My Dream Destinations

Interning this summer at HI Chicago has been a fun, educational, and frustrating experience. Why do I say it’s frustrating? Because it has me itching to travel! The symptoms of the travel bug have returned (although I’m not sure if I’ll ever be cured of this) due to being constantly surrounded by such an international environment consisting of people on all kinds of adventures. I find myself looking up flight prices and great vacation deals, all in the hopes that I might be going somewhere. However, if my bank account stays where it is now, that won’t be happening anytime soon. But hey, a girl can dream, right? That’s why I’ve compiled a list of my top three dream travel destinations. Believe me when I say that there are an infinite amount of places I would love to visit, but as of late, these destinations have been on my mind. 

      Costa Rica

Arenal volcano-view from the hostel!

I think my imaginary love affair with Costa Rica began after I saw some pictures of friends’ study abroad and volunteer experiences. There were pictures of them zip-ling through the rain forest, lying on a beautiful beach, eating delicious food, white water rafting, and posing with the cute, local children. Costa Rica offers something for everyone because of its diverse ecosystem. If you’re adventurous you can hike a national forest, go bungee jumping, surfing, and more. The activities are endless. If it’s relaxation you crave, there are some gorgeous, sandy beaches with crystal clear water on both sides of the country, as it is bordered by both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. It’s also a popular destination for those looking to give back. Many non-profit organizations are stationed all over Costa Rica and offer a variety of volunteer experiences to those who are interested. I know that personally, I want to do all three types of travel. And even better, Hostelling International has three different hostels around the country. My favorite is the one located in La Fortuna. La Fortuna lies in the shadow of the massive Arenal volcano, part of Arenal Volcano National Park. This is where you can find many of the adventure activities that sound like an awesome time! However, it’s also not too far from the ocean. The hostel, a restored farm house, provides lots of information to travelers about what to see and do while surrounded by this beautiful landscape!

       Argentina

Whale watching in Puerta Madryn!

Once again, I learned about Argentina from a friend of mine, who I met while studying abroad. She’s from Buenos Aires and was more than happy to share her Argentine culture with us. Argentina is such a large country, that I know I couldn’t possibly see it all in one, or even two weeks. I would love to travel around the country for at least a month, experiencing the diverse landscapes- from the bustling cities of Buenos Aires and Córdoba, to the near arctic scenery of Tierra del Fuego. I could learn how to tango, eat meat and then more meat, and go whale watching. Lucky for me, HI has almost 50 hostels in Argentina! Hostel Puerto Madryn- El Gaulicho seems like a good choice! It’s in a central location of the cute beach town and offers great information about whale and dolphin watching tours! 

       Thailand

Floating Lantern Festival

Known as “the land of smiles”, Thailand seems like an incredible place to visit. I think one thing that is most appealing to me is the very unique culture. The majority of the nation is Buddhist, and with that comes many temples with golden Buddha statues and intricate deals that line the pointed, ornate rooftops. It would be unlike anything I have seen before. In addition to the amazing architecture, it has DELICIOUS food. Thai cuisine is one of my favorites and I would be in heaven eating from the various street vendors. I would also be able to have two incredible experiences: riding an elephant, and seeing the Floating Lights Festival. Trekking through the jungle on the back of an elephant and then witnessing the festival where thousands of lanterns are lit and launched into the air would make for one incredible trip. No matter where you want to go in Thailand, HI has you covered. Specifically, I think HostelSukhothai would be a great place to stay!  It’s a family run hostel situated in an old wooden building, which used to be where the family actually lived back in the day. And it’s in a great location for visiting the Si Satchanalai World Heritage Sites. 

Now are you convinced about adding these to your top travel destinations?

Sustainability: Listening to our Guests

This month HI-Chicago is taking steps to improve sustainability! Current projects include: installing motion sensors in offices, bathrooms, and storage rooms to ensure that lights are only on when they need to be, adding new recycling bins and signs to make recycling easier, and switching out paper towel dispensers for automatic hand dryers.

Reuse can be beautiful and creative!

Involving our guests in a discussion about sustainability at the hostel and in their travels is an important part of this green initiative, so we held a focus group to talk about sustainability. Ten travelers from around the world joined two interns – Kristen and Jackie – to chow down on Giordano’s deep dish pizza and bounce around ideas. We had guests from Brazil, USA, France, England, Chile, and Venezuela.

Ideas that were brought up include installing clotheslines in the laundry room, offering drying racks to guests, and investigating solar power. This international perspective was great, as we found out that the recycling bins are not designated a blue color in all countries! Most of all, it was encouraging to hear that sustainability is an important issue to our guests, and we hope that when you stay with us you can join us in our efforts!

On Monday, Kristen, our sustainability intern, gave a presentation to the HI-Chicago staff about sustainability – Here are a couple links to videos that were shown:

By Nasa – showing the temperature changes of the Earth from 1880 to 2011.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2011-temps.html

Energy for the world:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh5KzBQBGcE&feature=share

Remember to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!

If you are interested in learning more about Hostelling International’s sustainability efforts around the world, then follow HI-Sustainability on Facebook and @HIsustainable on Twitter.

