Couch surfing through Mexico
Seeing the world from strangers' sofas
By Sarah Milnar
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- CouchSurfing allows for free international lodging
- Program has almost 500,000 members
- Safety verification in place
- Surfers get taste of local culture
PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO—Spring break travel took a twist for College of Engineering senior Joseph Johnnie. He skipped hotels and chose alternative accommodations for his trip to the east coast. Through an international non-profit organization called CouchSurfing, Johnnie crashed on someone's couch in Washington, D.C., for free.
Since its founding in 2003, CouchSurfing.com has gained almost 500,000 members internationally, said Courtney Wiher, Milwaukee's CouchSurfing ambassador.
"You meet incredible people doing this," Wiher said.
Wiher, 25, is one of two Wisconsin ambassadors. They are responsible for mobilizing the CouchSurfing community by promoting public awareness and keeping friendly and casual relations with surfers, she said.
All ambassadors are volunteers, said Wiher, who works at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, 830 N. 19th St.
Wiher began CouchSurfing in 2005 when her lodging plans for a trip to Japan fell through. Wiher said she discovered CouchSurfing when she typed "stay in Japan for free" into an Internet search. Since then, she has traveled to eight different countries spanning from Ireland to Paraguay. She's hosted or visited with more than 30 different surfers from an assortment of religions, races and cultures, she said.
"In a world where estrangement is so prevalent, CouchSurfing promotes the breakdown of barriers," Wiher said.
Wiher said she recommends surfers be open-minded, but she added that safety should also be a priority.
Surfers can complete a three-level verification process. They primarily maintain personal CouchSurfing references online. CouchSurfing can also verify a surfer's name and address connected with a bank account or credit card payment. Thirdly, members can be "vouched" for by other CouchSurfing members. The pair must have met in person, and surfers must be vouched for by three other members in order to vouch for someone else, according to the Web site.
Surfers can choose how much of the verification process they complete, and do not need to be verified at all to be a member of the Web site. But other surfers generally feel more comfortable with higher levels of verification, Wiher said.
Wiher added that surfers can decline hosting requests.
"But they're people too who are taking a chance to stay in someone's home," Wiher said. "They have the same concerns as you."
But such safety concerns do not faze everyone.
Johnnie, who has couch surfed three times, said he chose his hosts by looking for people near his age who "just seemed cool."
By viewing online profiles similar to MySpace and Facebook, Johnnie said surfers can get a general idea of the character of a potential host.
This is why Johnnie said he thought such paranoia about security was overdone.
"Everyone assumes that everyone's some serial killer out to kill you," Johnnie said. "But if they killed you they wouldn't have any references."
Johnnie added that he would choose CouchSurfing over a hotel stay any day.
"It gives you a more authentic experience of the local culture of a place," Johnnie said. "If you go in a hotel you're going to get tourist things. If you go with someone who actually lives there, you'll learn so much more about the area."
Marlene Bolaños, a 19-year-old couch surfer from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, said she tries to spend all her free time with the surfers she hosts. This way she can help acquaint them with the area and meet others in Puerto Vallarta.
"(What we do is) really up to them, but I just try to make them feel really comfortable," Bolaños said.
A Belgian man named Nelson contacted Bolaños two days prior to showing up on her doorstep. She took him fishing, to the beach and to popular restaurant Señor Frog's with other CouchSurfing friends, she said.
Nelson slept on the living room couch for almost a month. Bolaños said he made good friends with her neighbors and two roommates.
Although Bolaños has only made her couch available to surfers since she moved out of her parent's house at the start of 2008, she said she has met friends from all over the world through other friends who have hosted surfers. Many of her best friends are couch surfers, she said.
"Every couch surfer that I met is wonderful," Bolaños said. "They are just amazing people you don't meet every day."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Sandy Rosell
posted 3/28/08 @ 5:27 PM CST
Even though couch surfing through Mexico might be an appealing story, there is a story within a story as only writer Sarah Millner can relate. Could we please hear a bit more your Canopy Tour of the Sierra Madres. (Continued…)
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