Mississippi Dreamin

Michael Sean is getting ready for his 1800 mile trip down the Mississippi in a canoe. He is planning on couchsurfing the whole way, staying in CS host houses along the river. If you would like more info or find out how you can help, shoot him an email. Michael Sean will proudly display the couchsurfing logo on his canoe. If they give him one.

Michael Sean

Surf a mutant sofa in the desert: Burning Man festival to see its first CouchSurfing camp

Surf a mutant sofa in the desert: Burning Man festival to see its first CouchSurfing camp

Over eighty members of CouchSurfing are to form a camp of the same name at the Burning Man (link: www.burningman.com) festival, an annual event that takes place in Black Rock City, the name of a temporary town that rises every August in the Nevada desert to exist for one week only.

Burning Man, a festival dedicated to art, self-reliance and radical self-expression, will start on Monday, 27 August and will continue for a week. Last year’s event drew 40,000 people from around the world. CouchSurfing members also organized a party using a CouchSurfing group devoted to the event. This year will see the first theme camp dedicated to CouchSurfing, and a “mutant couch” will become the centerpiece of the camp.

Neither the CouchSurfing camp or Burning Man is officially connected to or funded by CouchSurfing. However, Casey Fenton (link: www.couchsurfing.com/caseyfenton), co-founder of CouchSurfing.com, says the website was partly inspired by Burning Man and that “a large portion of the first members of CS were burners”. The name “burners” refers to enthusiasts of the event. “These people created wildly individual and colorful profiles, setting the stage for the amazing collection of people that CS is now”, Casey adds.

Pointing out similarities between the to organizations, Casey says, “CouchSurfing and Burning Man both inspire people to do great things and reach for the stars. Both encourage people to get involved and participate instead of spectating.”

The initiative to set up a CouchSurfing camp for the festival was born nowhere else but on the CouchSurfing website by enthusiastic CouchSurfing members. “There were several posts on ‘Burning Man’ group calling for someone to take the lead on doing a CS camp. I decided to go ahead and put it together and take the summer off from school”, says James Lathrop, known to his campmates as Sofa King in Charge (link: www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=1OASNIF). “The only rule that I've stuck to from the beginning is that every single member of CouchSurfing camp is a member of CS.”

Lathrop said he first expected around 20 people to register but the popularity exceeded his anticipations and now there are 85 CouchSurfing members signed up to be part of the camp. “That posed a special challenge to me to make sure that everyone was fully prepared for the experience”, says Lathrop, who will be attending the event for the fifth time. According to Lathrop, most CouchSurfers at the camp will be Burning Man “virgins” – a term used to describe first-time attendees of the festival. “I think that is because most of the veterans in CS are already with other groups of friends or other camps.”

Lathrop and his campmates are currently building the Mutant Sofa from many donated couches that is to become the symbol of the camp. Lathrop says it will be his first interactive art project for Burning Man festival, so named for its yearly ritual burning of a large wooden effigy.

Lathrop is not the only person taking the initiative to put the camp together. Other camp organizers include Howard Chong (link: www.couchsurfing.com/people/chongman99), Thomas Ploszaj (link: www.couchsurfing.com/people/studebaker), Kelly Cochran (www.couchsurfing.com/people/bikiniskigirl), and Jay Walsh (link: www.couchsurfing.com/people/jaywalsh). Rachel Fiori (link: www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=77LGCK) took on tasks of preparing the camp kitchen, shower, and dirty water disposal. The festival requires that all attendees bring their own water to drink and use at the event, and the dirty “grey water” must be evaporated or transported out of the event. By US federal law, it cannot be dumped on the desert, and the festival organizers make great efforts to return the desert environment to its natural state after the events.

This will be a “virgin burn” for Rachel, who is an active CouchSurfing host in San Francisco, California. Fiori, known to her good friends and campmates as Princess Fiori, says she is overjoyed to be in the same camp as a few of her CouchSurfing friends. Not willing to stop hosting even while traveling, Fiori will be providing a ride from San Francisco to Black Rock City to two Italian CouchSurfers. She also plans to open her home in Black Rock City for anyone that needs a place to stay during a cold desert nights. “Campo de Fiori tent space is available for surfing while my home base couch is not. Feel free to surf on over to the Mutant sofa or Campo de Fiori.”

The CouchSurfing camp will host pot-luck party on Wednesday of the event, with help from Cochran. It will also hold a pancake breakfast on Thursday morning, with Walsh flipping the pancakes. The breakfast will be given out for free, as commerce is completely disallowed at the event, and even bartering is discouraged. But Walsh is no stranger to serving up free pancakes. In addition to being known in San Francisco for his pancakes at CouchSurfing meet-ups, he says, “I hosted an all-pancake breakfast at my camp two years ago, and was really excited to find out that CS Camp wanted to do one as well.” Interviewed in his San Francisco home while testing his batter that he transport to Black Rock City, Walsh added, “Nothing beats pancakes for breakfast out in the desert.”

