My obsession with traveling began like most others. I was in the midst of my first big trip to a far-away land (in my case it was China) and I found myself experiencing these feelings that I never wanted to go away. They were feelings such as wanderlust, excitement, and amazement, but most importantly I felt like I had found, at least for myself, what the meaning of life was. And thus, I have been consumed by the desire to travel ever since and it has now become truly a lifestyle.
Me and some new Chinese friends on that significant trip to China!
After that trip I made certain to travel as often as I possibly could. 1 year I left the country 15 times! Although, I felt perpetually jet lagged, I was the most content I had ever been, because I was living a life of passion and fulfillment.
4 years ago, I was introduced to Couchsurfing by a fellow traveler. I was hesitant in the beginning to join, however after some gentle nudging I did and I can say whole-heartedly that it was an extraordinarily life changing decision. My weekly column is going to delve into the world of Couchsurfing. I will discuss how it has impacted my life through personal stories, as well tips on how to use it to your full advantage and on ways to avoid having negative experiences.
In the meantime, I will leave you with 2 links to check out: 1) This article was written by my friend Kristin, whom I met through Couchsurfing. It is a really good introduction to the site, plus I have a little cameo in it. 2) Here is my Couchsurfing profile. Once you have joined the site, please come and visit me and I will be glad to show you around the South!
[Editor's Note: I am very excited to begin featuring Andi's weekly column on Couchsurfing! If you have any questions or concerns you would like Andi to address in future articles, please leave a comment below to let her know.]
About the Author:
Andi Perullo is the author of 5 posts on Go Backpacking.
I am a Chinese Medicine Doctor by day, travel addict by night. When I am not treating patients, I am traveling or dreaming of the next place to visit. My adventure filled life is satiated only by more experience and more knowledge. To me, my country is the world and I want to explore all of it! My undying love affair with travel is due to the sheer intrigue of untrodden roads, different cultures, and life-changing encounters. To learn more about my travels visit My Beautiful Adventures.
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Categories: Couchsurfing, Post-trip
Post tags: blogsherpa, China, couchsurfing, travel
20 Comments
Welcome Andi! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your couch surfing adventures, I loved my experiences and couch surfing will always be part of my future travel plans.
Thanks Matthew!!! I'm so glad to hear that you've loved it and will continue to make it a part of your travels. I use it not only during my travels, but as a part of my daily life as well. Last night I shared tapas with 3 local CSers! :)
I absolutely love Couchsurfing. Obviously there are ups and downs, but overall it's been an amazing experience. I'm looking forward to reading more about Andi's CS tales!
I should probably start meeting some fellow CSers in my hometown as there are almost 500 of us.
Absolutely!!! I've traveled to some pretty cool places (one being Cuba) with CSers that I met at the local meetups!
I'll go through the ups and downs for sure, but I'm glad that it's been amazing thus far for you! Thanks for your comment. :)
Thanks for the shoutout Andi; I'll have to bookmark this site now that you have a weekly column here, woohoo!
-Kristin
Hi Kyle – me too. For such a popular, well-regarded service amongst travelers, I don't think it gets a lot of attention from bloggers. We're about to change all that!
Ok, the farthest I've traveled with my local CS friends is to the neighborhood coffee shop, however I can totally see bigger trips happening. Couchsurfers are always passionate travelers in my experience.
Hi Kristin,
Thanks for stopping by GoBackpacking and I'm glad to hear you'll be back to read more about Andi's couchsurfing experiences.
Yay, so happy you stopped by Kristin! Dave, Kristin is the CSer that I went to Cuba with!!! And of course I'd give you a shoutout, that was a great article. :)
Thanks for this – I've never heard of Couchsurfing. What a brilliant facility. My wife Nicky and I are keen travellers and love the idea of staying with local people. I need to look into this more. Thanks, Andi, for directing me to the Couchsurfing site!
Thanks for this – I've never heard of Couchsurfing. What a brilliant facility. My wife Nicky and I are keen travellers and love the idea of staying with local people. I need to look into this more. Thanks, Andi, for directing me to the Couchsurfing site!
Jorrit –
I love couchsurfing – both as a way to host travelers and be a guest when traveling. Stay tuned for a lot of great info and stories from Andi. The best part? It's a completely free service!
You're more than welcome! Please check back, because like Dave mentioned I'll be sharing a lot of really helpful information and my own personal stories. In the meantime, definitely check out the site. :)
I've recently discovered couchsurfing.com although I have yet to try it. I was wondering, have you, being the experienced couch surfer that you are, had any weird or bad experiences. Also, what was the best couchsurfing experience you ever had. Thanks!
Hi Barbara, thanks for stopping by. Speaking for myself, my worst experience with Couchsurfing was arriving in Surfer's Paradise, Australia after thinking I had a place to stay. But I hadn't communicated well with the guy, and when I arrived, he didn't respond to my emails/calls, and wasn't at his apartment. I accepted part of the blame in that situation, and learned a good lesson. Communication is KEY.
One of my best experiences, was my first time being the guest. Sam, a French doctor, greeted me at Tahiti's international airport with a flower lei, and after getting me settled, took me to his friend's going away party that night. It was at a house right by a black sand beach.
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I happened to notice on your CS profile that you never leave anyone else any references, what’s up with that?