Couchsurfing
I’ve been itching to try couchsurfing since three years ago. I happen to think it’s a brilliant, innovative idea that plays on the age-old theme of hospitality. I created a profile some time ago, but only recently added a photo of me and information that I thought other people might want to know when they’re considering my request to stay with them.
Since I’ll be couchsurfing alone in the south of france, I’ve been trying to stick with females, but they are seriously outnumbered by males for that region. I have no idea why, except to think that these men are really expectant of some action with their guests. Some men write that they prefer girls. Some men include the winking smiley face on their profiles. Some men say that they live in a quiet (read: no one will come to help if i scream for some reason) neighborhood. Besides simply being men, these are all automatic NOs. But once, I admit, I really had be talked out of requesting a couchsurf with a guy who lives in the middle of a fabulous resort town, is a cook and a pastry chef, and writes on his profile that “cooking/eating will not be a problem. ;)” I imagined all the good meals I would have with him. Plus, his photo looked normal.
I thought this guy could be the exception to my No Guys rule, until a male friend looked at me askance and said, “if i was a weird man who wanted to get girls in my home i would say that i was a cook and a pastry chef.”
A good cynical point there.
Still, I really want to believe in the philosophy of couchsurfing, even if it does seem creepy and slightly suspicious the disproportionate number of males who are seeking to invite people into their homes. Maybe it’s all those papers I wrote dissecting this very topic in medieval literature, but I am of the school of hospitality that places the guest/host relationship on a very high, almost sacred, level. It’s no easy thing to invite a stranger into your home, and it goes against most people’s comfort zones to trust someone to provide shelter, no questions asked. At the most fundamental level, the activity of couchsurfing requires all participants involved to suspend their distrust of others.
Not to say that everyone on Couchsurfing.org is normal or knows how to communicate. Just look at this message I received yesterday from Perssy/perscy:
hi,
how are you doing, i hope you are fine,how is your family? how is in holly wood, i know you are doing good, i will love to come and pay you a visit and for you to show me round but the thing is that i am in africa, but i will like to be your friend for life , i know i will be there with time to hang around with you,
i am looking forward to hear from you
greetings
perscy
