As many of my friends will tell you, I am more than a little obsessed with the CouchSurfing Project. Every time an unsuspecting person asks me "What's Couchsurfing?" my friends will give me a look knowing that I am about to blurt out all of my anecdotes, experiences and my philosophy regarding Couchsurfing. It's good to be passionate, isn't it?
After receiving more than a dozen messages from travelers who mistakenly believe that Albany is NYC ("Is Albany in Manhattan?") I finally heard from not one, but two couchsurfers interested in surfing my couch in Albany. Finally, I have the opportunity to give back to the CS community after crashing at about a dozen different couches in the New England region last year.
The first request came from a Quebecois bicyclist from Montréal. Steve was planning a bike trip from Montréal to D.C. as he just finished his studies and wanted to do some traveling. Steve arrived at our place and Converse and I took him for burritos and booze at Bomber's. What better way to end a long day of biking from Lake George to Albany then chowing down on some tasty burritos? Steve was only planning on staying one night, but due to the crappy weather I invited him to stay another night. The following night he made a great veggie dinner of acorn squash and tofu topped off with some vin.
The second request was from a very interesting fellow from Massachusetts who was finishing a trek across the country where he walked the entire way. Fran carried all his belongings in a stroller and has been either couchsurfing or setting up his tent for the entire journey. Once I met him I knew we were going to get along just fine. Fran is as obsessed as I am about the CS Project. It was great to have another ally to speak with all my friends about how sane CS really is as most of my friends think I am at least a little crazy for being a couchsurfer. Fran met all sorts of interesting and amazing people who took care of him and helped him along his way. It just goes to show that we really are part of a larger community that isn't confined to the area in which we live.
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