Couchsurfing.
I think its one of those things people have heard of but not sure if they would ever try. I was the same. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing, people like to talk, people value what their friends have to say. I used my friend, Graham's, opinion as the title of this blog.
I have to admit, he didn't really sell it to me.
How I came to discover couchsurfing was when I was in Fiji. I met Jukey, an ex army guy from America who also happened to be traveling to Auckland after Fiji. We spent a couple of days together exploring, and as he was leaving for NZ before me, I asked him which hostel he was staying in. Maybe as a recommendation, or just to hook up with him again for more traveling. He introduced me to the concept of couchsurfing. Even though I had heard alot about couchsurfing, I hadn't actually spoken to someone who had hosted/ surfed, and well, Jukay did a good job selling it to me. People value what their friends have to say.
'What, so, when you head out to work, do they leave with you for the day, or do you give them a key? How does it work? Do you lock up your stuff?' I asked.
And he said, 'No, actually. I don't lock up my stuff haha. I guess you just have to trust people.'
I was like wow, and I signed up to the site the next day. I still wasn't sure whether I would try it but I signed up to see what it was all about. As a Couchsurfing member, you have a profile page, and you state whether you are hosting, surfing, or traveling. It is based on a reference system so its like feedback. People write that you are awesome/ rubbish to have around, etc. So from these references, and from what someone has written about themselves on their page, you can build an idea of what that person is like.
I was quite keen to see if Jukay's host had space for me on the nights Jukay was staying. Just so I had someone I knew to freak out with haha, but his couches were all full. I did end up staying in a hostel for a week or so but I figured since I was hanging around Auckland for a bit that I should try and meet some locals. Get some of their insight into the city, and not just the generic touristy stuff. This is what I love best about the couchsurfing concept. Traveling through SE Asia, my best experiences were ones where the locals let me in, and gave me a taste of their everyday life. You can't beat that.
I sent off a few requests. Got a few declines. I didn't have any references, and well, I hadn't ever written a request to someone to sleep on their couch before. What do you write?!? It felt pretty good, getting my first accept haha. I was nervous but his picture looked nice. Looks do count.
So my first host... (Hi John!) I told you I would write about you!! First of all, he was shorter than I thought he would be. I can't stop meeting short boys in Auckland apparently. I had a friend I could txt to say I was safe, and it was sweet as. After 7 months traveling, it was like, back to reality. John would wake up at like 530 to get to the gym before work, and I wouldn't see him until like 6 in the evening. I would say he was one of my first friends in Auckland. I think people often just surf a couch, and then move on but we kept in touch cos we're cool like that.
I've met some really good people through the site. Within like a week of signing up, I had organised to go away on a weekend with couchsurfers. I managed to hook up a ride down to Coromandel, and I spent the weekend hanging out with people I'd never met before. It was crazy, and probably would have never met these locals or went on a trip like that if I had stayed in a hostel. A week after that, I was doing the Tongariro Crossing with people who put up an ad on couchsurfing. One of the girls from the Coromandel trip, Sarah, was friends with the girl doing the Tongariro Crossing so it wasn't a completely random.
'For some reason I wasn't so worried about going on a road trip...' I said.
'What if we kidnapped you?'
Huh. I didn't think about that I admitted, haha. I did feel more easy about going on the trip after Sarah said her friend was cool. References.
My experiences have been good so far. I've met some sweet people from all over the world, and locals. Learnt some new words in several different languages. Practised my High school German. (I am getting good- and phrases like, how much pocket money do you get per month; do you have pets? are ACE. they are only useless if you make them useless!! actually if I asked an 11yr old German these questions they would probably think I was crazy). I got a job through couchsurfing! Getting pretty good at frisbee. Been to some real local places. Co founded Merlot Monday (this shit is goin to take off). Sharing stories. Made friends to visit from loads of countries around the world. Living life!
Ahh, yeah. My mum did freak out when I told her I was surfing with a 40yr old man. I don't think the site will ever shake the sex party vibe off but it happens so I guess Graham was right in a way. Some people will host you to try and hook up with you- I didn't sign up for this shit you tell them, or you might be into that.
You pick your own experiences.
