Couch Surfing

My friend Pascale always looks put together (ohh les filles francaises). I wouldn't call her formal, but she's permanently organized, cheery, polite, polished, and shod in swanky shoes. So it surprised me that she was the one who forwarded me a blurb entitled "Skip the Hostel, Couch Surf for Free" which was about the website http://www.couchsurfing.com/

The site's mission statement is "CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding."

Um, and travel on the cheap.

Not that that expensive accommodation seems to be an issue in Southeast Asia (hence <2% of exchanges are in that region) but I will try it with the goal of meeting in-the-know locals. (There’s a “just meet for coffee” option) For those Yanks traveling to Canada & Europe- might be fun to try out the whole shebang.

PS For those who haven't been to my apt, pictured above is my ingeniously designed pull out mattress stored in my galley kitchen.