Caring for the Environment

Greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside have been a part of Hostelling International’s worldwide mission statement since 1932. And since its construction in 2000, Hostelling International Chicago has worked to lessen its impact on the environment. We rehabilitated a mostly vacant building in Chicago’s central business district and prevented it from being demolished and thrown into a landfill. Green technologies available in 2000 were used to lessen energy consumption and encourage recycling by travelers. Now after 11 years of operation, we are taking a fresh look at what it means to be a sustainable organization. Sustainability is broader than only caring for the environment. We now include caring for people, caring for the environment, and maintaining our financial health as the three necessary parts to being sustainable.

With respect to environmental responsibility, HI-Chicago is taking a more critical look at the impact that we make on our planet and sharpening our efforts to further green the hostel. An important part of this renewed focus is to listen to you, the travelers. We know that care for the environment is important for you as well, so we encourage you to come alongside us and join our efforts to be kinder to the earth.

Right now HI-Chicago is conducting an internal audit to assess its energy consumption and waste management relative to other hostels and hotels. One immediate goal is to improve recycling in all areas: guest rooms, kitchen, common rooms and offices. In addition, current and emerging technologies and strategies will be reviewed for their applicability to reducing energy and water consumption.

HI-Chicago has many colleagues around the world in Hostelling International that are also looking at sustainability in this broader view of environmental responsibility, plus social responsibility joined with financial performance. We are excited to be a part of an emerging, virtual, sustainability team alongside our friends at the Reykjavik hostels in Iceland, leading environmentally-friendly hostels. More than that, we are eager to make HI-Chicago a place where guests and staff make eco-friendly choices every day!

Recipes for a budget traveler

Now that the sun is shinning, the weather is warmer, and Spring is here, its time to lighten up your recipes. Here is a great Spring pasta salad! It is easy, fast, and tastes great! 

First head to the nearest Jewel-Osco store to gather your ingredients! Get on the Red line and head towards 95th/Dan Ryan. Get off at the Roosevelt stop and walk East to S Wabash Ave. Turn right and you will see Jewel. Pick up these key ingredients. 

1 bottle (8 oz.) Lite Italian dressing
cherry tomatos
green pepper
ripe olive halves
pepperoni slices (or another meat)
low cholesterol mayonnaise
Grated Parmesan cheese
green onions
1 package of pasta

Once you are back at the hostel, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Once that is done, add the following over top of the noodles. 

1 bottle (8 oz.) Lite Italian dressing
2 c. cherry tomato halves
1 sm. green pepper, in strips
1/2 c. ripe olive halves
1/4 lb. pepperoni slices (or another meat)
2 tbsp. green onions, sliced

Just before serving, add
1/2 c. low cholesterol mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated.

Serve cold. Enjoy your new spring recipe!! 

-Erika Ter Louw, HI intern

The Far Reaches of Hostelling International Chicago

As I sit in HI-Chicago typing this, it’s hard to believe that only a week ago I was at another Hostelling International hostel in a very different part of the world, living in a very different way. Imagine a 45-minute hike to a white-sand beach as opposed to a 45-minute commute to work as white snow falls outside. Imagine hanging in a hammock under the open-air lobby of the hostel, waiting for a tropical storm to pass with your fellow travelers from Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. Imagine drinking fresh water out of a coconut instead of a latte in a paper cup. Imagine snorkeling, kayaking, and surfing as the day’s activities. This is life on Ilha Grande, an idyllic island off the coast of the Rio de Janeiro region of Brazil.

Ilha Grande (pronounced EEL-yah GRAHN-gee, literal translation: Big Island) is only 40 minutes off the mainland city of Angra dos Reis, but it feels like worlds away. Between 1940 and 1994, this 193 square kilometer island was a high-security prison and closed off from the public. The lack of human presence for all those years has allowed the island to preserve its wildlife and retain a sense of being a true paradise. Since 1994 tourism has grown rapidly, but the island is still an official ecological reservation and vehicles of any sort are forbidden. The only way to travel to different parts of the island is by boat or walking. Out of the 100 or so beaches on the island, we visited Praia Preta, a small black sand beach, and Lopes Mendes, known as the largest and prettiest beach on the island. Many people choose to take a ferry or taxi boat to get to Lopes Mendes, which is on the opposite side of the island from the center, but we opted to hike. The laborious 2.5 hour route takes you up and down the thickly vegetated jungle trails, but it’s entirely worth the effort upon arrival when you are greeted with the fine, white sand and the unbelievably transparent water. It is supposedly a great beach to spot turtles and go surfing, although we were just as content with our experience of wading in the shallow, lukewarm water and lying in the shade of the almond trees that line the interior side of the beach.




HI-Holandês, the 30-bed hostel that we called home in Ilha Grande, is a quaint compound of common areas, dormitories, and bungalows perched on the slope of a plush mountain. It is owned by a Brazilian woman and a Dutch man, who are assisted by their 22-year-old multi-lingual daughter Marcela. Thanks to the small size and comfortable common spaces, all the hostellers interacted naturally and freely. Every evening, the hostel cooks a big meal of typical Brazilian food for roughly $8.50, which is a good alternative to pricier restaurants in town. Most of the guests partake and everyone sits down to exchange stories of the day and decide which beach to venture to next. As dinner winds down, the hostel bar opens and guests enjoy Caipirinhas, the national cocktail of Brazil, and cold-as-it-gets beer, a staple during hot Brazilian summers.

I highly recommend visiting Ilha Grande while it is still the untouched paradise that it is today (and put your HI membership to good use at HI-Holandês when you do!).

-Jessica Smith