspaper when I arrived to take an evening course at the college. Very impressive content.
Judy Darley