So the donation they speak of was $25. Not too bad. You can actually get involved without giving a donation, but to become a fully verified member, they ask for a donation. I guess fully verified members seem more reliable, easier for surfers to trust, perhaps. Because if you care enough to give some money, you probably care enough to use the service the way its intended. That's my theory. Anyway, Jennifer told us about all this last summer, but I didn't get around to signing up until a month ago or so. If you know our travel styles, you'll know why we love this concept. Whenever we travel, we almost always stay with friends and family. Part of that has been out of financial necessity, but we also like it because we love going somewhere different and "living" in the culture. A hotel or resort might seem relaxing to some people, but to us it feels isolated and phony, even more so when the hotel replicates the "American style." We'd rather be a part of the culture. To us, that's the true joy of traveling, even if it's sometimes not as comfortable as a hotel or resort. Plus, we've traveled like this for so many years that CouchSurfing is a way to pay it forward. So this weekend we had our first CouchSurfers come to visit: 3 Canadian girls on a short jaunt to see the Grand Canyon and get out of the frozen tundra for a few days. It went beautifully. The girls, in their early 20's, were incredibly nice and conscientious, great with the kids, and all very funny. Our kids were instantly attached to them. We picked them up from the airport last Thursday. We went to the grocery store together, made dinner together, and they stayed one night in our guest room. We let them sleep in the next day, and during my planning period, I drove them to the car rental place. They headed to Flagstaff where they stayed with another CouchSurfer, and then they did the Grand Canyon on Saturday. Yesterday, the friend who they were staying the last two nights with was at work, so we picked them up and had them over for dinner. We played at the park, throwing a football around, flying a kite (or dragging...not much wind), and having a good barefoot time in the Arizona winter. The great thing about these girls is that they're old enough to be responsible adults, but young enough to still be filled with the energy and humor of youth. (Not that older people can't be funny and energetic, but you know what I mean.)What is CouchSurfing?
CouchSurfing is an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the world. Since 2004, members have been using our system to come together for cultural exchange, friendship, and learning experiences. Today, over a million people who might otherwise never meet are able to share hospitality and cultural understanding.
Our mission as an organization is to create inspiring experiences: cross-cultural encounters that are fun, engaging, and illuminating. These experiences take many forms. CouchSurfing's initial focus was on hosting and 'surfing' (staying with a local as a guest in their home). Alongside these core experiences, we now also facilitate a growing array of activities and events.
We have a vision of a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Each CouchSurfing experience shared by our members brings us closer to that vision.
How does CouchSurfing work?
CouchSurfing members share hospitality with one another. These exchanges are a uniquely rich form of cultural interaction. Hosts have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world without leaving home. 'Surfers,' or travelers, are able to participate in the local life of the places they visit. We also give more people the chance to become travelers, because 'surfing' lowers the financial cost of exploration.
The CouchSurfing community continues to expand its horizons. Members are always finding more ways to connect and learn about each other. Every day, people across the world share coffee, camping trips, meetings, language exchanges, discussions and all sorts of other experiences.
How is CouchSurfing run?
CouchSurfing is a non-profit organization, funded by the generous donations of our members and run according to our guiding principles. Our overall strategy as an organization is in line with our vision: individual people change the world. It's individual people that are creating real cultural exchange all over the world. Likewise, it's people that create the systems that are needed to support our community.
We direct most of our finances towards cultivating a capable and committed full-time staff, the majority of whom are volunteers. Instead of a cash salary, our staff is provided with their basic needs and the unique and inspiring life experience afforded by our international work/live model.
(Couch Surfing...)
The idea solidified when founder, Casey Fenton, got a cheap ticket to Iceland for a long weekend one April. With his ticket in hand, there was one problem: he had no place to stay and no desire to rot in a hotel all weekend and play Mr. Tourist. So, he came up with the 'brilliant' idea of spamming over 1500 Icelandic students in Reykjavik and asking them if he could crash on one of their couches. After exchanging emails with many of the students, he had several groups of friends offer to show him 'their' Reykjavik. So, after spending an amazing, crazy weekend just south of the Arctic Circle, Casey decided he would never again get trapped in a hotel and tourist marathon while traveling. From that point onward, it was all about crashing on exotic couches and cultural exchange. And, thus, the CouchSurfing Project was born.If you're interested in more info, here's the website: CouchSurfing.org
5 comments:
Call me a fraidy cat. I have seen or heard of things like this before and thought they were a neat idea. I guess I wonder if they have some sort of way of screening people to see if they have criminal histories before allowing them to join the club. Have you wondered if someone would use this as a way to get into your house and steal things or harm someone in your family? Or the reverse? That someplace you stay might not be so safe? How do you deal with that? I think it's really cool and that is exactly how I would like to travel. I did not like my Jamaica experience because I stayed on a resort. But we did get some authentic Jamaican food made by the cook who worked the villa we stayed in. Thank goodness we got to interact with the help some.
Well, you screen the people yourself. You don't invite anyone you don't feel comfortable with. First, you display on your own profile whether you have a couch available or not. That's the invitation. Than people who read your profile and want to spend a night on your available couch contact you. Before you even answer them, you can check out their profile. You can read comments other people have made about them from previous stays. You can get a pretty good feel for the person from looking at their profile. And if you can't get a good feel, or if something just doesn't seem quite right, than you just say no.
It's ultimately about trust: trusting your own judgment and trusting others. Also, I think negative energy can attract negative energy. If you consistently think you're going to get taken advantage, you probably will. I know that's kind of new-agey frou-frou stuff, but I believe it.
In a way, it's like eBay (or Amazon, or any other online exchange). You can get ripped off on eBay, but there's a built-in mechanism to limit that, namely the feedback system. CouchSurfers is the same way. If someone doesn't yet have enough ratings or feedback or has a negative rating or feedback, you don't do business. No fear necessary. Just common sense.
I think it is a super idea. Hope we can take advantage of this concept, too. Love, Mom
This March?
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