(This column was first published in the May 27, 2002 Buffalo News.)
Hostelling has long been a highly regarded holiday
activity for young adults. Traveling by bus, train or bicycle, college students
and others of similar age visit foreign countries or distant parts of their own
country. There they stay in reasonably priced hostels where they usually join
comrades to cook meals and to visit local museums, art galleries, zoos and
other points of interest.
Buffalo has a 50-bed hostel at 667 Main Street in the
heart of the theater district. During summers it is filled to capacity with
young travelers, many of them (despite 9-11 worries) from foreign countries.
Cliff Madell, the volunteer director of the Niagara Frontier Council of
American Youth Hostels, tells me that at mealtimes their kitchen often
resonates with dozens of languages. I visited this hostel last week and found
it remarkably clean and well maintained, a far cry from my earlier belief that
staying at hostels involved sleeping in haylofts.
For boys and girls aged 13-18 interested in such
travel, the local Council offers an intermediate activity called Teen Treks.
Groups of about a dozen youngsters embark on one to three week cycling trips
under the guidance of two adult leaders. On some nights they camp out, on
others they stay at hostels. This summer's regional destinations include the
Thousand Islands and Toronto. Trips farther afield target Montreal, Cape Cod,
Ottawa, the Pacific Northwest, the Canadian Rockies, France and England.
Like Outward Bound, Teen Treks are team activities.
Each morning several of the bikers organize breakfast while others clean their
hostel or campsite and pack their bikes. The group then plans the day's
itinerary, seeing to it that all cyclers know the route and arranging stops
along the way for lunch and activities like swimming and visits to local points
of interest.
While on the road the bikers proceed at their own
pace, one of the leaders bringing up the rear to see that all are progressing
well and to provide assistance if needed.
Once they arrive at their day's destination, the
bikers regroup to divide responsibilities for grocery shopping and dinner
preparation. As the trip progresses, the leaders' role diminishes as the
youngsters take over the activities.
Trip leaders are carefully selected for their warmth
and strength of character. Many are teachers, most recent college graduates.
They are given special training that includes a practice expedition. And there
is much to be learned: such things as first aid, bike repair, camping skills,
hostel customs, meal planning and involvement activities. But their role is not
to do things for the participants; rather, it is to help their charges to
tackle tasks on their own and to work as a coordinated group.
I cannot imagine a finer way to gain independence and
at the same time to develop responsibility than hostelling. And these Teen
Treks offer an opportunity to learn the ropes under guidance. Once they have
traveled in one or more of these programs, the youngsters should be better
prepared to undertake trips on their own or with friends.
Having participated in and led both kinds of
activities, I believe that there is a very important difference between
programs like Teen Treks and camps where youngsters learn baseball, soccer,
football or other sports skills. Team sports are highly organized and exact
conformity. The strong message is: "Do as your coach says."
Activities like Teen Treks are just the opposite. The whole point of the
program is to increase the independence, initiative and cooperation of the
participants.
For more information about this valuable program,
visit Teen Treks or
call the Niagara Frontier Council office of American Youth Hostels at
852-5222.-- Gerry Rising