Living in hostels is always a good thing because you meet new people and you're not confined to a room. You can relax and enjoy yourself. Mingle if you care to or just chill out. Everything is easy and once you get used to hostel life you cant imagine doing it any other way. There are of course downsides to hostel life and they vary from location to loaction.

 

The hostel in Miami is by far the best Ive stayed in so far. Everything was simple easy and convenient. The hostel itself used to be a hotel so that's probably why it was so good. Im currently staying at a place called London Backpackers which is much smaller and accomodates about a quater of the number of people compared to Miami.

 

Living here isnt terrible and I could stay a while if need be, but I am glad to be moving on from here. I havent been sleeping much at all because of the dodgy bunk beds. Yesterday one of the showers was stuffed. They use a timer push button thing for the showers which last maybe a minute before cutting out so you have to constantly press the button or try keep it in while showering, very annoying! Because the shower was stuffed it kept running and as a result the hostel was without hot water. No shower for Luke! Even when there is hot water the showers are only warm because there is no control over the hot water supply, the single push button makes that impossible. Dissapointing!

 

The saving grace for this hostel are the occupants. As with everywhere else in the world the people staying here are nice and friendly and good to hang out with. In Brazil I was always the only Australian. In Miami there were 2 or 3 other Aussies at time. Here in London the majority are Aussies or New Zealanders. I didnt think I would like hanging out with Aussies because one of my reasons for leaving was to escape Australia. But Im finding it easy to get along with these buggers which is a good thing. Maybe its because theyre all from the east coast...

 

Being on a strict budget has me living like a true backpacker should. My first meal in the hostel was a can of spaghetti, a snickers bar and a can of coke. A champions dinner! I found a local grocery store 'Tesco' and bought 4 days of breakfast and lunch for less that $12aus, not bad! I got 4 tins of baked beans, 6 eggs and 8 rash's of dodgy bacon. Plus milk, mocha sachets, juice and water, oh and another snickers!

 

Living on the cheap is easy if you dont mind going hungry every so often and you can deal with eating the same thing over and over regardless of how tasteless and unfulfilling it may be. I have cravings for mums sunday roast so bad right now! Not only because it is sunday but because I havent had a proper meal in forever!

 

The weather here isnt as cold as I thought it would be. While its not at all warm its not freezing either. The sun actually came out yesterday and today the sky was pretty clear bar the jet streams and a slight patch of clouds. I doubt the sky ever gets as blue as in Australia, it always seems to be slightly grey even on sunny days like today.

 

Yesterday I took advantage of the sunlight and practiced my ollie at Hendon Park a short walk away. Im starting to get it finally. Id been getting it in Miami but after watching some videos realised I was doing it wrong. With an improved technique im finding it easier and getting more height too, sweet! Today I hung out with two Aussies at Hendon park playing tennis and then just sitting on the grass soaking up the weak sunlight. We were going to play on the tennis courts but they were all booked, so ended up smashing the ball in the park instead. Good times.

 

Im enjoying the life here even with the lack of sleep and poor diet. As dodgy as it may get I dont think ill be homesick anytime soon... Except for mums sunday roast!