By Faten Omar

Traveling on a budget or just want to explore a country for free? Couchsurfing (CS) is the best answer for budget travelers and backpackers. CS is a service that connects people around the world to find a place to stay or share one's home or culture by guiding travelers. Whether you're traveling the world, hosting travelers, or making friends locally, being a Couchsurfer will enrich connections with the people you meet. Kuwait Times spoke with some Couchsurfers to share their stories and experiences.

Anja Erhart, a 22-year-old student from Austria, told Kuwait Times that her first experience with CS was four years ago while traveling with her friends in France. "Since then, I had the chance to experience quite a lot through Couchsurfing. I was hosted by people, I hosted travelers in my house, and I also used 'hangouts' to mingle and meet with locals," she said.

"For my first trips when I had no hosting experience and no certified account, it was very hard to find a host. Most of them never replied and I had to write at least 15 requests to hopefully find a host. With a certified account, it's much easier. Most of the people who request to stay at your place never show up because their plans change, so out of 10 requests, only one will show up. I learned not to fuss about this and to let it flow. If they come, they do. And if they won't, they won't."



Anja has hosted 20 people at her house, stressing the difficulty of her parents' acceptance of the concept of CS. "For my parents and grandparents, it is hard to understand and they are afraid to open their house to strangers; they find even meeting up too dangerous. Sometimes I don't tell them, or sometimes I tell them that the Couchsurfers are colleagues from university."

Jens Poulsen, 40, a Swiss and Danish finance and manager at the Institute for Electronics, ETH Zurich, who has hosted around 120 people at his home, started his journey in 2006. "My first hosts were from a site called Hospitality Club around 16 years ago. I created my Couchsurfing profile in 2006 and had my first guests then."

Poulsen told Kuwait Times that using CS is an adventure on its own, in the sense that until you meet the people, everything can still change. "When I attend CS meet-ups, I always feel full of international energy from all these people and their different backgrounds. It is very enriching. In Kuwait, I stayed at a Couchsurfer's home and met several people during my short time there. It gave me a very good impression of the society of Kuwait, with the strong difference in status between Kuwaiti nationals and foreigners living and working in the country," he said.

"I am fascinated by this platform and its capability to bring together people from all over the world. I have used it countless times and met so many amazing people through it - people that I would never have met just out in the street," Poulsen added.

For Jason Sant, an American traveler who also couchsurfed in Kuwait explains the value of the platform. He wanted to find how to travel the world for several years on a budget. "I started reading all sorts of books. One of the writers spoke about the Couchsurfing app and staying with people all over the world. I was blown away, and I knew immediately I had to be involved! I recognized that I could save money on travel, but even more than that, I saw this as an opportunity to make lifelong friends with people who are also passionate about travel," he said.

Sant's first experience as a Couchsurfer was in Tampa in Florida. His European host who had moved to Tampa gave him his first experience of Zumba, and explained how CS works and what makes a good host and surfer. "Once I started getting to know the members of this community, I realized I wanted to play a part in growing and helping this community. This is more than a group of people to me. This is my tribe, my family. I met a CS ambassador and was invited to participate in planning the 2019 Orlando Couch Crash. The event was an amazing success, and I realized I wanted to play a larger role in helping to shape and grow this community," he said.

"My goals as a CS Ambassador are to help grow the community through setting up events, recruit new members who would be a great fit for CS, help new members become involved with the community, and work on safety issues to ensure a positive CS experience for everyone involved," Sant added.

Cynthia was introduced to Couchsurfing in 2007, meeting over 1,000 people during her travels. "Couchsurfing has not only enhanced my travels, but it has enhanced my life too. I am an avid world traveler. I have been to all seven continents, 117 countries and all 50 US states! I recently completed a five-week journey through the Middle East, adding six new countries to my country count list. I travel for cultural immersion and meeting people," she told Kuwait Times.

"The CS app does not have all the features that a PC can access, such as Groups. That's a drawback, so I try to check the site on my computer weekly at least. I have organized more than 150 events on multiple continents around the globe. It is what I am most well-known for in Couchsurfing," she said.

Regarding her experience in Kuwait, Cynthia said: "I posted a dinner event on CS and a similar site for women only. The event was posted at a very short notice of a few days, so I was very pleased with the size of the group that attended. As often happens, I made new friends at the event and ended up spending the balance of the evening with them after the official Couchsurfing event ended. We went to a great souq, explored the city and shared tea with a view of the sea. The people I met that night, although they live 8,000 miles from me, are people I consider to be my friends!"

Sharing interesting stories of travelers was the main reason for Bijoi, 35, to become an active CS host in Kuwait. "I joined Couchsurfing in 2007 after my wife introduced me to it," he said. Bijoi has had the best and positive experiences through the platform, but hosting travelers is not that easy when you have a family. "Living with my family and two daughters makes it harder to host travelers. Hosting 20 people in the house is linked with a set of rules. The most important one is if the traveler is male, they have to be out of the house when I'm not around. I also check references for safety, and if they do not have references, I take a copy of their passport."

For him, Couchsurfing was a new world full of experiences, not only for him, but also his children. "My daughters have learned more about different cultures around the world and understand diversity. Once we had a guy from Argentina who cycled the world - that was so interesting to hear. I like to know about cultures and how people live," he added.

Vyola Gomes, a 29-year-old Indian business development manager who joined CS in 2013, said: "I had an extremely good experience and a bad one because of my negligence to research the person through reviews! Lesson learned!" She has hosted five people in Kuwait, explaining that the low number is the result of not living in a touristic destination.

Gomes said that her first surfer was a weird guy who kept asking her if she wanted a massage. "I didn't sleep all night, stayed alert and messaged friends to stay alert if I needed them. It was creepy! But honestly, it was my fault for not going through his references. On the other hand, the best event was the one that I organized in Paris for seeing the Eiffel Tower - around 10 locals and tourists showed up and I was hosted by one of the locals. It was a night to remember," she recalled.

She notes that CS is a platform that will open minds and hearts against all prejudices. "Young travelers should especially experience staying in a local home with local food, and the experience is just something new every time. Host people at your place to show them your part of the world, educate them about your culture and food and erase stereotypes. Also, check the references and feel free to chat/video call before they arrive. There are good and bad people."