When down the only way is up

Most of you have heard or read about my project to cs the world for 5 years..its been a year and a half since i sold my house in England and up until last November everything was sweet sailing..On my dream trip to the Galapagos islands (which coincidently was my first non cs experience) i suffered a freaky fall and broke my crucial ligament. I returned to Guayaquil in Ecuador and waited till after New Year to have surgery which luckily my insurance covered. (part of my project is to experience what kind of effect being away from home for so long will have on me and how couchsurfing can compensate for that) so having to return to england would be fatal for my mindset..

having almost fully recovered i suffered another fall last weekend whilst walking up some steps, my leg gave way and i've now got a fractured knee bone (a possible complication from the first surgery due to part of the bone being removed) so just as i was about to finally leave for Peru, after a second surgery this weekend, now i'm back in bed with my leg strapped for several more weeks..My insurance are covering the most part so its not all bad news

whats my point..well i would like to write a short story for the home page about how amazing my hosts have treated me and how supportive the Guayaquil cs community have been. Without them i would be totally defeated. The surfers have wrote me and visited me in hospital or called the hospital bedside phone. I'm staying with a family now for the second time for a total of almost 4 months, they are helping me with food, gave me a mobile phone, found me doctors, sat beside me through both surgeries pretty much everything to keep me going whilst maintaining two daughters of there own. I truly think they deserve a special mention, my project would have died along with my soul without them. When i arrived here there was less than 30 members, now theres over 300, more than the capital of Quito due to everyone coming together, its a real pleasure to be part of the growth of cs here.

Everyones routing for me to complete this project, i will not give up, its made me more determined than ever, theres so much to learn from cs and be shared with the world, firstly however i want to share this story with you.

Posted March 11th, 2008 - 2:18 am by DJ AJAM from Manchester, United Kingdom

Couchsurfing episode on S.F. Bay Area cable access show

This past autumn (don't you just love the word "autumn" more than the word "fall"?), I spent six weeks in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there, I did an interview for a local cable access show, "What's Up Wit' That?", which handles subjects and subcultures that are off the beaten path. Here is the final cut of that episode, which featured myself, Kathleen Jarvis of Sunnyvale, Eric Forsman of St. Louis and founder extraordinaire, Dan Hoffer:

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5386126647901520802

Also, a short video I made, "Tolerance, One Couch At A Time", can be found here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_WMip7ItXI

I also did an interview with NPR (National Public Radio) on Tuesday, but I'm not sure when it will air. Once I know, I'll post about it here (as well as a link to listen to it once it's online).

Peace and health,

DW

Posted March 8th, 2008 - 7:20 am by Derek The Jolly Green Giant Wallace from North Hollywood, United States