This is probably weird, but I notice that I am making more friends on the road than I am in my hostels (a notable exception being my French friends from the first hostel in London!)

It seems like the "hostel crew" has primarily been 18-23, only looking to party, and not really on the same page as me when it comes to travel. On the road I find lone adventurers like myself and friendly locals who want to practice their English, so it's been a much better fit.

Today while traveling to Berlin I met this awesome girl named Yukkie - an Asian Dutch who was born and raised in Amsterdam. I sat next to her when I boarded initially, but since I didn't have a reserved seat (those are an additional charge when using a Eur-rail pass) I quickly was kicked out by a paying customer. However, this didn't stop the conversation because even though Yukkie had paid for a seat she continued to bounce around the train with me 6-7 times so we could continue to talk. We stayed together until I hailed a cab in Berlin, and she even invited me to go out with her and her friends tomorrow night. I can't imagine a stranger being that friendly on a busy train from SF to LA.

And yes, I cheated and took a cab to my hostel.

Since Yukkie and I had so long to talk, our conversation moved from the superficial (where are you going, where are you coming from, where do you work) to the more personal, and we started really sharing things about our lives - the things that suck in our own culture, boy problems, etc.

Yukkie said that she thought the Dutch could be really rude, and that it was hard to join a group of locals in Amsterdam because they inherently assume you want something from them. She also said that service isn't a priority in the Netherlands, and that store employees don't care about you - they just want the dollar. I said that I thought America was more superficial than Europe, and women in particular had to struggle to measure up - be cool and drink beer and eat burgers with the guys but be hot and thin and girly - be sexy but not have a lot of sex - be gainfully employed and maternal and a sex object. Yukkie agreed with this and said that she thought European women are more encouraged to be comfortable in their own skin and can relax a little bit more, but there is a little more pressure to confirm to the gender role. That really surprised me to hear.

This was a particularly interesting conversation to me, because I worry every day (even in Europe!) about all those pressures from home (eating too many crepes, etc) and I can't even imagine living somewhere where you don't feel that pressure. It's so nice to have these in-depth talks with smart locals, and really get some information about real life in Europe. That can be just as interesting to me (if not more) than the monumenta and memorials.