Although I have never practiced couchsurfing myself, many of my friends -especially those who live in big rented houses with many old rooms and lots of space, fun and good vibes to share- have.
One of these friends is Liesbeth, who asked me to participate in a wonderful contest: she had to make a short video with pictures of people she had met through couchsurfing, or by traveling around the world.
Since she met me in Ghent (Belgium), where she comes from, I am also one of these people she has met around the world, or at least, one of her non-Belgian friends, and what is more important, a passionate traveler, backpacker, tourist, or just world viewer.
I agreed to participate in that video: I had to send her a picture of me and a wish...the picture I sent to her is of incredibly bad quality, so I really appreciate she even dared to include it in the final editing! -I think it was accepted just because of the wish I wrote...which is, by chance, a kind of summary and closing wish of all the rest-.
What a wonderful way of making people dream...I am proud of my creative friends, of all the people who appear in the video (most of them I don't know, but my sister Elisabeth, my best friend María and my dear Liesbeth herself do appear).
www.couchsurfing.org
https://plus.google.com/102186173500819286170/posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CouchSurfing
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CouchSurfing/7808849996
One of these friends is Liesbeth, who asked me to participate in a wonderful contest: she had to make a short video with pictures of people she had met through couchsurfing, or by traveling around the world.
Since she met me in Ghent (Belgium), where she comes from, I am also one of these people she has met around the world, or at least, one of her non-Belgian friends, and what is more important, a passionate traveler, backpacker, tourist, or just world viewer.
I agreed to participate in that video: I had to send her a picture of me and a wish...the picture I sent to her is of incredibly bad quality, so I really appreciate she even dared to include it in the final editing! -I think it was accepted just because of the wish I wrote...which is, by chance, a kind of summary and closing wish of all the rest-.
What a wonderful way of making people dream...I am proud of my creative friends, of all the people who appear in the video (most of them I don't know, but my sister Elisabeth, my best friend María and my dear Liesbeth herself do appear).
Do you want to get to know your world couchsurfing?
And what is Couch Surfing?
It is a cheap and great way to travel: you stay in someone else's house, who is also a couchsurfer (you have to register in the community
So you do not pay anything, and in return you get to know the locals of the places where you go to. You can also be the host, and then you can meet also international people at your own house. Two weeks ago, my friend Marieke organized an international dinner at her place because she was very enthusiastic about her first couchsurfer, and she wanted to make him feel at home. We all cooked something from our land, so we had dishes from India, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Czech Republic, Turkey, and Sweden...and the couchsurfer (a Brasilian) delighted us with a nice bossa nova improvised concert.
There is nothing more enriching than interculturality...and Ghent is such a hot-pot for it!
If you are thinking of visiting Ghent, get yourself and account in www.couchsurfing.org and look for Marieke, Marius, Gert...great guys, these friends of mine :-)
https://plus.google.com/102186173500819286170/posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CouchSurfing
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CouchSurfing/7808849996
Hello,
ResponderEliminarI like the idea of following a blog in English ;-)
I know the term "couchsurfing", but I have never done it, I think I am too shy... But it is such a good way to know people and visit countries!
What does "hot pot" means?
Best regards.
Hello Consu,
ResponderEliminarthanks for your comment :). Hot-pot is a word you use to mean that a place has a lot of something, for example:
Madrid is a hot-pot for/of theatre: it means that in Madrid the theatre movement is very big and interesting.
Austin is a hot-pot for musicians: it means there are a lot of good musicians in Austin (Texas), and many new talents that get formed there and can later on become world famous.
Best,
Ana
I knew "hot spot" didnt know that one. Could "hot-pot" be a British only expression?
ResponderEliminarGreets.
Well I don't really know, but I heard it in New Orleans and Texas (Shreveport), to a band of young musicians of Austin who justified their talents by saying that their city was a "hotpot" for musicians. In fact it literally means "cacerola" or "puchero", so metaphorically it can be linked to "a place where something gets cooked", in this case talent.
ResponderEliminarI will ask my British friends about this word anyways,
Cheers!
Ana
Yep, I do understand the metaphor. Here:
ResponderEliminar"their city was a "hotpot" for musicians"
"...and Ghent is such a hot-pot for it!"
What confuses me is that "for"
When we talk about hotpot, whe should use "of", "for", both?
I guess it depends on the context but...just asking. :)
Thx!
Hi desirius!
ResponderEliminarI think both are ok. "For" would be used when referring to the fact that it is a hot-pot for those who want to develop their talents, like "Sefo went to live in Austin because it is a hot-pot for guitar players and he wanted to make a career there".
Cheers!
Hello everyone,
ResponderEliminarI like very much this video, it is very important to dream but the most important is to act if you want your dreams to make true.
All the best !!!
Hi there!!
ResponderEliminarThis is just a fun and cheap way to travel if you have courage and you like adventures. I currently live in USA where this is quite common among low cost travellers. Basically, somebody offers you the sofa or a place in their house, and at least couple of years ago when I surfed USA it was totally for free and an amazing experience, at least in my case.
Ghent is amazing, as well as Bruges, but if we are talking about intercultural place in Belgium, you cannot miss Leuven. Such a small city, with so much charm and wonderful architecture and art all around the city, canals and statues that will take you to a dream. And the thing is that this city is full of students from all over the world due to the Khatholieke Universiteit Leuven, 10 min away from Brussels by train and with an incredible atmosphere and night life. I did my Erasmus year there, lived there after that and I know Belgium better than my own country. These three cities are breathtaking.
I thing that couchsurfing is a great option for on-a-budget travelers who want to experience a culture in a more home setting environment. It certainly must be an authentic experience and a great chance to make new friends, learn about traditions, local places of interest, local folklore. However, I don´t think that this way of travelling is appealing to everyone. It is more for backpacking travelers than for the families with kids.
ResponderEliminarFirst of all, you have to be open-minded and tolerant because you are having a sleepover with a complete stranger. Not everything will be to your liking, you have to deal with culture shocks, share bathrooms and space with complete strangers. You have to follow the host´s rules in the house, so you may find yourself obliged and restricted by the timetables and curfews.
I would really like to be a coachsurfer and organise an international event, let´s say a party. In this event everybody should go with examples of their national cuisine (including drinks!). And everybody should present themselves and explain what they would like to get from that enriching experience. It could also be a very good option if you want to travel on the chip and discover the most interesting people all over the world. There are no limits for that.
ResponderEliminar