My first experience in CouchSurfing

Have you heard of CouchSurfing? 

I found out about this site a couple of months ago through my Belarusian friends, who stayed in NY for three months, invited people to live with them and asked people to host them too. It was really interesting for me.

After an observation and registration I took a moment to think what I can do for people and for myself through hosting them.

The first thing I wanted to work on was my selfishness. I like my place and my daily routine. I exercise in my living room, I read there, surf the Internet and much more. I spend most of my time in this room. An invitation to live in our living room was a real challenge for me because I had to change my everyday life. I felt that I needed this challenge if I wanted to become a better person ;).

The second reason was English. Every day I mostly use my native language, that's why I need more practice speaking English. Inviting somebody from a foreign country or even from the US is a good way to use English more, especially if the people are talkative enough ;-). 

The third reason was that I wanted to learn how to trust people and how to make others feel comfortable with me, too. 

I gave my forth vote to support my decision because of the opportunity to travel in the future. If people leave some good references about my hosting I can ask somebody to be my host too.

 Getting to know people from different countries is a perk itself. New information makes us richer and more open-minded, especially when we talk to interesting people about something meaningful. We can have some “food for thoughts” afterwards, and some people say we become younger when we think a lot ;).

So, if I invite people to my home, I might become a better and younger, trustworthy and knowledgeable person, I will have a great opportunity to practice English and to make some connections with people all around the globe .

Right after the registration some guy asked to come for a visit. I checked his profile and said "yes". So, one week ago I had my first experience and it was good. A couple that stayed with us for two nights was really great. We didn't talk much but I was satisfied nevertheless.  

So, if you have a spare room  to share with people who travel and would like to be your guests for a couple of nights, or if you are planning to travel a lot in the future, this site is for you. If you have some time to spend with your guests, you can share your inspiration of your lovely city and show them your favorite places there. 

It’s a good opportunity to enrich your life as well.