Did you ever have a surfer that just rubbed you the wrong way yet never did anything wrong enough for you to give a negative reference? Happened to me a few times but just recently I had a surfer through the doors who by the end of his stay with us had my family so annoyed I actually had to tell him he had to leave. This particular surfer did nothing his entire week of staying with us except look over our shoulders at whatever we were doing, watch movies, sit on his computer and sleep.
I gave him a printout of how to get to the bus station as I was working full time and he still couldn’t find it. The bus stop is about a five minute walk from my place and you only turn one street! And he took a lot more then he gave. Sure we offered it but still there needs to be a certain time when you just say “hey these people are giving me a bed for free why don’t I do something for them” he drank all my sisters OJ and never replaced it. Ate all my mum’s candy. He also ate all my sisters cereal and when she got mad and said something to him he said “oh sorry ill replace it” and never did. On the last day he cooked us a pasta dish which probably cost no more the $10. And the next day, his last day at my house he ate his pasta and then left, leaving his dirty dish sitting on the sink. We gave him some food to eat left behind by another surfer and when he moved on he asked “can I take this food?”
I figured we were just being neurotic but received an email from a girl he met in Indonesia who thought it funny we had met the same guy. She was requesting to surf my couch.
WOWW worlds is very small sometime, u meet same person I met in Bali my home, I just see the reff from him at your profile.
Sometime he is abit complaining and compare (his hometown) and other country ( actually I dont like that ) but he is ok I met him and make trip couple time in Bali before I left to my trip in Aust.
WOW .....
So nice to know it wasn’t just us he rubbed slightly wrong. Still not enough to give a negative reference anyway. I mean would you? I wouldn’t host him again, to be honest he was a little boring and thought quite highly of himself. But im sure he would get along fine with other people. And I can only blame myself for offering him a lot.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Who am I Who are you?
Different Types of CS Hosts - stolen from http://cruisesurfing.blogspot.com
1. The Ambassador
The Ambassador is not necessarily an official "CouchSurfing Ambassador", but they sometimes are. They will try to spend as much time with you as possible and act as your personal tour guide. You're not just staying over for free, you're got a new (temporary) best friend. Ambassadors will introduce you to other CouchSurfers and they know all the best budget places in town. Ambassadors are happiest when conversations revolve around CouchSurfing.
2. The Martyr
The Martyr seems to be inconvenienced with having you over, but still agrees to host you. They rather you do your own thing, remind you that you have to be out of the house first thing in the morning and remind you not to touch any of their food. Martyrs see hosting as sacrifice.
3. The Servant
The Servant is a big believer in hospitality and that "guest is king". They will sleep on the couch while you get the bed. You will be pampered to the point that you will feel guilty for such amazing hospitality. Servants are generous to a fault.
4. The Commune Chief
The Commune Chief invariably turns their apartment into a something resembling an intentional community. It's irrelevant how many couches there are in the house. What's relevant is how many sleeping bags can you fit on the floor. These communes usually take on a life of their own and starts to self-organize. Commune Chiefs think it's odd that anyone would want to only host one CouchSurfer at a time.
5. The Charmer
The Charmer is sweet and charming. They will wine you and dine you. And they will hang out with you and connect with you. You're just not sure if you're couchsurfing or on a date.
6. The Surrogate Family
The Surrogate Family will pick you up, fuss over you and feed you. You won't just be a couchsurfer, you'll be adopted into the family.
7. The Entrepreneur
The Entrepreneur is always looking for opportunities for "additional revenue streams". They will not be shy to suggest "donations" for utilities or ask you to buy them gifts, drinks or dinner as payment for hosting. Entrepreneurs will drive you around if you agree to pay for the service.
8. The Connector
The Connector seems to know everyone in town and will introduce you to many of them. You will end up having random adventures with lots of their friends, many of which may only be able to communicate with you with hand signals and lots of vodka. Connectors are have a natural
ability to make their guests feel like a local.
