5 Ways to Make Friends at Hostels
ホステルの友達はどうやってできる？
When I arrived in Korea at 4 in the morning, I had no friends, no plans, and no Korean language skills. Things looked bleak and lonely at first. As an extrovert, I prefer to be with people more than being alone, so I had to figure out how to meet people. Thankfully, I was staying in a foreigners-only hostel, so the odds of finding English (or Spanish … or Japanese) speakers were pretty good.
韓国に来た時、4時午前し、友達がいなかったし、計画を立てなかったし、韓国語を話せなかったから、難（むずか）しくて、寂（さび）しかったですよ！僕は人々が好きだので、友達と遊（あそ）んでいる時の方が好きです。だから、どうやって新しい友達ができますか？外国人だけ行けるホステルにいましたから、英語かスペイン語か日本語を話せる人を探（さが）すのが難しくないと思いました。
But how do I actually make the friends? でも、どうやって友達ができる？
Upon arriving at my hostel, I saw that there was a common room that throughout the day, people would spend time in. So, that evening after exploring the area, I started talking to people and throughout the rest of my stay in Korea, I had friends to spend time with every day!
Here is what worked best for me to make friends.
ホステルに来た時、休憩室（きゅうけいしつ）を見ました。だから、ソウルに少し探検した後、休憩室に行って、毎日友達と話して、毎日友達と一緒に経験（けいけん）ができました！そして、ポストは「どうやってホステルに友達ができる」
1. Ask people for recommendations
「こっちに、どうしたらいいの？」
Most evenings, after I had done my exploring for the day, I’d ask my hostel mates what they recommended I do, and thanks to them, I hiked N Seoul Tower, explored palaces, and learned I shouldn’t listen to the slightly aggressive Buddhist girls. Then, thanks to the recommendations, we started conversations and ended up talking more.
よく夕方に探検すること終わった時に、ホステル人々に「こっちに、どうしたらいいの？」と聞きます。その質問（しつもん）のおかげで、沢山いい経験をできました。たとえば、Nソウルタワーのハイキングしたり、宮殿（きゅうでん）に探検したり、かわいくてこわい仏教（ぶっきょう）な女の人はだめことを習ったりしました。それに、質問のおかげでよく一緒にもっと喋（しゃべ）ていました。
2. Some useful questions and conversation topics
便利（べんり）な質問と話のトピックス
With pretty much everyone I met, there were a few questions I would constantly ask and would regularly lead to extended conversations. For example:
- What brought you to this country?・こっちに来ることの目的（もくてき）は？
- Lots of people were hanging out longer after studying abroad, lots were on extended trips around all of Asia, some were just coming to Korea, and others were between jobs and taking a breath of fresh air.
- Where have you been before this / where will you go after?・こっちに来た前に、どこに行った？／こっちから出た時、どこに行くつもり？
- People told me some amazing stories about their extended travels before and their grand plans coming up. I even managed to meet up with a friend I made in Korea who also was going to Kyoto while I was there.
- What do you like most about here / your home country?こっちの中で、何が好き？／住んでる国に、何が好き？
- Hint: Usually food / lower cost of living in Asia・ヒント：主に食べ物
- What languages do you speak?・話せる言葉（ことば）は？
- Hostels are full of foreigners from around the world. Most people in my hostel were German or Scandinavian, but there were a couple Mexican guys and various other nationalities. Many of these people speak 3+ languages and it’s amazing to hear their language learning stories. One of the Mexican guys spoke Spanish and learned English growing up, then upon moving to Sweden for work became fluent in Swedish as well. And he’s learning more languages.
- Cost of living・住んでる所はどのぐらい高い？
- I live in Silicon Valley, which is the most expensive place in America, so it’s interesting to hear about similar situations in other places. I learned Norway is expensive, that Korea always has enough housing (and is thus affordable), and lots of other interesting bits of information. It also made me reconsider continuing to live in Silicon Valley given how much cheaper literally everywhere else is. And that’s a true “literally,” no exaggeration
And here are some questions/topic you can ask anyone, regardless of travel or at home・ほかの旅行しなくてもいい質問とトピックス
- What do you like doing most in your free time?・ひまな時、何をするのが好き？／趣味（しゅみ）は何ですか
- People like to talk about their hobbies more than their work unless they really like their job
- What is your life-long dream?・人生の夢（ゆめ）は？
- If money weren’t a problem, what would you be doing?お金持ちだったら、何をする？
- Cats or dogs (or both because BOTH ARE CUTE)・猫と犬にくらべて、どっちの方が好き？
- Favorite foods・好きな食べ物
- Favorite TV/Movies/Music・好きな番組（ばんぐみ）と映画（えいが）と音楽（おんがく）
- Especially fun to hear differences in TV programming between countries
I could go on, but you get the idea. Things they like, their stories, and comparisons between countries are all useful.
