Cultural exchange

A few years back, a friend of mine told me about a neat online community called Couchsurfing. Essentially, the concept behind Couchsurfing is that it connects travelers with other people who are interested in travel and cultural exchange in such a way that they can safely meet up and share what they know about an area. The crux of the entire network is real contact and the option to host a traveler if they are traveling through your city – meaning that you actually trust another human being to come in and sleep in your home.

It sounds pretty sketchy, I know, but there is a reference and verification system that keeps out people who aren't Couchsurfing material and allows hosts to pick and choose their surfers. So it's really quite safe.

Growing up, we are always taught not to talk to strangers, not to trust people that we don't know well; it makes sense because of course they could be rapists or murderers or thieves or drug addicts. Then again, what we fail to realize is that there are a lot of really wonderful people in the world and the person you are hosting in your home is infinitely more likely to be interesting, kind, talented, wise, or fun. The wonderful thing about Couchsurfing is that it allows people – no, forces them – to break the mold of the things we are told in life not to do. It makes people step outside of what may be comfortable and easy for them and look to the world of incredible people who have something to offer in exchange for a little hospitality.

Here in Almeria, we have had one of the best Couchsurfing experiences. By chance, my housemate, John, had searched in Almeria to see who was on Couchsurfing in the area, and came up with a guy named Alex that was very cool and eventually offered to sort of show us around the city.

Last night, we met up with Alex and a Canadian traveler that he is currently hosting and went to a rooftop barbecue at one of his friend's apartments. There were several Germans there who are living in Almería while working on their theses on solar energy, a few Spanish people, two Americans, and a Canadian there, and it was a wonderful time filled with good food and drink.

Today, we went out to a bar in the night life district of town with a few of the same folks, and had a great time at a bar that was for some reason Chemistry-themed. They had a periodic table of elements hung on the wall, loud music, cheap drinks, and horse races playing on a television. C'est la vie, as the French say.

Anyway, just goes to show you that sometimes meeting strangers isn't all panel vans and roofies. Sometimes, it can actually be quite rewarding.

Signing off,

Blake