For more information about the Burning Man event or the CouchSurfing camp, you may visit these links:
www.burningman.com
www.couchsurfingcamp.com
www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=434

Mattthew Brauer

Cycling against the Darfur Genocide and couchsurfing along the way

I have been an enthusiasi member of couchsurfing since 2005 and next week, I am going to start a 600 kilometers bike ride in the south of France. I am raising awareness about the genocide in Darfur and funds for Darfur refugees. Individuals have been sponsoring money to a non-profit called Global Grassroots, which works in Refugee camps in Chad, in honor of the kilometers that I will ride. I want to continue to raise funds or this worthy cause! I will be couchsurfing during my bike trip and I have already had many generous CSers agree to host me along the route. To find out more about my trip, to get involved, or to read my trip blog visit

www.cyclingfordarfur.com

ROBYNBIRD

Terrible earthquake in Peru... how to help

As many of you already heard, last wednesday (August 15th)Peru suffered a terrible earthquake from 7.7 degrees .
People from the South (Chincha, Pisco and Ica took the worst part. To the date there are more than 500 human victims, lots of hurted people and many material damages (more than 60% of the houses in Ica felt down and more than 80% in Pisco).
As you understand the governmet and private institutions are making their best efforts to help people in the disaster area, but I think it could get better "with a little help of our friends".
I just wanted to say that we should be organized and informed about the places or organisations where we could send our help.
Here is a web page from a local newspaper where you can find out how to help or donate and where:

www.elcomercio.com.pe/ediciononline/HTML/olecportada/2007-08...

I'm sure that in Coushsurfing we all share more than couches. It's about friendship, support and to be with your CS fellows in the good ones and in the bad ones too. I think our travelers community understands how people is feeling right now and that many of them are willing to help, just they don't know how.
For that I'm sending you this list published in "El Comercio" local newspaper.

Hope you all are ok and that all this ends in a short time.

Thanks to all people from the groups Peru, South America and other ones for their support and thoughts.
Rocio Jimenez Sablich
(Lima - Peru)

DONATIONS:

IF YOU WANT TO DONATE BLOOD:
-Health Ministry: Avenida Salaverry block 8
-Youu can also do it in all the blood banks from the following hospitals:Dos de Mayo, Loayza, Essalud Rebagliati, Almenara, Sabogal, Fuerzas Armadas, Policía Nacional and Hospital de la Solidaridad.

TO DONATE FOOD AND CLOTHES:
-Nationa Stadium North platform , in Santa Beatriz
-Air Group Nº 8 from Lima, in Callao
-All churches from Peru will collect, also with "Caritas del Perú" organisation, clothes, water and food.
-San Borja Municipal governmet: Avenida Joaquín Madrid, block 2
-Pentagonito circuit: San Borja Norte Ave. with Boulevard
-Ebony shopping center:San Borja Sur Ave. with Parque Sur, block 1
-Plaza Vea supermarket in San Borja shopping center
-Jesús María Municipal governmet has 3 campaign tents in San felipe Ave. block 9. They'll be collecting food, medicines and water.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE US:
-To help you can call to:(001) 202-462-1081 / 202-462-1084 and 462-1085.
Also the St. Matthew's church from Washington DC will donate to Peru all what they collect in the mass from this sunday Aug.19th.

IF YOU WANT TO DONATE MONEY:
-Banco de Crédito del Perú:
193 199999998 0 15 (Moneda nacional -Soles),
193 199999999 1 16 (Moneda extranjera -US$).
-BBVA Banco Continental:
0011-0444-4444444444 (soles),
0011-0444-4444444446 (US$),
0011-0444-4444444447 (euros).
-Scotiabank:
3022500(US$),
5074657 (soles)
-Interbank:
2000000001118(US$),
2000000001119(soles)

IN SPAIN:
-You can send your donations to the following bank account:
Banco La Caixa (Barcelona): 2100-0479-21-0200048852.

IN CANADA:
- You can send your donations to the General Peruvian consulate account,in Toronto, Sismo Perú 2007
Account, # 06702 113 - 4329 from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

Rocio Jimenez Sablich

CouchSurfing Wiki Founder Gets Banned From The Wiki He Founded

Today the founder of the CouchSurfing Wiki got banned from editing the Wiki he founded almost one year ago. He deserves this, since he has shown to not fulfill the mission in any kind of way.

Four weeks ago he moved some articles that don't fit the CouchSurfing Wiki anymore to another wiki. These articles were about the Center of Adventure Economy and free software. We, the CouchSurfing Inc., can not allow this to happen. We know that these articles do not fit the mission, but we want people to give people a false impression. So we want to keep these articles on our wiki.

And consequently we let our hired staff spend their time by restoring all the articles and blocking the creator of the Wiki from editing. We are even thinking of blocking everyone from editing, because who needs a wiki anyone. It does not increaase Intercalifornian Understanding.

