(Couch) Surfin' Safari

I've been wanting to write about this for awhile, but figured I'd wait until I had a little more experience with it under my belt. Well, given the wine I drank last night, I'm feeling pretty lethargic, and quite honestly, I just want to spread the word to those who don't know about it.

About a week before I left, contemplating different options and resources one might have to travel, I finally looked up something that I'd only vaguely heard of before - Couch Surfing. Figuring it was pretty much a simple database of people in different places around the world offering their couch to travelers, I decided to check it out. I set up a profile and dug in. But not terribly deep at first. Originally, as I said, I thought it was just people with couches - but as I explored the site, it turned out to be much more than that. Within the basic structure, there are hundreds of forums and discussion groups. I've only barely scratched the surface, but it seems that practically every country, region, city or even interests has it's own forum, and sub-forums besides. This is a huge community of people, getting together essentially for the benefit and betterment of everyone who cares to join. All (well - mostly) done selflessly and with goodwill.

My practical experience with it so far is still a little slim. After about 2 weeks in Vancouver, (almost having given up on the thing because I was unsuccessful in finding a couch for when I arrived) I decided to look at it a little closer. I joined the Vancouver CS community and arranged to meet with 5 people (a German, an Italian, 2 Japanese, and an American) for a bite to eat before we went to a bar to attend the weekly local "meet" (around 40-or-so others showed up) for some cheap drinks. I also invited my good friend Pat to join us. We had a blast! Lots of local people as well as travelers from all over the globe.

My second, and more lasting experience, was with Ivan - whom I wrote a bit about in my last entry. I won't go into the details of our week and a half adventure together, but it was because I saw his request on the "Canada rideshare" community that I found myself, quite unexpectedly, about 1400 miles south of Vancouver, in San Diego. Recently I saw someone looking for a driving partner to go from here to Chicago. I wrote to him, but haven't heard back yet. I've always wanted to see Chicago. This may seem a little haphazard - but for me, the unexpected is probably the thing I most value in traveling. It keeps things exciting, and, like stretching one's muscles it keeps a person flexible.

Now, an astute observer will notice that I haven't actually slept on anyone's couch. It's true - I haven't had any success, as of yet. Mind you - the only time I tried was when I first went to Vancouver. I sent out approximately 20 requests, with no positive replies. Considering it is best policy to send personalized messages to each prospective host (after all, they generally don't want to be simply a free bed for a night or two - most are looking to actually be a bit of an ambassador to their city and are interested in actually meeting people) , this was very time-consuming. Of course, my first weekend there was during the Van marathon, as well as hockey play-offs - very busy time in the city. Later, when I finally met some locals, one told me that he gets about 100 requests a week! It's not a perfect system, and I haven't attempted to surf again, but will definitely give it another shot. The site also provides an option for people to leave feedback for those that they meet. As one builds feedback, likely their chances of success increase.

The point of this entry, however, is not to relate my experiences with the site, but to encourage everyone to try it for themselves. If you have even the slightest interest in traveling, getting to experience people of other cultures, or even just meeting people in general, this is an incredibly useful (and inspiring) resource. And you don't have to be traveling or have a couch to participate - there is an option to simply be willing to go and have a coffee/drink with someone who is traveling through your town. Who knows, maybe that person will have a place for you to crash if you happen to be on their side of the world.

My profile:

http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/clyfhull/

Untitled (On Luck)

"Of course, I don't believe in witches...but there are witches."
-Argentinian saying

It seems to me that travelers tend to be a bit more superstitious than the average person. I'm not sure why. I haven't put a lot of thought into it, possibly it has something to do with the fact that a traveler's life is far less structured and "luck" or "omens" are a way of fending off chaos and randomness. I myself don't believe in such things, but still can't help but notice certain events and thinking them...interesting.

Ivan, my travel partner, and I arrived in Flagstaff, Arizona a week ago. Here, we met an Australian adventurer named Mick (his real name - no shit!) and, early Saturday morning we drove into the desert to do some exploring. Ivan took us to a little-known sacred mountain (apparently it isn't on any maps) in Navajo territory. He asked if we would like to climb it, but Mick refused, saying that he doesn't climb sacred areas unless invited. Fair enough. As we looked around the road, we noticed little petrified bits of wood that were now pretty much stone - or very hard beef jerky (the ground here is mostly red.) Thinking it looked pretty cool, I put one in my pocket without the others noticing. We left and checked out some some of the other places nearby. On our way back to town, a great dust storm blew up - so thick at times, it was like driving through dense, pink fog. We got back to town and Ivan went to a bar to watch a soccer game. I went to the hostel, excited to take a nap. As soon as I walked in, I was informed that neither Ivan nor I had a bed that night, as we neglected to inform them before we left that morning that we were staying. I looked around for other options (motels) but, it having been Memorial Day Weekend, even the lousiest of motel rooms were near $300. Ivan and I decided that it was time to move on. So we hopped in the truck and took off for the border. 45 miles south of town, we broke down and had to get towed back to Flagstaff. It was a rough night - the two of us sleeping together in the packed truck.

So the next day I started thinking about the previous day's events. I was sitting with Ivan and Mick, and asked if either of them had grabbed one of the rocks from the desert, as I had done. Amusingly, Ivan had, over which Mick laughed heartily and chastised him. "You realize," I said to Ivan "that we fucked ourselves!" Mick laughed harder. Of course, I wasn't entirely serious, but it was a hard thing to not notice.

The next day, Ivan (a very spiritual, superstitious person) asked me what I really thought about the stones, and if we should return them to where we'd gotten them. I had thought about this more myself, and reminded him of a story that he'd told me earlier in the trip. I don't remember exactly how it went, but it was essentially about a kindly old Chinese man who raised horses. One day his horses broke out of the stable and left him. "How unfortunate," said his friends. "Well, the horses have left, it's true. But I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing." Much later, all of the horses that had left, suddenly returned, and with many more besides. "How wonderful," claimed his friends. "Well, it's true - I have many horses, but I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, " said the exhausted man. I had remembered that I don't believe in "good" or "bad" luck. Yes, our plans came to a halt, but as the Chinese man said - I don't know if this was a good or bad thing. If it's not too trite sounding - "good" or "bad" is merely a matter of perspective. Indeed, I know that there are people who are quite ecstatic by these occurrences. Ultimately things just happen. If I want to inject any meaning into them, I don't see the stone as lucky or unlucky Rather, I like to think of it as having brought about the "winds of change" that blew the dust around that day. Neither malevolent, nor beneficent.

After that night in the truck, Ivan and I have been back in the hostel. I am on my way to San Diego today, but Ivan (who is fairly disabled) is stuck here waiting for repairs (given that his truck is a Japanese import, who knows how long that will take? Not to mention how expensive.) This morning, he told me that the hostel can only accommodate him until Friday because they have a 4 night maximum (we've been here a week now.) This, despite that he's somewhat of a regular here. Like the China man's friends - I feel bad for him. An hour ago, I am writing something completely unnecessary on the back of one of my homemade postcards of Halifax to leave for Ivan. Something akin to what I've been writing here. Ivan comes into the room, looks at the floor, says quietly, "So much beauty in this world.............What did I come in for - oh yes, my glasses." He immediately turns around and leaves. It kills me. I can't help but cry.