East Coast Surfin'

I've spent my last four nights on the East Coast of Canada Couchsurfing. Yes, that's exactly what it sounds like. 

Couchsurfing is made possible through a social media platform very similar to what would happen if something like Facebook and Plenty of Fish (or any online dating forum) were to have a baby. Anyone that knows me and knows what I wrote my final university paper on knows that I like to prove the stigma surrounding certain new approaches to old practices to be wrong.

Couchsurfing: A Brief Introduction

You start by creating a profile on couchsurfing.org. You post as little or as much information about yourself as you'd like - sound familiar any of you Facebook users? You can start by checking out the local couchsurfing community in your city - follow the message board and the updates and check out different events. This is a great way to meet people, hear stories, and make connections. Trust me, you want to make connections because on your profile there is a section for references and friends.

References are categorized into positive and negative and they can only be left by the people that you have interacted with on couchsurfing. These references work just as you think they would - they let other people out there on couchsurfers know if you (or the random woman in Montreal) are, more or less, legit.

Now that you've signed up, created your profile, and made some connections, you're ready to surf. You can either "surf" or "host". Obviously, I am in the surfer stage right now. And this is where I would search a city. You can type in any city and the site will generate a list of people in that city (or surrounding area) and you can specify what you're looking for - a couch to sleep on, locals to meet up with, or even just information. If you ask any person that is travelling any significant amount of time or distance they will agree that Couchsurfing is revolutionizing the way people travel. 

In the simplest of terms, couchsurfing, is strangers opening up their homes to other strangers so that those of us travelling don't have to spend money on things like hotels and hostels. It's actually rather extraordinary when you think about it, if you can wrap your head around the concept of people doing good just to do good - paying it forward at it's finest.

In Charlottetown, PEI Jana and I met and stayed with a 53 year old nurse named Bob. Bob is one of the kindest people I have ever met and you can tell just by speaking with him for twenty minutes that he takes an extreme amount of pride in where he comes from. Bob suggested places for us to go, took us to his favourite restaurant for dinner, the three of us watched Pitch Perfect, and in the morning Bob made us homemade crepes for breakfast. Bob has become a hobby host. He has hosted people from all over the world. He doesn't expect anything in return, he just does it because he loves where he is from and wants everyone to have the opportunity to see his beautiful province.

Sarah has lived all over Canada. Sometimes in remote locations, sometimes not. Her and her husband moved to Antigonish, Nova Scotia not too long ago and Jana and I were her first official couchsurfers (although she has hosted cyclists before through a similar hosting site for people biking around). Sarah welcomed us into her home with open arms, she introduced us to her beautiful dog Leydy (which she rescued from Guatemala) and her roommates' temper mental cat Rufus. Within hours of meeting, the three of us were in the kitchen cooking dinner and in the morning Sarah made us a delicious homemade breakfast. Right now Sarah is working in Antigonish before she heads back to Guatemala for another six months to volunteer and work as part of a bicycle co-op program (I hope I got that right, Sarah). Sarah is awesome. Sarah's home felt like home.

Alison is a minister in Baddeck, Nova Scotia and has one of the most welcoming and bubbly personalities. Usually when you meet new people for the first time it takes a little while for everyone to come out of their shells but within minutes of meeting Alison it was like I had known her for years. When I told her that I was too nervous to drive the Cabot Trail (can you blame me after the previous experiences), she really encouraged me to try but never pressured me to. So the next day when I headed into the trail with the goal of only making it to a beach not too far in called Whale Cove I could hear this little voice saying, "Common! You've got to, it's the most beautiful place in the world." Alison encouraged me to overcome a fear and I am glad she did it because otherwise I never would have gotten amazing pictures like these: 

Couchsurfing is about meeting people. Making connections. Potentially making lifelong friends. And helping someone out that may never be able to repay you. Couchsurfing is kindness and selflessness embodied. I truly encourage each and every single one of you that reads this to check it out, consider hosting - not just because I need plenty more places to stay along this trip but because it's just good people doing good for no reason. And that inspires me.