Different Types of Surfers
1. The Hippy
The hippy sees CouchSurfing as a natural extension of their everyday philosophy. They may hitch-hike and dumpster dive as well. They may not actually have much of plan, because the Universe is showing them the way. The hippy goes with the flow and may be vague with when they are arriving or leaving. But you will get lots of hugs.
2. The Flashpacker
The flashpacker doesn't need to couchsurf to save money, they do it because it's exciting. They are typically armed with some fancy gadgets and never get lost because they use google maps on their smartphones.
3. The Digital Nomad
The digital nomad is an amalgamation of the Hippy and Flashpacker, except that they are long-term travelers. They work from their laptop so they are location independent. They tend to be slow travelers and will typically try to couchsurf for a longer periods, to get to know places and people better.
4. The Weekend Warrior
These are people who have regular jobs during the week but travel and couchsurf on weekends. They'll turn up Friday evening and stay til Sunday night, when they'd return home. More common in Europe than North America, where you can get really cheap flights.
5. The Couchpotato
This couchpotato is a bit of an anomaly. Every so often you'll get a CouchSurfer who'll come over and want to do nothing. You'll have to make plans for them and show them around or they'll just sit on your couch and surf the net/tv all day.
6. The Rockstars
These people are awesome! They will drag their hosts out, party it hard and take you on random adventures for the duration of their stay. You will feel like a traveling circus just made a pit-stop at your house and rocked your world.
7. The Customer
You'll feel like you're running a hostel. The Customer requests a couch because they are in town for a job interview/conference/house-hunting and they will hardly interact with you or anyone else. They see couchsurfing as a way to get a free place to sleep and that's the end of it. The Customer is most likely to get "annoyed" if the facilities are not up to their standards.
8. The Drama Queen
I call people who use "Emergency couch groups" regularly, drama queens. They've "hacked" the CouchSurfing system by just posting to these groups that they are desperate for a couch. These people are a pandora's box and you never know what sort of dramas (or traveling companions) they'll bring along to your house.
9. The Horde
This is more like an invasion, rather than a couchsurf. These people travel in packs and it can be a novel experience if the host is an extrovert. Or it could lead the host to tears if she's an introvert!
1. The Ambassador
The Ambassador is not necessarily an official "CouchSurfing Ambassador", but they sometimes are. They will try to spend as much time with you as possible and act as your personal tour guide. You're not just staying over for free, you're got a new (temporary) best friend. Ambassadors will introduce you to other CouchSurfers and they know all the best budget places in town. Ambassadors are happiest when conversations revolve around CouchSurfing.
2. The Martyr
The Martyr seems to be inconvenienced with having you over, but still agrees to host you. They rather you do your own thing, remind you that you have to be out of the house first thing in the morning and remind you not to touch any of their food. Martyrs see hosting as sacrifice.
3. The Servant
The Servant is a big believer in hospitality and that "guest is king". They will sleep on the couch while you get the bed. You will be pampered to the point that you will feel guilty for such amazing hospitality. Servants are generous to a fault.
4. The Commune Chief
The Commune Chief invariably turns their apartment into a something resembling an intentional community. It's irrelevant how many couches there are in the house. What's relevant is how many sleeping bags can you fit on the floor. These communes usually take on a life of their own and starts to self-organize. Commune Chiefs think it's odd that anyone would want to only host one CouchSurfer at a time.
5. The Charmer
The Charmer is sweet and charming. They will wine you and dine you. And they will hang out with you and connect with you. You're just not sure if you're couchsurfing or on a date.
6. The Surrogate Family
The Surrogate Family will pick you up, fuss over you and feed you. You won't just be a couchsurfer, you'll be adopted into the family.
7. The Entrepreneur
The Entrepreneur is always looking for opportunities for "additional revenue streams". They will not be shy to suggest "donations" for utilities or ask you to buy them gifts, drinks or dinner as payment for hosting. Entrepreneurs will drive you around if you agree to pay for the service.
8. The Connector
The Connector seems to know everyone in town and will introduce you to many of them. You will end up having random adventures with lots of their friends, many of which may only be able to communicate with you with hand signals and lots of vodka. Connectors are have a natural
ability to make their guests feel like a local.
