This year’s summer trip took us to Northern Germany, having no desire to endure the Great Heat of the South. In Hamburg and Luebeck we stayed in youth hostels. Youth hostels these days are strange time warps where nuclear families wear NASA tee-shirts and the bright primary colours and bold geometric shapes popular in 1970s clothing. In Luebeck we witnessed an odd involuntary social experiment where the youth hostel was peopled by two main groups: a set of French children from a small town in France that was twinned with Luebeck and on a summer trip there, as well as a large group of adults with learning difficulties on their summer outing. Mixing with the peculiar group that is the youth hostel habitues, this was at times a fascinating and challenging intersection of skills and cultures.
The big bright Venn diagram seemed to function smoothly enough. There was no evidence of any problems. The learning difficulty adults were innocent and sociable; the French schoolchildren respectful and interested in their own little world. The youth hostelers kept their distance, lining up at the tables near the window in a huddled group.
Coming back from a day in the Old Town we saw one of the school children crying and one of the learning difficulty adults being hugged by a group leader and carer. No connection. Just two little dramas. The usual trials and tribulations in the lives of people. Just a a bit more expressive than we youth hostelers. In the end everyone was having a mostly lovely time.
peoplearerubbish 