So I bid adios to my Slovenian couch surfers Uros (pronounced “Oo-rosh”) and Maja (pronounced “Ma-ya”) this morning and it was a little sad. I felt like a parent sending their children off to summer camp or something, and I realised that it wasn’t the first time.
It always amazes me how closely I can connect to somebody in the span of two or three days, and that’s why I love the Couchsurfing project and what it stands for.
After wishing my guests off on the next leg of their great Canadian adventure (they’re on a bus to Montreal as I type this) I returned home and started searching for pics of my past guests. I have pictures of all but one and I regret not taking a picture of him when he was here. Maybe I’ll ask him to send me a recent picture of himself and his wife.
On my table sits a CS guest book which was actually a gift from two surfers from Oregon - Kristina and Amanda. I thought the book, with parting message and photo of themselves included, was a lovely gesture and I hold it amongst one of my prized Toronto possessions. It needs updating though, which is why I wanted to find the photos. I plan to print the photos and stick them in the book alongside messages from past guests. It reminds me of the high school “memory book” which I still have packed away in Sydney. I still cherish that thing until this day.
I also made the above photo collage and updated my CS profile with it. Inspired by Gail’s and Neesa’s profiles, I re-vamped mine last weekend. Definitely adds personality to the profile page when you put pics on it, and it isn’t all boring text. I tried to put a flickr badge on but CS has blocked any scripting. So I’m happy with just photos.
This weekend I’m in NYC and then the day I get back I’ll have a friend from Melbourne and his girlfriend surfing at my place.
Hosting is certainly rewarding, and at the same time it can be physically and mentally (and emotionally) demanding. Either way it’s definitely an experience worth doing.
I’ve got a request from a French surfer for the weekend of Aug 22 so I’ll consider whether or not to accept his request shortly.