I was born and raised in France, and lived there for 10 years before moving to what was then a budding Silicon Valley. My parents, who come from different cultural backgrounds, and are both immigrants to France, adapted quite easily to the new life in the US, probably already used to and comfortable with the embracing of new cultures. As for me, it was just how I grew up. For example, many languages were part of my family already, and in High School I developed a natural interest in learning languages, just for the fun of it.
My interest in travel and cultures only grew stronger as time went by. I remember my very first CouchSurfing experience was while still in High School. I spent nearly a month with a Catalan family, not too far from Barcelona. The family was so nice. They spoke Castellano (the common dialect of Spanish) just for me, and took me in as one of their own. I enjoyed their home cooking, traditions, and of course I perfected my Spanish thanks to them. Since, I've had a handful of CouchSurfing experiences... Tahiti and Brazil were amongst my favorites. Thanks to living with locals there, I experienced their cultures first-hand, and gained understanding and knowledge I normally would have been blind to. I would like to CouchSurf every time I travel now... If I could only find the time! I'm working full time at the moment (I'm a product designer in a software company) and am planning to go back to school for an MBA...
Meeting Casey and the other founders of CouchSurfing.com has been a true blessing. CouchSurfing is bringing us together in a common vision where travel is redefined to mean a lot more than a vacation, or sightseeing. It's bridging cultures, creating new friendships, and encouraging the practice of giving and sharing. To me the most important is that last bit. When you host someone for free, you are opening up your home, your personal things, etc.. to someone you may have just met. As a host, you give without expecting anything in return. And more often than not, this creates a special bond between host and guest, which does not exist in Hotel, Resorts, and even Youth Hostels. It's also important to note that the host (and to be more precise, a good host) will end up receiving much more than they gave in the end.
I believe CouchSurfing.com can truly help spread good in the world. All it takes is a host, a guest, and of course, a couch. And it will happen, one couch at a time...