リストを続けるけど、もう分かると思います。好きなものかこと、話、国の違いの中に、全部は便利と思いますよ
3. Bring Snacks・食べ物をあげる
Everyone likes food. Furthermore, they need it to survive. So if you bring snacks and simply offer it to others, even if they don’t eat anything, it’s still a sign of good will and can help tear walls down!
みんなは食べ物が好きです。それに、食べなければ死にます。だから、食べ物を連れていって、ホステル人にあげることをして、すごくなれます。みんな食べ物をあげる人が好きんですよ！
4. Play Music・音楽を作る
Maybe not in your hostel, but I have had several great experiences from playing Ocarina. In Nagano, I played Studio Ghibli songs with one of the workers, and in Tokyo, I made $10 and 2 new North American friends (who I hung out with again the following day) after playing on the street in Roppongi. Spreading joy through music lightens the mood of anywhere you go, and whether or not you’re doing it for money (I wasn’t, since it’s not normal in Japan), you’re bound to meet interesting people.
たぶんホステルの外に行った方がいいけど、沢山素晴らしいオカリナを吹いている経験ができました。たとえば、長野市に、ホステルのフロントとスタジオジブリの音楽をしたり、六本木に￥1000をもらって、新しいアメリカ人友達に会ったりしました。音楽をすれば、人々は少しもっと嬉（うれ）しくなりますから、面白い人々よく来ます
5. Alcohol・お酒
If you’ve spent enough time with your hostel mates to know you can trust them, then adding a bit of the happy juice, the devil’s nectar, the PARTY POTION is the fastest way to bond with your hostel mates in my experience. One memorable moment in Korea, after I had taken my shower in the evening, my friend group was waiting for me with a bottle of green apple soju and said, “We’ve been waiting for you, Andy.” Surprised and intrigued, we all drank together in the hostel common room and bonded. It’s been 40 days since then but I still keep in touch with them.
ホステルの友達はいい人々で意地悪（いじわる）じゃなかったら、一緒にお酒～ハピージュース、飲めればあぶなくなれる物、ストロング飲み物～を飲めます。一緒に飲めば、親（した）しい友達になることが沢山あるいます。一番楽しい飲むことは韓国で、シャワーの後、僕の部屋（へや）に、友達たちが待っていました。リンゴのしょちゅをもっている間に、「僕らお前のために待っていたよ。飲もうよ」と言っていました。びっくりしたのに、一緒に休憩室（きゅうけいしつ）で飲みました。すごく楽しくて、まだ一緒に話します。
The Takeaway・主なポイント
It can be hard to make friends abroad. I tried a lot of these techniques out while scrambling to make friends, and thanks to my attempts, my usual day in Seoul was solo exploring during the day followed by spending time with the hostel mates at night. Currently I’m a bit travel fatigued and have a lot of friends who live in or are coming to Tokyo, so I haven’t been trying at all with my hostel mates here. However, because I have the experience of both trying really hard to make friends and not trying at all (and seeing the stark contrast) shows that these techniques all worked for me. I hope they work for you too! Travel can be a lot more fun if you aren’t alone.
外国に、友達を探すことは難しいです。このポストのことをやってみたことのおかげで、毎日、ソウルに一人で探検して、夕方に友達と遊びました。今、もう沢山旅行していたし、東京に沢山友達もういるから、東京のホステルの友達を探すことをやってみていません。でも、探すことと探さないことがありますから、ぜったいに僕のために、このティップスは便利です。あなたのためも便利といいですね！寂しくなかったら、旅行の方が楽しいと思います。
Best of luck・頑張ってね！
-Andy・アンディ
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Recommended Previous Posts・さいきんポスト
（ENGLISH AND JAPANESE・英語と日本語）
Struggling Up N Seoul Tower
Living in Japan (with a Japanese Family)
(ENGLISH ONLY)
Ocabanda @ US Ocarina Festival: Part ONE + Part TWO
I’m Leaving America!
Falling in Love with Seoul – The World of Tomorrow
Bamboozled by Buddhists: Story from Seoul
Bonus Pictures・ボーナス写真
Changdeokgung Palace Greenhouse – Seoul
Andy Cormier 