Put yourself in my shoes; you wake up disorientated, with a headache, no…not just a headache, the hangover of all hangovers, without the faintest idea where in the world you are, let alone who’s sofa you’re on. Where’s the bathroom? Why is there a balcony? Who on earth did you go home with last night?
Fears of losing my dignity after five too many tequila slammers filtered into my mind. How embarrassing.
I slowly retraced my steps; I got on a plane from Bristol yesterday morning and landed in a very hot south of France. I sunbathed, I sent gloating messages to friends and family asking them if the rain was nice back home.
I met my Couch Surfing host. That’s it. I wasn’t in some guys house – well, I was, but this was arranged awkwardness, not the “oh no, I don’t know his/her name” awkwardness.
Couch Surfing is the ever growing phenomenon that takes hospitality to the next level encourages cheap travel, cultural enlightenment and the breaking down of borders.
The phrase, originally coined by those between homes, means to sleep on a sofa/couch/mattress/spare bit of floor or anything else that can be defined as a bed by any standards, that is not your own.
Adam Schofield, a 28 year old from Bolton, quit his job to follow the Couch Surfing dream. After sleeping on over 120 couches in 24 countries, Adam said: “it’s way more than a free couch. Even in this world of fear and terror there are people out there who want to reach out and receive strangers into their homes.”
Adam is now writing a book about Couch Surfing and his experiences of surfing the world-wide-couch. His profits will be donated to the Couch Surfing cause.
Couch Surfing is a non profit organisation which relies on donations from members; their guiding principle says “being a non-profit is essential to our mission,” The Couch Surfing website also states “the goal of CouchSurfing has never been about money, and using the site is free to all members. It’s all about helping to reach our vision of a better world.”
However, building up the courage to place your life in the hands of a complete stranger is hard, but the rewards of throwing yourself way out of the knee-depth comfort zone into over the head, murky waters are worth it.
Aliendheasja Fawilia, from Indonesia embarked on her first CouchSurf in October 2010, where she stayed on three couches in Berlin, Munich and Prague, “Well, my first surf was a bit scary because i never really knew what to expect. My hosts turned out to be great though and when I got back I told all my friends and family. Totally worth it!
“CouchSurfing is an amazing project that’s based on trust. It’s a great way to meet new, sincere people.”
There are obviously, many worries for women traveling solo who attempt to CouchSurf. The Good news? CouchSurfing has very few horror stories and members are encouraged to verify themselves by the simple act of a postcard being sent to their homes.
Being a solo traveller in the CouchSurfing world has the possibility to open up new horizons and places you would never have found alone.
Mike, from Birmingham talked about his first solo CouchSurfing experience: “I surfed for the first time in Spain last year. I was nervous to start but had a great experience and we’re still in touch!
“I absolutely love the ethos of CouchSurfing. It’s the perfect way to meet like minded folk who have local knowledge, especially when traveling alone. Love it!”
The CouchSurfing project boasts of 2,495,295 signed-up Surfers, 2,892,420 friendships created and 4,631,082 positive experiences over 245 countries and 80,905 cities world-wide.
So what are you waiting for? You no longer have the excuse of having no money to travel when flights are as little as £12 and accommodation is free: get out there and get surfing.
Go to www.couchsurfing.org to sign up and open your world.