Brisbane, Australia:
… but sometimes, I can’t help it!
There is some fantastic people-watching to be had living in a hostel. Young people from around the world — different languages, cultures, traditions, foods — all in one place. It’s like “The Real World” but with less fighting and more dirty dishes.
Hostels tend to be dominated by one or two nationalities. In Europe, most places I stayed at were filled with Americans and Brits. Here in Australia, I’ve been surprised to have met so few other Americans and am instead surrounded by tons of Germans and French. The hostel I’m at now might as well BE in France to listen to everyone around me talk.
It’s not the different languages that causes me to stare, though. It’s the creations coming out of our communal kitchen.
fotolia.com
This photo isn’t even an exaggeration. At first, I saw a guy with a massive pile of toast in front of him and figured he was sharing with friends. Nope. It was basically a loaf of bread, each piece smeared thickly with butter.
Is massive overuse of butter an English thing? In my butter-using experience ( 
) it’s a condiment to be used sparingly, lightly spread on a piece of toast. But the Brits here absolutely slather it on until the entire baked good is caked with a thick layer of yellow spread.
The most popular dish to cook at hostels is pasta: spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni. It’s easy and cheap. Even I’ve been sucked into the pasta-buying trap, and I rarely eat it at home. But the portion size? An entire overflowing bowl, probably 3-4 servings, covered with red sauce and mounds of cheese.
Actually, who needs a bowl when you have the pot?
What’s crazy is that the person eating this is usually a toothpick-thin Swedish girl.
The French usually whip out the best kitchen concoctions, turning out dishes that wouldn’t be out of place in a nice restaurant. Most popular, though, is a few slices of bread smeared with butter and cheese = grilled cheese!
This leads me to wonder: do these people eat this way at home, and I’m just an abnormality, or is this just how young people eat while traveling away from their parents’ kitchen? I can’t even imagine sitting down to three sausages for breakfast, washed down with chocolate milk, and yet I see it multiple times every morning.
I wish I could take some photos of the crazy meal combos but it might be a little weird to point my camera at strangers in the dining room.
Interestingly, it’s the Americans that seem most health-conscious, despite our overweight reputation. An girl tonight at dinner was eating a salad and I’ve never noticed anything too crazy on an American’s plate here — then again, maybe a German sees my daily hummus, veg and Ryvita platter and is totally grossed out!
Butter: used sparingly or a favorite spread?
A lot of the dishes you described I would have had when I wasn’t watching what I eat no problem at all. Now though some of them turn my stomach….weird.
I definitely met ALL germans when traveling around Australia. I’ve noticed the same thing about us being so health consious but then having weight problems. Some of this is addressed in the book I’m reading right now “In Defense of Food” but I think also I surround myself with a lot of health consious people but there are many in America that are not!
i’ve noticed that europeans (brits in particular) LOVE their butter. i’m a fan of butter too, GOOD butter, but i use it sparingly as well
When I travel I usually hit up grocery stores and markets. I mainly buy things that are easy to prepare, but often will search out things that I can’t get here in Canada– like different cereals, or jams, or even produce.
Maybe these people just don’t get enough pasta at home… but, likely not. Likely it’s just cheap and easy.
I would definitely be checking that out too! It’s so interesting to see what people eat. And remember… not everyone is healthy conscious as all of us in the blogosphere! Some people probably don’t know how to cook at all! I know my sister wouldn’t know what to do.
No butter for me
If it’s brown, toasted, fried, or gooey, the Brits will eat it.