Couchsurfing and it's impact on me

It would be a complete disappointment if I don't write about 1 project which has impacted me a lot in growing as a human being. It is Couchsurfing - www.couchsurfing.com.

What is it?
Well, if I put it simply, the world offlate has shrunk in geographical distances but the mental and emotional distances are far greater than they ever were. Couchsurfing is one attempt to reduce these distances and make the world a small global village. It's for people who love to travel, exchange cultures, meet people and genuinely respect and embrace other ideas. It's not just a free accomodation site for people to offer and request accomodation while they are travelling. It is neither a site to find easy dates and quick lays. It's about us and the way we want to shape up our palce in the world.

How has it impacted me?
I joined CS nearly 2 yrs ago when I was still in Mumbai. I could not host anyone as I lived in a small house with my family but I did meet people who were visiting. My first experiences were just about okay though I did meet these 2 wonderful travellers, one from Finland and another from Italy. The experience started getting better when I moved to Bangalore and I had a huge house and spare rooms. This is when I started hosting people. And then I got addicted to it. I have hosted many travellers so far and I can safely say that most of them today are close friends. Similarly I met CSers when I was in Indonesia and I am in constant interaction with them. Infact in Bangalore, I generally hang around, party, watch movies, dine with the group of CSers who are drawn from different parts of the world and it is wonderful as we all have our stories, cultures and ideas to share.

This whole experience has helped me understand myself better as a person and also understand my own culture much better than I could have otherwise understood. I got newer insights in the way this world functions. Inspite of my travels, I possibly was just a frog in a well but Couchsurfing told me there is more to the world than what I thought. Apart from the absolute joy of learning new things, it also impacted me personally when I realised that slowly my CSer friends have become my strongest support systems.

I thank Casey and all others who have started this wonderful project for it and I am determined to be an integral part of it and give something back to it whichever way I can.