Can I surf your couch?
My first couchsurfing experience was in 2008, when me and my friends(we were 6 in total) surfed a girl's place in Chicago for New Years.
Afterwards, followed some interaction with couchsurfers that surfed at my friends' place in Moldova.However, the most intense experience that I had with CouchSurfing community was whilst I was in China. First, I just attended the CS meetings, where I met people that traveled around the world, that lived in more countries than I have traveled to, I met people that became my family and they taught me what CS spirit really means.
After almost a full year of interaction with CS-ers, I courageously couch-requested CS-ers for my trip through China. And I can firmly say that it was one of the best decisions I've made. Staying over in hotels during a trip, besides being overly costly, it is also boring.There's a lot of confusion about CS and what it is. It's not just about saving money on your trip and staying at some random person, that might turn out to be a psychopath serial killer. It's about breaking through the comfort zone, adding human connection while traveling. It's about sharing stories, dreams, theories, debating and culturally exploring the world. After all, hotels are the same any place you go. Someone's home is a compilation of culture, life-experience and stories.It brings personality into your trip, and more than anything it teaches you how to trust people.
Since I'm back home, I really miss the cultural diversity that CS brought into my life. I miss listening to people's travel stories, listening to stories of how someone left his/her well paid job and just decided to travel around the world. I miss talking to people that decide to do what they want and love to do, contrary to society's believes. I miss talking to people that are different from me.These are some of the reasons why last month, with couple of other CS-ers in Chisinau, we have started organizing regular CS meetings. So if you're a CS-er and you're in Chisinau, please stay tuned for an announcement of a local CS meeting in Moldova's group on couchsurfing.com.
Another reason why I wrote this post is because of people like Pedro (http://www.facebook.com/Pedro.On.The.Road). Pedro is a CS-er that I met at our CS meeting in March and I wont stop repeating that people like him inspire me and have all of my admiration for their courage to follow their dreams.And I must thank CouchSurfing for giving me the opportunity to meet Pedro (and not only) and for allowing me to see beyond the narrow circle of the day-to-day life. And if anyone of you who's reading this has a doubt whether to couchsurf or not on your next trip- just do it and you'll never have to ask yourself again:)