12.23.25: The Hostel Kitchen

Every hostel kitchen has the same cast. There's the guy making pasta for the ninth night in a row. The couple passive-aggressively labeling their groceries. Someone burning toast at 2 AM. And always, without fail, a person who leaves their dishes "soaking" for three days. You bond with strangers over the shared trauma of a single working burner. By night four, you've formed alliances. The pasta guy lends you salt. You guard his leftovers from the fridge thief on the third floor. It's not friendship exactly, but it's something close. Survival makes temporary family out of anyone.