Catch A Couch And You're Sitting On Top Of The World!

You've probably been asking this whole time, how does that Andrew kid keep finding those wonderful hosts he writes about? And if you haven't been asking, well then, you should be!

I've been participating in a project at http://www.couchsurfing.com/ that puts travelers in touch with one another. It's based on facilitating culture exchanges between travelers who want more than the typical tourist activities from their travels.

It works like this:

• If you're a traveler (a person who loves to travel), but you're not currently traveling - you offer up your couch for fellow travelers. This gives them a place to stay while you both engage in cross cultural exchanges. But it's not just for lodging. Some people are uncomfortable with letting strangers stay at their homes, so they simply meet them for coffee or a drink, or show them around their city. The main idea, though, is to facilitate culture exchange through dialogue - just like our Supercross08 project!
• If you're a traveler on the road, you can search a database of fellow travelers and find someone who is willing to host you!

The entire project is free on both sides, guest and host, but gifts are common and very polite. This can range from a trinket from your home town, to a bottle of wine, or even cooking a meal! Of course, none of this is necessary, but being that I'm super nice, I always try to find some way to give something of myself to my host.

You may now be asking, is that Andrew kid crazy? He's been staying with complete strangers this whole time! Ok, so it's true I've been staying at the homes of complete strangers, but it's not so crazy! It just takes a bit of openness and flexibility because each situation is completely different!

I've stayed in amazingly clean and new apartments, and I've stayed in apartments where everything inside has been salvaged from city dumpsters. I've used showers more high tech than I've ever seen, and I've had to take a bucket bath, or go without. I've slept on the floor in a hallway, and I've slept in super comfortable beds in separate rooms. I've had to share a bed with a drunk, snoring, puking guy, and I've gotten to share a bed with a beautiful woman. I've been handed keys to the flat and been told 'see ya', and I've been locked in (and out) of flats for hours at a time. I've also been accompanied, non-stop, by my host so there's no need for a key! I've had to walk miles following poor directions to find my host's home, and I've been picked up at the airport and greeted with a hug. I've stayed with hosts as old as 60, and as young as 18. I've stayed with a host for as long as two weeks, and I've stayed with a host for as little as three hours.

I've been surfing couches since before our project began, and on this trip, I haven't had to pay for a hotel or hostel since early March! I've stayed with students, doctors, nurses, journalists, writers, translators, bankers, managers, engineers, artists, psychologists, teachers, factory workers, sailors, computer programers, Peace Corps Volunteers, program coordinators, cashiers, retired folks, unemployed people, sales people, gay people, transsexual people, straight people, buddhists, and just about every type of person you could think of! I've cooked meals for my hosts, and I've received meals from my hosts. I've had conversations that challenge my mind, and I've had conversations that challenge my patience. I've been entertained by wild stories and crazy people, and I've been bored with people that I fail to click with. I've made friends for a weekend, and I've made friends for life. I've shared laughs, ideas, inspiration, motivation, stories, recipes, and my super cool jacket with various hosts along the way! Every experience is totally different, and it's an adventure each time!

Here is a typical account of couchsurfing (And when I say 'typical' I mean totally unique!):

My host met me at the bus station and we went back to her apartment to drop off my stuff. We talked about university coursework and the differences between universities in Europe and the United States. Then we went off to meet her friends. It started raining so we just hung out in their apartment, cooked dinner and drank wine! They didn't have a corkscrew so they used a screw and a pair of pliars to get the cork out of the wine bottle! Clever girls! Two nights later and one country to the south, I surfed the couch of the stage manager at The New Riga Theater, the largest theater in all of Latvia. I met my host at a landmark that we had talked about through emails. She took me to her flat and I dropped off my stuff and then we headed to the theater. It was the last performance of the season, Revizor (The Inspector General). She got me a free ticket in the second row and printed out summaries of the three acts in English. The opening scene went like this: The curtains were drawn and there were three roosters on the stage. Everything was silent. Suddenly, one cock mounted another and there was lots of unpleasant squawking! Everyone laughed! Then the actors came onto the stage, which was set up like an old Russian soup kitchen. They all did different things, working or eating, each making different noises that came together and made music! Music by kitchen utensils! I was taken, and it was intense! Then they started speaking Latvian and I had to consult my notes to figure out what was going on. Three hours later, the show finished and I became a new fan of theater performances! Since my host is connected, I got to spend the rest of the night at the after party with all the actors and managers and technicians! It was super cool! The very next night I was in a different city, a different country even, ice skating my brains out with my host and earning a quarter sized blister on the arch of my foot! Two days later, I used my sore foot to climb to the roof of a 15 story communist style apartment block that was never finished, to have donuts and tea for breakfast!Of course, it's not all smiles, laughs, and free dinners. I've been stranded by someone telling me that it was ok to come to their town, but they didn't show up to meet me, and wouldn't answer my calls. I didn't have a backup plan prepared so I was pretty much stuck. And then there was the time that a drunk guy crawled into bed with me, puked and started snoring. Cigarette smoke always kills me so I usually try to avoid smokers... but it doesn't always happen. There are also those random, nasty dogs that hump my leg...

What Couchsurfing is, though, is fantastic - every time! No matter the level of happiness I achieve as an outcome from my experiences with Couchsurfing, each experience is enlightening. And that is what the project is designed for. As with Supercross08, the ideals are based on cultural understanding through direct contact and exchange. In fact, Couchsurfing has helped a great deal with our Supercross08 project. Tim and I have organized entire discussion groups through Couchsurfing contacts! But beyond that, the project lets us facilitate our goals on an individual, and daily, basis rather than in large organized, but infrequent groups. It's a powerful tool that gives impressive insight into whichever cultures of the world you happen to find yourself in. And it allows for great opportunity to share yourself and your own culture with the world!

I have experienced the kindness of strangers, and it's a wonderful thing! And to complete the exchange, I try to give as much kindness of myself, in the role of a stranger, as I possibly can! As a final thought, I'll share a song that's been stuck in my head for a few days, "Oooh baby, baby, it's a wild world! But I can get by just upon a smile!" That's how my version of the song goes, anyway. =)

If I've captured your curiosity, sign up for, and support, this culture exchange project at http://www.couchsurfing.com/! If you're curious about my experiences with Couchsurfing, take a look at my profile and see where I've been, who've I've surfed with, and what they've said about me - just click here!