Would you like to make friends with people from all over the world not just when you are on the road, but also when you are at home? Are you adventurous enough to sleep on strangers’ couches and vice versa? Then, couchsurfing is for you!
Couchsurfing is a relatively new kind of travelling, which helps many people who would like to explore new places, but their budget is low, or they would like to get to know not only different countries, but also different lifestyles. The term couchsurfing means that somebody travels somewhere and instead of staying in a hotel/motel, they stay in somebody else’s place for free. Of course, almost everybody has slept on the couch of a friend, or a relative, but the couchsurfer guest and host have not met with each other before, they are strangers, and they change only a couple of messages before the travel.
Couchsurfing.org helps the travellers and hosts to get in touch. They have 7 million members from over 100 000 cities. The project began in 2004, and ten years later, it seems that many people crave to travel this way. Being part of the couchsurfer community gives you the opportunity not only to find free accommodation when you travel, but also to learn languages, to get to know other cultures and to make friends.
If you are interested, the only thing you need to do is to sign up on the website. Then, if you are ready for the adventure, you can start browsing through the profiles of the couchsurfer hosts who live in your destination, read their references, and send requests to those who appeal to you. Or if you cannot travel now, just wait for the requests of your future guests. Choose your host/guest carefully, it is much better if you have something in common, and you speak the same language.
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Of course, you can be only a traveller if you do not have enough room in your place to become a host, but you can still hang out with the couchsurfers who come to your town and make new friends. There are many blogs of couchsurfers, which are worth reading to get to know their tips and tricks, because I think, when you travel, you should always be prepared not just for the best, but also for the possible difficulties. Choosing the host or the guest with whom you would feel being safe is the first step, you also need to be informed about your destination, and have a backup plan if something goes wrong.
It can seem that hosting is easier than travelling to the other end of the world and sleeping on a stranger’s couch, but it is not completely true because letting a stranger sleep on your couch also requires being open-minded, friendly, flexible and at least a bit adventurous. If you try couchsurfing, one thing is sure, you will always have amazing stories to tell your friends!
