Published: December 17th 2009North America » United States » California » Costa MesaDecember 15th 2009


New friend
Elizabeth, the organizer/ambassador of this CouchSurfing meeting group...
and me in black.
Couchsurfing. I totally never heard of that concept until just this year when a friend I met through one of my stays in the Chicago Hostels had told me about it. He's from Europe and was going to rent a car and drive down through the USA and couchsurf. It made me curious and I had recently joined the website: www.couchsurfing.org
I haven't hosted or surfed yet, but I think it's a brilliant idea. Sure, it may be a very risky commitment to a lot of people especially the Americans who are very closed minded compared to such countries like Canada and very much of Europe. These countries find it as a norm... and I love it!
Anyhow, I got invited by a group that is local to me (Orange County) for $1 tacos on Taco Tuesdays. I, without hesitation decided to go. I haven't even met any of these people so I worried that I won't be able find them. When I got to the taco place, it was jammed packed and I couldn't find them. I figured I just order my tacos to go in case I didn't find them on time. Luckily I spotted the Ambassador
who sent me the invite. Her name was Elizabeth. I introduced myself and she was so welcoming. She gave me a hug and immediately introduced me to everyone else. There I met Beatrice who is the assistant organizer. I held out my hand to shake hands, but she pushed it away and said, "In this group, we give each other hugs." She gave me a hug and was glad that I had came. I felt at ease right away and knew that I am going to enjoy myself with these new friends. I met many who are locals around the area, those who are traveling for work, au pairs, and current couch surfers from places like Spain, Germany, Canada, etc. I absolutely love the different cultures, everyone's unique personal stories of their travels, their accents, and how really friendly they are.
I'm glad to made the effort to go out there (by myself) and left with feeling I was hanging out with friends I've known for a while.
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