My families wanderlust is constant hunger to see and do more.
We are gluttons of the road.
Sadly with school, work, and financial restraints, we are often left to shuffle our feet about our house looking for new ways to create experience. In our constant state of needing to do something, I thought hosting a couch surfer could both meet our needs for staying and experiencing at the same time.
A year or two ago my friend posted something on facebook about hosting a couchsurfer, I was so intrigued, he hooked me up with links and I started researching and fell in love with the idea. Not only is this a useful tool for me when I am traveling for work without my family but it is a great way to experience people and places you’ve never been.
I have yet to surf, but This past weekend we hosted our first surfer and I was extremely excited. My husband raised his eyebrows in “huh?” when I said what we would be doing with our weekend. “We are having a girl from Australia spend the night, she lives in Germany and she will be arriving by bike from Charleston.” I told him. Thinking back, I guess that is a lot of pieces.
As we ready our daughters room for a guest (yes, she STILL sleeps in our room), I get a text and our pedaling guest is two hours early and
our dinner guest off guard, sorry guys.
waiting outside the gate. I pull right outside the gate to see her sitting under a young tree for shade, reading a book, with her bike full of saddle bags. I throw on my hazards and stop. Introductions are made, we load up here bike and gear and head to the store.
She is a vegetarian so I decide to something a friend made for me, Zucchini Burgers. I invited two of my German speaking friends over, they each brought a veg-friendly dish. It turns out our guest is working on her Masters and is studying English. She is from Australia but going to school in Germany. She has couch-surfed across Europe and now before her semester starts in October she is biking down the east coast. She started in Philly and is trying to make her way to NOLA.
Our guest was super down-to-earth, and despite our joke about me or her being an ax-murderer, our politically incorrect card game and lack of entertainment, we had a good time. This is something I will do again no doubt.
and she is off.
When she left the following morning onto her next destination, my husband and I were filled with envy. I think if this resource is still around in 10-12 years this is something we could do as a family. Instead of looking for a couch or a room, maybe a yard we can pop a tent up in. After-all housing four is a lot to ask, but we can dream.
travelswithminis 