• Published in Compass Magazine  and Irish Independent, Lifestyle                             

French poet Charles Baudelaire once wrote: “But the true travellers are they who depart/ For departing's sake; with hearts light as balloons,/ They never swerve from their destinies,/ Saying continuously, without knowing why: 'Let us go on!'/ These have passions formed like clouds.” If Baudelaire was alive, he would probably have appreciated the spirit of CouchSurfing. 

Forget travel guides, posh hotels in the city center and dinners in the “best traditional restaurant in town” - usually an expensive tourist attraction filled with kitschy local memorabilia. CouchSurfing is all about people. This worldwide network, based on mutual trust, is made up of people who offer their “couches” to other members, and/or show guests their city and local culture. Connections are made by sharing personal profiles on line at the CouchSurfing hub, www.couchsurfing.org. The project was strarted in 2003 by Casey Fenton, a young programmer from New Hampshire and since then it has become a worldwide craze. According to statistics on the site, this melting pot of people has almost 2 million members worldwide. Ireland has its fair share of CouchSurfers too, with 4,000 members in the Dublin group alone.

CouchSurfing doesn't mean, as is often believed, a cheap way to travel: ”Sometimes I receive requests from very young people who just don't want to pay for a hotel,” said Micaela Gallozzi, Italy. “On the contrary, I travel as if I'm going to visit a friend.” It means going beyond the usual tourist experience of visiting a place and really seeing a destination as the locals see it. Members bring home great memories, but also lifelong friendships. 

Most members keep in touch with the people they meet, sharing the sensation to having contributed to making the world a little smaller and friendlier. “While I was in [Washington] D.C., “ said Mud - Jerrod Ward, from Texas, “we were at a street festival watching a band play and someone came up to me and asked if I was from Houston. He was a CouchSurfer I had lunch with one day eight months earlier on his trip to Houston. It's a small world and CouchSurfing is helping to make it even smaller!” 

For many, CouchSurfing is a way to understand a different culture from people who truly represent it, by sharing a small portion of their lives in their own houses. “To find out how these people live and think, in the end is a cultural exchange,” said Micaela. “I would have never discovered the secrets of the wine manufacturing process if I hadn't met an Australian cook in Spain, or understood homeopathy if I hadn't spoken to Amarch, a Swiss girl I hosted.”

Patricio Rymer, a Uruguayan, stayed in Ireland for four days in April 2008, hosted by "Dublinguy" or Rory. He was hosting four other people from the US and Canada at the same time. “He is one of the best people I've ever met while traveling. This guy lent us his car with a GPS. That had never happened to me before. He showed us interesting places near Dublin and was extremely interested in my country and culture,” said Patricio. “He also showed me several books about Irish culture and history. He gave us maps, mobile phones and plenty of good advice.”

Every member has a story to tell. Many claim their CouchSurfing adventures are amongst the best experiences of their lives. And some of their stories make the world look like a small neighborhood.

Mud was backpacking from Prague through Germany and on to the Netherlands. His route took him through Stuttgart, Germany, where he wanted to go to the VFB Stuttgart - Arsenal football match. His CouchSurfing hosts in Stuttgard were Sandra and Jean, a couple. “It just happened that my host had season tickets for the Stuttgart team so they were going to the game as well. They gave me a jersey to wear to the game and taught me all of the chants to yell,” he said. “That was almost two years ago and we still stay in contact. They came to the U.S. last September, to Washington D.C., and I decided to fly up from Texas to spend a weekend with them there.”

CouchSurfing can even become a lifestyle choice. Lukasz Podsiedlik, from Poland, and Frank van Steenwijk, Netherlands, live in a flat in Smithfield with two other site members, Irene and Jip. The living room is large and sparsely fournished, apart from a table, a few chairs and three couches. They specifically looked for a welcoming, spacious place to host CouchSurfers. “Since then, we've been hosting something like 100 CouchSurfers per month, some of them CouchSurfing addicts like me,” said Frank, smiling. “We have couches, mattresses, blankets, some people bring their own stuff and some sleep on the floor, they don't mind.” On St. Patrick's Day, theyhosted 22 people. They have one spare key, which they give to CouchSurfers, “if we feel comfortable with them,” Frank adds. “Every day there are new people in the house... They tell their stories, they often cook for us or bring some kind of present. Personally, I believe that CouchSurfing is the most social thing that could happen to you in your life.”

Local CouchSurfing groups often organise meetings and trips. “I remember when I first came to Dublin in 2005,” said Maurizio Piccini, Italy. “Myself and another member, Rory, began to organise meetings. There were very few people at the beginning. At the third meeting there were no more than 60 people. But eventually I had to quit, I didn't have much time and sometimes it was like a job, mostly when we started to organise meetings for more than 200 people.” Maurizio eventually met his wife through CouchSurfing. 

Despite the obvious advantages of CouchSurfing, you need to be open-minded and adaptable if you opt for this kind of travel experience. “Over the past three years I've met over 1,500 people. Clearly, you don't always like every person you meet,” says Frank. “It goes beyond the CouchSurfing experience, it's about relationships.” He remembers two girls who hitchhiked to his house in Rotterdam. They rang the doorbell at 3 am and left the next day without even saying goodbye. “These things happen, but it's rare,” he comments. Maurizio realised that he didn't like to host students. “I used to go out with them at night and sometimes they didn't want to pay for buses or taxis to go home; I often had to work the day after, I had different needs,” he says. 

Nonetheless, CouchSurfing can be advantageous for a number of reasons. For some, it is a springboard to begin a new life in a different country, or to get some practical advice. “It isn't easy when you arrive in a new place and you don't know anybody. With CouchSurfing I began to meet people - usually open minded - and make friends,” says Micaela. “My house in Spain was always crowded with Erasmus students who looked for help finding a room to rent, and I used to tell them where the cheapest rooms were or which part of the city was safest.” There are also people who use CS to research for their graduation thesis, or for job interviews. “One of my best friends told me about CS just before he got married and traveled the world for 10 months on their honeymoon... most of it CouchSurfing. Since then, I've been all about it,” says Mud. 

It isn't surprising that so many people share this philosophy of hospitality. CouchSurfing is more than just another way of travelling – it's the jumping off point for a host of great memories and serendipitous encounters. We'll leave the final word to Baudelaire. “O marvellous travellers! What glorious stories/ We read in your eyes as deep as the seas... Tell us, what have you seen?”