G'day and Welcome to My Home

While I was living in the UK a few years ago, I learned about CouchSurfing from a friend. You can learn more about the organisation at www.couchsurfing.org, but in a nutshell, it's a network of travellers who provide accommodation and travel advice for each other. Although I was a little skeptical in the beginning [because seriously, how insane is it to stay with and/or host complete strangers?!], I did end up using it when I lived in and travelled around Ireland, meeting up for drinks with fellow CouchSurfers in Dublin and staying with hosts in both Galway and Limerick. Since I had had such positive experiences then, I turned to CouchSurfing again last year when I vacationed in the Pacific Northwest and met some awesome people, including an American who had lived in the South Pacific for three years and was able to give me some advice about Australia and New Zealand.

Up until now, I simply didn't have the facilities to invite anyone to stay with me; however, now that I'm living in an exciting city with my own place, I thought it would be a good time to give the other side of CouchSurfing a try:: hosting. Last week, I had my first CouchSurfers stay with my housemates and me for a few days. They were a couple from Lorient, France who had been living and working in Perth for the past several months and wanted to do some travelling around Australia before heading home. This past week, I hosted someone from a small town outside of Pisa, Italy who works with wine back home and is visiting vineyards in Australia. To show his appreciation for the accommodation, he even made me a popular pasta dish from his hometown.

The obvious precautions apply, but overall, it's a brilliant tool for those who love to travel and to meet people from....... everywhere. It's the perfect way to start breaking down cultural barriers, and I love it.