#sleepforpeace

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#sleepforpeace wisdom! (at HI Austin)

[hostellinginternationalaustin]

Shining blue for #peace! #sleepforpeace (at HI Austin)

[hostellinginternationalaustin]

#origami peace doves! #sleepforpeace (at HI Austin)

[hostellinginternationalaustin]

Shining blue for #sleepforpeace at our backyard storytelling event! (at HI Austin)

[hostellinginternationalaustin]

Spreading #peace! #sleepforpeace (at HI Austin)

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#sleepforpeace is this week! How do you contribute peace to the world? Love > Fear (at HI Austin)

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#Austin backyard storytelling! Join us for #travel stories on the lady bird lake! #sleepforpeace (at HI Austin)

[sleepforpeacefaces-blog]

Corinne Carpenter, Live-in Hostel Assistant

HI Martha’s Vineyard

Corinne has been the live-in hostel assistant at Martha’s Vineyard since May 2015, checking in guests, cleaning the beds, and providing local information to those visiting the island.  Hailing originally from Hudson, New York, she’s enjoyed the experience of working in the hostel and even managed to paint a beautiful watercolor depiction of Sleep for Peace this year.

When speaking about her art, Corinne noted that she has a bachelor in fine arts from SUNY Purchase, and that she really likes watercolor because it’s challenging and finicky.  The artistic practice for Corinne is about self-discovery.  Apart from her art, she spends most of her time meditating.

For Corinne, peace isn’t accepting differences and understanding differences, but more about allowing differences to be.  She thinks peace is broken when we can’t allow something or someone to be different.

She thinks that hostels work towards peace because they bring people together in a common environment, around things like breakfast and different activities.  It brings people together to have conversation that otherwise wouldn’t have met in hotel rooms.   At the end of the day, it really provides the community experience that travelers hunger for.

For this coming year, she hopes to be more dedicated to her meditation practice.  As Corinne eloquently put it: “If I don’t meditate I get too caught up in my thinking mind, and then I get stressed out.  If I can stay out of that, I can be more present with people and more available.  And ultimately, kinder.”  Thanks for working with hostels Corinne!