100.
I just reached a hundred references this weekend on Couchsurfing. Admittedly, though the idea of lining up a homestay on-line with people you’ve yet to meet in person DID sound very odd and suspicious, some of my best, most reputable friends had participated in this social network, were applauding it wildly, and heavily, heavily recommending Couchsurfing to me.
Though their good words did convince me to give it a try, heading for my first such experience (near Canby), I still felt some discomfort with the whole idea. Luckily, I trusted the recommendations of all of these great friends, and I seemed to get a good on-line vibe from the first couple who invited me into their home: Mike & Wilma Bruno, who live near Canby, Oregon.
As the Brunos lived miles from my route, they decided to give me a ride back and forth from/to a given street corner in Canby. They were awaiting me as I arrived from Lake Oswego, and as I approached the corner of 9th Avenue & Ivy Street, Mike stepped out of his car, and approached me with the look in his eye of greeting an old family member– a very warm introductory handshake followed. I was sold immediately.
Mike & Wilma took me out to eat that evening, and provided me with a very cozy place to sleep at their home in the woods (which he himself built). The following morning, they fixed me a healthy, delicious lunch– excellent road fuel for my coming day’s walk to Wilsonville.
Thousands of miles and nearly three years later, I’ve continued on to meet hundreds of people via Couchsurfing, many of them becoming great, close friends of mine. In fact, I’ve found that the personality type that is open to ideas such as Couchsurfing is the personality type I’m most attracted to in new friends.
Some people ask me about the safety of a network like CS. I understand their concerns. Though not required, Couchsurfing allows people to confirm their credibility via verification checks. I made a $25 donation to the site, which matched my name and credit card info/address with my profile info. They then sent a postcard to my house with a 16-digit code; I entered the code and achieved verification level 3 (the highest). Also, just as you’d find with Amazon or Ebay, other people are allowed to leave references on your profile page, and you have no control over the references they leave– positive, neutral, or negative. I also leave references on the pages of others, and they have no control over what I say about them. I gravitate toward profiles of well-reviewed, verified CS members.
So far, I’ve had nothing but great experiences– a trend which I’m sure will continue all the way to Washington, DC, and well into the future.
Below is the link to my page, where you can take a look at my profile, the 100 references left for me, and the 100+ references I’ve left for others.
I should clarify that though I’m writing here about CS, I’m not writing to “advertise” the CS website itself, but simply to champion the idea of a peer-reviewed hosting network. CS is simply the only such network I’ve been using; it’s the largest such network, with over 3 million people participating in countries all over the world.
I write this post today from the home of the Hardin Family, a Couchsurfing family who’s hosting me in Newnan, Georgia. They’re very nice people, and after 18 miles yesterday, I’m spending Saturday & Sunday night at their home.
I’ll be staying with many more CSers through the subsequent 750 or so miles to Washington, DC.
Admittedly, just weeks into the Walk of Inspiration Across America, I found that even if I had only walked to meet the countless wonderful people across the miles (a large part of my Facebook posts) the experience easily would have been well worth it. Not only am I walking with a mission, I’m earning the privilege to meet so many of the millions of great Americans along the way!!
LINK: www.couchsurfing.org/george_calvin