Kasper Souren

A CouchSurfer's Perspective

I checked my watch nervously, as my travel companion frantically tried to pick up a cell signal so we could call and alert Vincent to our delayed arrival. After difficulty in navigating Paris' complex transportation system, we just missed our southern-bound train and didn't want our host to sit out in the cold at Marseilles' uncovered station for hours waiting on us to find our way.

In retrospect, it now seems a bit odd (sketchy even perhaps) that we had never before met Vincent, but were taking a risk and staying with him anyway. I didn't know even know the most basic things about him: his place of birth, pets' names, setting of his first kiss -- things I generally knew about even the most casual of my acquaintances. But not Vincent. No, Vincent was just a fellow member of an online travel group of which I was a part. I stumbled across his profile while researching ways to finance a month-long assignment in France. The most interaction we had prior to our meeting on his turf was an e-mail exchange or two. Yet, he was retrieving us at the station and taking us to his secluded Provence villa for four nights. The setting for a made-for-TV, Texas Chainsaw Massacre-esque slasher flick perhaps, but we were edgy girls accustomed to taking risks. On the contrary, had my mom back home in my conservative Tennessee town known what I was doing, she might have croaked.

That was the reaction I initially got -- and often still do -- from many friends and acquaintances when they hear I am using "backpackers clubs" like Hospitality Club (www.hospitalityclub.org) and Couch Surfing (www.couchsurfing.com) as means of budget travel. My former roommate referred to the travelers I would meet up with as my "Match.com dates," when in reality that couldn't be further from the truth.

Hospitality Club stresses that it is not a dating service (Match.com enthusiasts, read no further), and should you try to use it as such, your messages to other members will not be delivered. Through an extensive application process -- including a background search that requires you to submit your passport number -- Hospitality Club volunteers screen each person who is admitted, as well as scan every e-mail sent through the website to make sure all content is appropriate. It may seem too Big Brother for some, but after receiving a marriage proposal or two via Couch Surfing, I welcomed Hospitality Club's stricter policy. (Disclaimer: It should be said that I have had only positive experiences using Couch Surfing, as well, but have gotten a questionable e-mail or two to which I didn't respond.)

Both organizations are completely free of charge. They were started with the intent to unite the globetrotters of the world and those who thrive on exploring it. Anyone can join, and it can be used for as little as getting recommendations when visiting a new town to finding a free place to sleep or a local tour guide.

Vincent turned out to be a wonderful host and someone I would like to get to know better. After hitting a home run with him, my friend and I moved eastward along the Cote d'Azur, staying each couple of nights with a different Hospitality Club member or Couch Surfer. A month later, we had spent no money on accommodation and gained several new friends.

I continued to use these convenient services throughout the duration of my time living abroad. When I finally returned to the United States, I fell into post-travel depression. No longer could I pick up on a whim and fly to Morocco or hop a train and be in Germany in an hour. Grounded by a real job and lack of travel funds, I sadly changed my profile status on each web group from whatever exotic locale it had previously said back to New York.

That's when the e-mails really started pouring in.

I had never before thought of using these sites from my home base to get my travel fix. When you're in Europe, you get used to meeting backpackers everywhere you go. In the States, it's generally just the overly obnoxious tour groups and retired couples who block your path, not the fun-loving Aussie or pint-drinking Brit backpackers you so frequently encounter around every corner in other countries. Because the United States is so big and we lack an array of transcontinental transportation options (i.e. cheap cross-country trains, budget air carriers), I couldn't really envision someone "backpacking" across it. However, much to my surprise I discovered that the backpacker community does, in fact, live on in my own country -- and dominantly at that.

Excited by my influx in correspondence, I began reading through my inbox. Among others, there was a Korean businessman coming to town for work, a Finnish guy who wanted to ditch his parents and see the real New York, and two Canadian girls just border-hopping for a weekend of fun. I eagerly replied to each e-mail, and before I knew it my social calendar was full for the next three months.

That's not to say I haven't had a strange experience or two. Due to the law of probability, with every barrel of apples, you're likely to find a rotten one. Tim from New Zealand was the worm in my barrel of otherwise untainted fruit. He showed up at my apartment, joined my friends and I for a night out, and proceeded to offend everyone but perhaps the bartender by his lack of tact and opposition to American foreign policy. We all have our opinions, but someone should have explained to Tim the significance of the expression "when in Rome" -- particularly when he was openly bashing the very country he was visiting.

Luckily for me, those Tim occurrences have been few and far between, and I chock them up to cultural differences. Now, two years after delving into the world of online travel, it's not out of the ordinary for a normal week to include lunch with an Icelandic couple, coffee with a Chilean and after-work drinks with a bunch of unruly Greeks. Emma, an Australian Couch Surfer, and I hit it off so well that she's even looking at moving to New York and taking up residence in my spare room. Although, each and every time I make these new friends, I can't help but envy their freedom and nomadism. Still, I know one day my time will come, again, and for now, it's just nice to be able to give back.

- Luna