It’s a novel experience and a leap of faith. To enjoy Couchsurfing, one must be open-minded, willing to trust people, and must not be solely motivated by the prospect of free board and lodgingEVERYTHING started through a chance meeting. It was a cold January morning in Banaue. I was dozing off in a jeepney en route to Sagada when I noticed that half of the Caucasian couple across from me was now inches away, introducing herself to my friends. That stranger’s unexpected friendliness on that bumpy ride set in motion something I have been decidedly enthusiastic about for over a year now—Couchsurfing.
Our new friends Jean Philippe and Caroline, as it turned out, were Swiss backpackers on the final leg of their round-the-world eight-month journey ("RTW,” in Lonely Planet speak). Having hit it off with them, we shared two days of spelunking and hiking. At night we talked about past and future travels over some local rum (strawberry lambanog). My friends and I, all twenty-something girls afflicted with wanderlust, told them we wanted to go to places we had never been to. In turn, Jean Philippe and Caroline regaled us with their South American adventures in Couchsurfing (CS), a yet-unknown activity to us.
Caroline recounted how they were hosted by people in Chile and Brazil through the non-profit online network of the same name. For them, it was a fun and more inexpensive way of getting to know a place through its locals.
Flash forward to this year: I now consider myself somewhat of a CS veteran. I joined the network a few weeks after I heard about it, intrigued at the thought of “surfing” someone else’s couch. After initial apprehensions, I was reassured by the sheer volume of positive feedback and the sensible advice on safety. I plunged into my first CS encounter quite randomly: a South Korea-based American teacher, Melissa, e-mailed me and asked if she could stay with me for a couple of days. Although initially wary, I checked out her profile (members must have one to be able to contact other Couchsurfers), and saw that Couchsurfers from different countries had left good feedback about her as a friend and as a guest. A few days later I picked her up at the airport, brought her to Saguijo (to watch a “rockin’ show,” as she described it), and showed her around Intramuros. After a few days she had to catch a plane to Boracay and on our last lunch together, we exchanged tokens. She gave me a necklace from Kenya and I gave her a book by an author she was eager to read.
Over the next several months after my first hosting stint, I had more positive CS experiences. I went to a couple of parties by the active CS Manila group. Sometimes I would host people for a few days (no more than two guests as my profile states).When it wasn’t a good time for me to host, I would opt to meet visiting Couchsurfers for dinner or drinks (the network has a “meet for coffee or drinks” option; members are not required to host people in their homes).
I relished playing both host and tour guide. It reawakened my sense of nationalism and challenged me to brush up on Filipino history and culture. Once, a guest asked me the exact year when Spain ceded the country to the US, and I was stumped. Suffice to say that from then on I’ve been trying to be more reliable when it comes to dishing out Pinoy facts and figures.
I’ve met such interesting Couchsurfers that if I could have all of them over for dinner, my guests would include a vinyl record-loving French photographer, a German theater actor eager to educate children in Africa, and a young American retiree (only 40-plus years old), who was passionate about scuba diving in Philippine waters. The cultural exchange has been more interesting than any of the guided tours my family has taken in Asia and Europe. Aside from the lively discussions on politics and religion, I learned that the Danish ride a bicycle everywhere, even when they go clubbing at night (they also invented the chat program Skype). I heard about the crazy “free parties” Parisian college students used to hold on empty fields. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out that two young German Couchsurfers I recently met chose to take their one-year internship in a little-known Eastern Samar town so they could help out a small community.
with fellow Couchsurfers in Brazil
No Couchsurfer can come full circle without surfing someone’s couch. A few months ago, I did exactly that. I traveled to South America with three of my equally gung-ho friends, excited to be traveling for the first time as Couchsurfers. Our first stop, Brazil, was an absolute delight—thanks in part to our CS hosts. Rio De Janeiro natives Patricia and her brother Marcos (we fondly called him “Markinho” or little Marcos) showed us around their beautiful city and treated us to where the locals had their feijoada (stew of black beans) and guarana juice (a soda made from tropical berry). We watched a wild and loud soccer game with a dozen Couchsurfers, who taught us their team’s cheer and made sure we didn’t get lost in the huge Maracana Stadium. Another host, Rosangela, welcomed us to her apartment along with her gracious mom who didn’t speak a word of English, but cheerfully gave us shots of cachaça (an alcoholic drink from sugar cane) to wash down the meals she had prepared for us. We went out in Lapa and Copacabana along with local Couchsurfers who were naturally great dance instructors. Another lovely host, Maira, brought us to the beach, patiently taught me how to dance the forro (a northeastern Brazilian dance), and introduced my palate to the açai berry. She and her friends showed a sincere interest in where we come from to boot. It was amusing to see them go to Google Earth just so I could show them exactly what part of the world I call home.
Our excellent CS adventure extended into chilly Argentina, where we hung out with CS friends and flatmates Camila and Elisabet. Camila, a hotel manager, cooked dinner for us and marveled at how a lot of Filipino words were rooted in Spanish. Elisabet, a Swedish journalist, entertained us with tales of her enviable six-month stay in the country. They brought us to a milonga, where the locals dance the seductive tango. We had traditional churros con chocolate too, plus an evening at the theater to watch a hip improvisational percussion show.
You can say I fell in love with the South American cities we visited largely because of the people we met through CS. Our new friends helped us with everything imaginable. On our second day in Rio De Janeiro we were unable to change our dollars into the local currency. Markinho generously loaned us his school allowance for the day so we could go around and see Ipanema beach. We got to sightsee, explore the nightlife, try homemade local dishes and practice our Spanish and Portuguese with our fellow CSers, something guidebooks and guided tours can’t offer.
It’s a leap of faith, this Couchsurfing thing. You have to be open-minded and edge out that cynic in you that finds it hard to trust people in general. There have also been notable accounts of some CS members receiving negative references. On one Couchsurfer’s profile, one female member wrote that he tried to hit on her while she was visiting. A Filipina member, on the other hand, reported that one CS guest was unbelievably demanding during her stay in her home. Safety too cannot be guaranteed a hundred percent. But as CS member Daniel told his skeptical parents, no one is going to fly a thousand miles just to steal your TV.
full-fledged Couchsurfers
As with any novel experience, just be extra careful, read the site’s introductory tips, and have your wits about you. Follow your instinct when judging someone’s trustworthiness online or in person. It is a must as well that you are not primarily motivated by having free lodging and food. You must have a genuine desire to see a travel spot’s charms through local eyes. Now that’s the stuff of many a priceless CS story.
* my first time to post in regular, non-ee cummings caps ;p
