Couchsurfers

My first experience with Couchsurfing was not as a guest nor a host, but just attending a meeting in Paris. Though I arrived a few minutes late, I was the first to enter the crowded bar on the canal Saint-Martin. But after a few minutes, I noticed someone scrolling through a long page on his smartphone, with the traditional color scheme of orange and white of the Couchsurfing.com website. I decided to ask him if by chance he was here for the meeting. And there began my first discussion with a couchsurfer and my discovery of this curious community. I met people from various origins, a Swedish-Iranian, a Dutch,  and so many others.

Different profiles

They had all different stories, different reasons for coming to France. Some were just working, some were just travelling. Most of them had very few acquaintances in Paris and were looking for social connections. But apparently, most people on Couchsurfing didn't stay friends in real life, even if they shared good moments together during meetings.

A lot of people just use Couchsurfing.com as a convenient way to find somewhere to sleep for free, will all the advantages of having a local host who can help you during your stay. Most of the requests I had were from students traveling in Europe and making a stop in Paris, for a few days.

But there are also the couchsurfing addicts. The hosts who organise all their social life around this social network. I had a guest who slept at a host who was continuously hosting people, and several at once (250/300 a year! ). On the other side, there are the addicted travellers. I hosted someone who had been travelling for 6 months, from America through Israel, Palestine, Greece, the Balkans, Italy and then France. He was planning to go to Mexico then – a year with Couchsurfing, meeting people from all over the world (and travelling with little costs too). It was so interesting that I tried to interview him, but the conversation shifted to a different subject.

Not only for backpackers!

There are definitely not only backpackers on this website, most of the members are just travellers who want to have a different experience of the city by staying with locals. Money isn't the only advantage of couchsurfing. The fact that you can sleep somewhere for free is not the only reason to use this network. The approach to travelling was different for all the people I met. They didn't want to just see the Eiffel Tower, go to the Louvre and then come back late and go to sleep. They usually spent a lot of time with me, and they wanted to have a taste of local culture.