Different Types of Surfers
1. The Hippy
The hippy sees CouchSurfing as a natural extension of their everyday philosophy. They may hitch-hike and dumpster dive as well. They may not actually have much of plan, because the Universe is showing them the way. The hippy goes with the flow and may be vague with when they are arriving or leaving. But you will get lots of hugs.
2. The Flashpacker
The flashpacker doesn't need to couchsurf to save money, they do it because it's exciting. They are typically armed with some fancy gadgets and never get lost because they use google maps on their smartphones.
3. The Digital Nomad
The digital nomad is an amalgamation of the Hippy and Flashpacker, except that they are long-term travelers. They work from their laptop so they are location independent. They tend to be slow travelers and will typically try to couchsurf for a longer periods, to get to know places and people better.
4. The Weekend Warrior
These are people who have regular jobs during the week but travel and couchsurf on weekends. They'll turn up Friday evening and stay til Sunday night, when they'd return home. More common in Europe than North America, where you can get really cheap flights.
5. The Couchpotato
This couchpotato is a bit of an anomaly. Every so often you'll get a CouchSurfer who'll come over and want to do nothing. You'll have to make plans for them and show them around or they'll just sit on your couch and surf the net/tv all day.
6. The Rockstars
These people are awesome! They will drag their hosts out, party it hard and take you on random adventures for the duration of their stay. You will feel like a traveling circus just made a pit-stop at your house and rocked your world.
7. The Customer
You'll feel like you're running a hostel. The Customer requests a couch because they are in town for a job interview/conference/house-hunting and they will hardly interact with you or anyone else. They see couchsurfing as a way to get a free place to sleep and that's the end of it. The Customer is most likely to get "annoyed" if the facilities are not up to their standards.
8. The Drama Queen
I call people who use "Emergency couch groups" regularly, drama queens. They've "hacked" the CouchSurfing system by just posting to these groups that they are desperate for a couch. These people are a pandora's box and you never know what sort of dramas (or traveling companions) they'll bring along to your house.
9. The Horde
This is more like an invasion, rather than a couchsurf. These people travel in packs and it can be a novel experience if the host is an extrovert. Or it could lead the host to tears if she's an introvert!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
2010 in a nutshell. What a fricken AWESOME year. How is 2011 to top it?
Snowboarded my first Double Black
Drove the West coast of America
Stuck my head in a giant LEGAL garbage bag of weed
Hit my first ever three day festival Coachella in Los Angeles
Sandboarded outside of an oasis
Flew in my first single engine plane
Hiked 50km to Maachu Piichu
Mountain Biked (yes me on a bike) the most dangerous road in the world, Bolivia
Swam with sea lions in the Galapogas
Held a Caiman, Caught a Pirahna, Went swimming, in the Amazon
Drove my Jeep in Mexico where I camped on a beach and drank lots of margeritas.
Drove to Colorado from Mexico partying it up with tons of wicked people along the way.
Came home to my friends and family.
Started hosting and suddenly my house was filled with some of the most amazing people in the world that it makes me smile thinking of all the awesome times we had.
Crazy Camping trips, Snake catching, Nights out Dancing & Drinking, Outdoor Raving.
Thanks to everyone I met in 2010. You guys made this year for me :) Happy new year!!!
.
Drove the West coast of America
Stuck my head in a giant LEGAL garbage bag of weed
Hit my first ever three day festival Coachella in Los Angeles
Sandboarded outside of an oasis
Flew in my first single engine plane
Hiked 50km to Maachu Piichu
Mountain Biked (yes me on a bike) the most dangerous road in the world, Bolivia
Swam with sea lions in the Galapogas
Held a Caiman, Caught a Pirahna, Went swimming, in the Amazon
Drove my Jeep in Mexico where I camped on a beach and drank lots of margeritas.
Drove to Colorado from Mexico partying it up with tons of wicked people along the way.
Came home to my friends and family.
Started hosting and suddenly my house was filled with some of the most amazing people in the world that it makes me smile thinking of all the awesome times we had.
