DISCLAIMER: You do NOT have to read my whole profile to send me a request. You CAN use a copy and paste one. If I like your profile, I'll say yes...

2018:
CS has changed a LOT since I first joined ~10 years ago.
* It used to be a non-profit. Now its a company.
* It used to be free. Now you can't really do anything without paying money.
* Verification was (supposedly) only a security thing, and would cost ~1$. Now it costs around ~50$ and its for the profit.
* You didn't need verification, as you could get vouched from other members. They took it off because it reduces the incentive to get verified.
* Members were encouraged to greet new-comers, reach out and be friendly. There was a mission of hospitality and friendliness. This mission was abandoned.
* There was a chat to facilitate easier and freer communication. It was taken down.
* Members were asked to donate their time and effort (and money) to support the site (coding, translating, etc.) on the basis of helping the cause / the idea. What a disappointment it was for them once it turned into a company (no, they didn't get reimbursed for their contributions).
* It basically went from being a great, free and non-profit, friendly and cozy, please-donate-your-time-here community-driven amazing experiment, to becoming a shallow profit-driven poor value-for-money company.
* You cannot base hospitality on money. You've got hotels, hostels and air-bnb for that. And here's a timely truth - There is no such thing as free meals. There's always a give or take. A good give or take is based on friendship. Because that's the only thing that can be equal between a traveler and a local. That's the only "fair" commodity. If you reduce the level of community and friendliness, than you increase the levels of "saving money", "trying to hook up" and other less "fair" human transactions, which (at least in my opinion) is not so fun.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It used to be a cool idea, and a great way to meet new people, especially when travelling. Now I'm not so sure...

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Hosted 20+ surfers and surfed 20+ couches. Attended 40+ CS meetings. Was an Ambassador of Tel-Aviv.

I've organised a funday/picnic for children of Refugees from Darfur (2009) with local CS'ers in TLV (check my photos).

I've made some cool films Couchsurfing on the road, with the help of CouchSurfers:
§ Guys Talk (2009) - written by Kerstin, and preformed by Dave, Bob, Marlene and I. Shot in Leipzig.
§ Shadows of Luxembourg (2012) - preformed by me, Marthe, and her local friends: Olivier and Nasa. Shot in Luxembourg city.

Interests

Writing, Yoga, Climbing, Languages, Music, Guitar, Flamenco, Movies, Books, Programming and Making, Learning, Buddhism, Taoism, Alan Watts is my personal non-guru.

Music, Movies, and Books

I'll share a bit with you:

“Why don't you ever use your strength on me?" she said. "Because love means renouncing strength," said Franz softly.” ― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

“If a woman sleeps alone it puts a shame on all men. God has a very big heart, but there is one sin He will not forgive. If a woman calls a man to her bed and he will not go.” ― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

“And yet he was in the right ! They were wrong and he was right. The obvious, the silly, and the true had got to be defended. Truisms are true, hold on to that ! The solid world exists, its laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall towards the earth's centre. ”- George Orwell, 1984

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” United States Declaration of Independence

“A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.” - Desmond Tutu

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I wish I could truly understand and feel how every moment is amazing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Israel, Spain, United Kingdom

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