Several months ago I stumbled upon the website couch surfing, a worldwide network for making connections between travellers and the local communities they visit. (According to Wikipedia, couch surfing is the practice of moving from one friend’s house to another, sleeping in what ever spare space is available, floor or couch, generally staying a few days before moving onto the next house.) Couch surfing, with its community ethic, accords well with yours2share and my views.
So I signed up and put a few things on my profile and, well, I’ll admit, I forgot about it. Then a couple of weeks I received a message from Jeff and Gerda who live in Canberra and who wondered if they could stay with us as they cycled through Norfolk. Explaining this to my partner was a bit tricky: he didn’t quite get it. I was perfectly happy to make excuses and remove our profile and say no more, but he did at least have the courtesy to read Jeff and Gerda’s profile. Then he realised that maybe this would be OK and agreed to let them stay with us.
They stayed for one night on Monday. They were perfect house guests and lovely company. This is a fantastic idea. I love travelling, but hate the anonymity of staying in hotels. Hotels are great for a lovely break, but moving from hotel or hotel (or bed and breakfast) constantly is very wearing not only because of the constant moving, but because they are all the same. You learn very little about the place you are staying in and don’t experience what it is like to live there. I usually try and stay with friends when I travel not just because it is cheaper, but because I learn more and enjoy finding out what it is like to live in that country. You can’t really do this if you are staying in a hotel.
My partner’s just asked me if anyone else is coming to stay!
[...] sharing A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our couch surfing experience with Australians Jeff and Gerda. As we chatted over dinner, conversation turned, as it so often [...]