Crazy Camping trips, Snake catching, Nights out Dancing & Drinking, Outdoor Raving.
Thanks to everyone I met in 2010. You guys made this year for me :) Happy new year!!!
.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Love me some newbie surfers
Once upon a time, hard to believe I know. I was a newbie. A kind couple Cynthia & Randy from Dawson Creek BC were awesome enough to take me & my ex in under their wing without any references! I’d pre-pared little gifts for my hosts with chocolates and things from Australia. They were probably two of the most generous people I have ever met, well except when I moved on to the next host haha.
Anyway you need to start somewhere and like I said I love newbies, I like to think I’m pretty experienced and will give advice. Plus my house seems perfect for first timers. Firstly we don’t do everything for my surfers. Its my opinion that a surfer should be self-sufficient. And not only that the surfer should help out the host. The host is giving you a FREE place to sleep, something as simple as cleaning up the dishes is great but I my all time favourite is the ones who cook. You are saving $25 a night for accommodation , use that money to cook a nice meal for your host! Or if you can’t cook buy a 6-pack or something. Everyone in my house is super friendly and if your new and not sure about integrating into someone’s life then its good to be made welcome. I know some hosts can make a person feel very awkward. Its always best if your new to surf with a host with lots of experience.
Every newbie I’ve taken in has often surpassed some of my most experienced surfers. Hell I had one surfer and she turned on the air-conditioner whilst I was away and left it on all day with the windows open! And didn’t even ask me, air-con is expensive!! And she had a lot of surfing experience.
Thomas , Flavia, Greg, Jack, Jeremy, Mark & Mel, Holly & Wayne, Jessica, Silke – some of my newbies who went above and beyond.
If a newbie fills out the profile, puts up some pictures and gives me a good message about why I should host them then they deserve a chance because honestly.. we were all there once.
Anyway you need to start somewhere and like I said I love newbies, I like to think I’m pretty experienced and will give advice. Plus my house seems perfect for first timers. Firstly we don’t do everything for my surfers. Its my opinion that a surfer should be self-sufficient. And not only that the surfer should help out the host. The host is giving you a FREE place to sleep, something as simple as cleaning up the dishes is great but I my all time favourite is the ones who cook. You are saving $25 a night for accommodation , use that money to cook a nice meal for your host! Or if you can’t cook buy a 6-pack or something. Everyone in my house is super friendly and if your new and not sure about integrating into someone’s life then its good to be made welcome. I know some hosts can make a person feel very awkward. Its always best if your new to surf with a host with lots of experience.
Every newbie I’ve taken in has often surpassed some of my most experienced surfers. Hell I had one surfer and she turned on the air-conditioner whilst I was away and left it on all day with the windows open! And didn’t even ask me, air-con is expensive!! And she had a lot of surfing experience.
Thomas , Flavia, Greg, Jack, Jeremy, Mark & Mel, Holly & Wayne, Jessica, Silke – some of my newbies who went above and beyond.
If a newbie fills out the profile, puts up some pictures and gives me a good message about why I should host them then they deserve a chance because honestly.. we were all there once.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wet vs Dry
Taking a ride on the best couch in Darwin (yes I’m talking about mine) can be a completely different experience depending what time of the year you come. I’ve noticed the difference in the length of time people stay as well. In The dry it got out of control and I had massive overload of surfers because they never wanted to leave. And why would you, beautiful weather while the rest of Australia was miserable, lots of work, big nightlife, beach swimming, night markets. In the wet you have heat, heat, rain, heat.
Snake catching is a speciality of mine that right now is only available in the dry. It could possibly change when I learn the migration of the sneaky bastards. I love to see the little European faces light up when they experience holding their first “wild” snake. And for the animal activists out there, no harm is done the snakes are released after capture. I even had a couple of surfers catch their own with gentle coaxing. Greg from France was the first protégé and its great to watch people moving out of their comfort zones and experiencing true Australia.
