When first-year graduate sociology student Catherine Cotrubi travels, she has the choice of more than one million couches worldwide to choose from. This is because Cotrubi is a member of Couch Surfing, an online community devoted to connecting travelers in more than 230 countries and provinces around the world.
“The idea of it is really international relations in its purest form,” Cotrubi said. “It’s a network of people who love to travel, love getting to know other people and aren’t afraid to go out of typical comfort zones to get to know others.”
To Cotrubi, this virtual community is about more than just having multiple places to crash for the night, it’s about cultivating the true spirit of travel. Cotrubi feels that American writer and avid traveler Bill Bryson’s following words best embody this spirit:
“To my mind,” Bryson wrote, “the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”
The site was initially created with the intention of connecting travelers in order to have a place to “surf,” or stay as a guest in the homes of locals in whichever city they find themselves. Currently, the Web site has more than one million members.
First-year graduate physics student Andrew McGowan’s experiences hosting were more about showing surfers parts of the area that they may have otherwise missed.
“A few students from Russia stayed with me for a weekend,” McGowan said, “and I ended up taking them up to D.C., out on the Rappahannock River and showing them a lot of aspects of Virginia they would have never seen before.”
For him, couch surfing is more than just a good way to cut down on expenses, but it is the best way to travel in order to truly experience an area.
“It is a good way to save money, but the most valuable thing is that it provides an opportunity for cultural exchange,” McGowan said.
By making a personal connection first, travelers are able to see the area through the eyes of someone who knows much more than tourist brochures.
“If you go to a city and you don’t know anybody, the degree to which you can get to know the city and people there is much smaller,” McGowan said. “Couch surfing helps you to break through the tourist part and connect with people on a different level.”
Amro Tawfic, a first-year masters student in crop and soil sciences, first got involved with couch surfing while attending his school at the University of Cairo in Egypt. Though seemingly on the other side of the world, one of his most rewarding experiences with the Web site was a connection he made with the local community in the New River Valley.
“Last year, I was unable to go back home to Egypt for Christmas and really had nothing to do in Blacksburg,” Tawfic said. “Someone contacted me from Roanoke through Couch Surfing and invited me to have Christmas with their family. It was really nice to reach out like that.”
While couch surfing may have its perks, surfers are encouraged to exercise caution when planning to travel in this way. There are safety precautions set up on the Web site. When evaluating their options, most surfers trust the profiles of their fellow members.
“The safety protocols in place only work (with) participants exercising caution,” McGowan said. “It’s always good to have a backup plan, just in case.”
Profiles on the Web site include basic information and additional sections to offer viewers deeper insight into the lives of members, such as each participant’s “current mission,” “personal philosophy” and “amazing thing done/seen.”
Through these areas, surfers are able to narrow their searches and build the travel experience they desire.
Cotrubi, who has never had a negative experience with the site, encourages travelers to be as flexible as possible when making plans.
“You usually get a feeling if you trust someone or not, but regardless, try to be open-minded, and roll with the punches,” Cotrubi said. “With most travel you do things on the fly anyway.”
In such instances, like when multiple couches are occupied in an area, surfers can connect with others traveling to their city and offer information about the neighborhood.
“We’re all connected,” Tawfic said, “by a sense for discovering new things, for going out in the world and meeting new people.”
For Tawfic, the connections of solid relationships and potential meetings are the best part.
“It’s like a connection to the world,” Tawfic said.
Couch surfing provides new friends, experiences
After a good amount of research, I myself was both curious about couch curfing and anxious to have some travelers occupy my own couch, and this allowed me to show them Blacksburg from my point of view. After joining the site and filling out my profile as honestly and openly as possible, I waited.
About two weeks later, a request popped up — two graduate students from the University of Tennessee at Chatanooga were interested in crashing on my couches for a night as they traveled to Delaware to visit friends over spring break. I briefly checked out their profiles — their photos looked fairly average and overall un-serial killer-like, their taste in music each unique and good-natured, their travel experience varied; but more than that, their request came with a compliment on my Jeep, Bruce, who accompanies me in my own profile photo. Admittedly, I’m a pushover for vehicle flattery, so I wrote back just a few minutes later.
After some brief correspondence, the details were sorted out — my two “friends” would arrive Thursday night. Over the next few days I began sharing my excitement with whomever I came in contact wit. Much to my chagrin, this enthusiasm was not reciprocated.
Most thought I wouldn’t make it to my coveted spring break trip the next day on account of some mysterious “incident.”
My mom just went silent on the phone, and I could practically see her shaking her head in disagreement, yet knowing there was little at this point she could ever do to change her stubborn daughter’s mind. My roommates shared my enthusiasm at first, then admitting later they had talked in private about their doubts.
All day Thursday I let these doubts get the best of me. Should I have been so quick to invite them? Is there really such a thing as an international community built solely on some blind hope that people are basically good?
I did my best to dismiss these thoughts. I made a batch of sangria as I awaited their arrival, and had a glass to calm my nerves.
When my surfers pulled in around 10 p.m., I ran out to introduce myself. They brought gifts of homemade cookies and some Tennessee-made whiskey.
We stood around my kitchen, vaguely getting to know each other. I made an obscure attempt to joke about my relief that they weren’t ax murderers. The kitchen air became thick with nervous laughter as our sangria consumption increased. I realized at that point they likely had their own doubts about me, and so I attempted to make my guests as comfortable as possible.
Within about an hour we were warmed up, and I was more than ready to play tour guide. The surfers, my roommates and I spent the rest of the evening enjoying cheap beer and good conversation at a few fine select Blacksburg establishments.
The next day my surfers pulled out of my driveway and left me with the assurance that, with a little discretion and a lot of trust, couch surfing has the potential to become a worldwide movement at not only providing cheap accommodations, but building trust and friendship among spirited travelers.