hostel life

well i'm sure loads of you reading this have done the whole hostelling thing a million times but for me it is still an eye-opener. i cannot believe the variety of people i meet and the variety of adventures they are having. top marks go to an israeli guy called tom (means innocence in hebrew, how cool is that?) who had left compulsory service in the army 17 days earlier and was travelling back to israel overland up east coast of africa; an old hungarian guy waiting for his wife to recover in hospital from a road accident, he also had injured his ribs and had been in the hostel 2 weeks already, was expecting to be there at least another week, i felt so sorry for him; a 75 year old austrian-australian who sounded german to me but in fact had lived in melbourne for 50 years, he had been everywhere and i met him on his last trip before he was planning to settle for a life in his backyard as he said he was getting too old, very sad; a 17 year old guy from the shetland isles (population 600 he said) who is studying equivalent of a levels for 2 years in a private college in swaziland which he got a full scholarship too, at 16 he had spent his summer working as a waiter in a cocktail bar in cape town... i don't know just a mad collection of people.
i think i'm pretty boring in comparison, beginning to think my plans are not nearly exciting enough! i am not settled in a lovely new hostel in swakopmund which is a german coastal resort where i am enjoying a lovely restful holiday. i mean i know i am on holiday all the time lately but this is more of a 'proper' holiday where i get to read books, walk along the coast, have nice cake in cafes and generally spoil myself a bit! i went sandboarding this morning which was amazing, knackering from constantly walking back up the dunes but hey, definitely worth it. tomorrow is 5 hours of sea-kayaking to get a view of some dolphins and seals hopefully, but clearly i will also be knackered after that. so after a day of rest on sunday i'm treating myself to a massage on monday - its a hard life! after that who knows i am constantly scheming to find more ways of getting time in the desert but its not as easy as you would think..
i am meeting lots of lovely people, a guy from Hove was sandboarding this morning which was bizarre, and there are always people around to chat to in hostels but they are normally only around for a day or two so they are always short friendships. most people seem to be in for a lot more drinking than me, a glass of wine is only 80p here but i just don't fancy it most of the time. and i wonder if most people are in for a lot more casual sex than i am as the reception area has a basket full of free condoms.. i do wonder how long i could live like this, always moving on, always interacting with people on a surface-level and never having people around who really know you. i think it can leave you a bit vulnerable. but i am loving it so far and feel very well rooted in with people who know me so well even though its from a distance with e-mail and letters. i only have 2 more weeks to go aswell, so i intend to make the most of it!
sorry if i worried a few of you there with stories of my throat. it is back to being perfect now and i can stop taking malaria drugs in a week so all is good. haven't taken any more pics yet, but will get back to that desert soon! thanks for reading