Another great dry season event is the camping. & the 4WD camping is the best. In the rainy season the roads to the best locations close up most of Kakadu is only available for a few precious months a year. In the dry the nights are cool and you don’t have to worry about being rained on. Camping is one of the reasons I love Darwin and really getting down those 4WD tracks to places untouched by tourism makes it all worth it.
So lets not forget Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. A premium attraction in the northern Territory and a great place to eat, drink and watch a beautiful Sunset. Once again, does not function in the wet season – rain is imminent.
In the Wet so far my hosting has been pretty relaxed. It usually involves sitting around a table drinking beer and sharing good food. Occasionally we hit the town especially as there seems to be a lot more electronic events on which I love. There is always a BBQ going at my house, another favourite pastime of mine. One of the best things about the wet is that if you do get out to one of our national parks the waterfalls are pouring down, there is so many less tourists. Litchfield is amazing and can still mostly be done by 2WD.
And the storms. Watching the lightning crackle across the sky, the wind blowing the palm trees around its one of the most beautiful things in the world. Darwin in the wet is so wild, full of life & not for the weak.
Snake catching is a speciality of mine that right now is only available in the dry. It could possibly change when I learn the migration of the sneaky bastards. I love to see the little European faces light up when they experience holding their first “wild” snake. And for the animal activists out there, no harm is done the snakes are released after capture. I even had a couple of surfers catch their own with gentle coaxing. Greg from France was the first protégé and its great to watch people moving out of their comfort zones and experiencing true Australia.
Another great dry season event is the camping. & the 4WD camping is the best. In the rainy season the roads to the best locations close up most of Kakadu is only available for a few precious months a year. In the dry the nights are cool and you don’t have to worry about being rained on. Camping is one of the reasons I love Darwin and really getting down those 4WD tracks to places untouched by tourism makes it all worth it.
So lets not forget Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. A premium attraction in the northern Territory and a great place to eat, drink and watch a beautiful Sunset. Once again, does not function in the wet season – rain is imminent.
In the Wet so far my hosting has been pretty relaxed. It usually involves sitting around a table drinking beer and sharing good food. Occasionally we hit the town especially as there seems to be a lot more electronic events on which I love. There is always a BBQ going at my house, another favourite pastime of mine. One of the best things about the wet is that if you do get out to one of our national parks the waterfalls are pouring down, there is so many less tourists. Litchfield is amazing and can still mostly be done by 2WD.
And the storms. Watching the lightning crackle across the sky, the wind blowing the palm trees around its one of the most beautiful things in the world. Darwin in the wet is so wild, full of life & not for the weak.
Monday, December 6, 2010
its a way of life.
When I got back from my 2.5 years around the America's I entered back into real life. It was like this total drain on personality. I went from every day being something new and exciting with someone different to talk to to being back in Darwin and seeing all the same things I left behind.
Seeing all my friends & family was definitely a bonus and I love them to bits but my restlessness was hard to ignore and within the first week I was hosting with reckless abandoment. I began to live vicariously through my surfers. I started to do things around town that were new even to me and night after night was filled with some kind of adventure. My personality is chaotic and I thrive off change which funnily enough 3 years ago was exactly the opposite.
3 years ago I was in a committed relationship, moving forward with my life. Now I have nothing but the next day in my mind. You sometimes need to wonder what makes you happy. For me the little things make me smile and I just feel so positive about everything. This I can contribute to Couchsurfing. Its brought me in contact with some of the best people in the world who I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise.
Seeing all my friends & family was definitely a bonus and I love them to bits but my restlessness was hard to ignore and within the first week I was hosting with reckless abandoment. I began to live vicariously through my surfers. I started to do things around town that were new even to me and night after night was filled with some kind of adventure. My personality is chaotic and I thrive off change which funnily enough 3 years ago was exactly the opposite.
3 years ago I was in a committed relationship, moving forward with my life. Now I have nothing but the next day in my mind. You sometimes need to wonder what makes you happy. For me the little things make me smile and I just feel so positive about everything. This I can contribute to Couchsurfing. Its brought me in contact with some of the best people in the world who I never would have had the chance to meet otherwise.
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