The A B Cs of Couchsurfing

What IS this couchsurfing business? Is it safe? How can you just waltz into someone's home and expect them to host you with no prior knowledge of who you are? How can it be free?

These are all valid questions that I will try to answer honestly. Couchsurfing.com is a website created to bring travelers and hosts together in order make connections in order to bring about a better world. Though it sounds idealistic, it has been one of the greatest experiences we have had in Europe. An example:

Via COUCHSURFING, I searched a few profiles, chose one, and emailed CHRISTOF to see if Adam and I can stay with him in RENNES. He responds with a kind "no" but he will ask around for us at their COUCHSURFING COLLECTIVE (aka party) that night. The next morning, I receive an email giving me the contact information for GAEL who can host us in Rennes that night. We take the TGV and meet Gael at the station, discovering he has just has surgery on his ankle. We come to find out he was born in France and is a SEMI-PRO RUNNER, works for the MINISTRY OF DEFENSE and has an apartment in downtown Rennes. He loves to travel and has been to Nigeria, New Zealand, Peru, Thailand, and many other exciting places. He fixed us a traditional dish from MADAGASCAR, which he tasted on one of his travels, and left reluctantly for a previously arranged meeting. To entertain us, he called his friend MAX to show us around town. MAX served us an apertif of red peppers and wine that he brought over. He taught us the difference between dry and wet wines. He then took us on a walking tour of Rennes by night. The next day he borrowed his parents car to drive us to MONT ST MICHEL and the fortified city of ST MALO...places we couldnt have visited otherwise. We recieved a generous welcome into a new city, a place to stay for two nights, dinner, a guided tour of the area, and two new friends.

Couchsurfing is a way for travelers to connect with hosts to experience the local culture and share a part of their own culture. Because of this webiste, we have stayed with a SAILING INSTRUCTOR who taught us how to cook clams and mussels, a GRAFITTI ARTIST/BREAK DANCER/STUDENT OF SPEECH THERAPY who has an interest in Slam poetry that opened our eyes to the problem of Senegalese emigration in France, a CARTOGRAPHER (map maker) who taught me to speak French (sort of), a COLOMBIAN ENGLISH TRANSLATOR who got a degree in Marine Biology and discussed the reputation of Colombia in regard to drugs and violence, a FLEMISH COUPLE who gave us chocolate for breakfast and listened to electric accordion music with us, and many more. Couchsurfing is like a box of chocolates--you never know what you are going to get.


A is for ACCOMODATION

First and foremost, Couchsurfing gives the traveler a place to stay, whether it be a wing of a mansion or patch of grass to pitch your tent. Most often, it is a fold-out couch in the living room. It is a place to stay-guaranteed.

B is for BREAKFAST

This encompasses all the little extras that are not garunteed, but most likely provided by the host. Every place we have stayed at, we have been provided with food. This is certainly not a CS requirement, but our hosts have always gone above and beyond our expectations. We always try to give back by cooking a "Texican meal" (burritos, fajitas, guacamole, Dos Equis) or making pancakes or buying groceries. You always get more than just a place to sleep.

C is for CONVERSATION

Consider it a cultural exchange. The hosts all have different motives for hosting and different expectations too. The one definite way we have to give back to our hosts is to tell them about us and our home and our perspective on the world. We like to listen to their stories and learn about their home. We like to think of ourselves as TEXAS AMBASSADORS: defying stereotypes and re-educating people with the truth.

Convinced yet?

Check it out for yourself at www.Couchsurfing.com.

Happy surfing.

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