We've had so many requests from people (mostly students) who have never hosted and who have nothing to offer the group except conversation, a share in their adventure, or an opportunity to help them realize their lifelong dream of travel.
Here's one such person's explanation of Why [she's] on Couchsurfing:
"As a college student, the two most important aspect of travel for me are saving money and meeting new people. Couchsurfing is the perfect place for both of those. " Such entitlement is fairly common and ruining couchsurfing as I knew it.
So. I've taken a cue from a friend who hosted me in Iceland and am announcing here that we won't accept requests from opportunists. Get a few references from hosting someone or (if you can't host) get a few references from hosts whom you've invited to dinner, brought a gift or done a favor.

ABOUT US
We are Atheist Social Democrats. I used to teach Science in a small Science Museum (SciTech) and am retired from running an after-school program for elementary school kids in Aurora.
My husband, Jamie, is a retired facilities manager. He was a mountaineer, currently a rock climber, outdoorsman, gardener, beer brewer, science-minded reader, golfer, non-materialist, easygoing person.
We have hosted about 8 exchange students and various traveling refugees over the years (Argentina, Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Belarus, France, Brazil, Denmark, Poland, England, Ireland, Finland ....)

PHILOSOPHY
Act with consideration.
Take worthwhile risks.
Appreciate what you have and respect what others contend with.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Everybody has something to offer and most of them are generous. I respect people who have accepted hospitality AND have offered it. I try to pay all favors forward but now we only host people who regard couchsurfing as a pool of Karma. If you haven't contributed to the pool in some way, I'm not inclined to host you.
I have couchsurfed in Poland, Vienna, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Argentina, Hungary, the Canaries and Italy.
I've slept on the floor of a 500 year old house in Marburg, Germany for about a week two years ago - on a love seat sofa bed with my 14 year-old daughter in Buenos Aires in 2001/2002 - in a closet on a cot in Paris in 1999 -in a van with my sister and my dog in a campground back a number of years ago - and on the floor of Schiphol airport. Every time I've felt lucky to be where I was.

Interests

I travel, read seriously good books, host strangers, listen to lots of kinds of music, see seriously good movies, cook, have friends from 11 to 85 years old, speak Spanish and a little French, love coffee and company, shop at the thrift.....
I've traveled to Argentina, Ireland, England, France, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada, Spain, Morrocco, Ukraine, Turkey...
The summer of 2008 I went to Berlin, Kiev (Poltava), Yalta, Budapest, Vienna, Krakow, Warsaw,(Opole), Prague and a few other places in that region to visit some people who had lived with us.
In August '10 I was in Greece (Kalamata) for 2 weeks staying with a dear friend.
Just this past spring ('18) I took a trip to visit friends from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to Portugal and then Madrid, Barcelona and Nimes, France. I had a layover in Reykjavik and couchsurfed with a wonderful young woman.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Henri Langlois, Phantom of the Cinema, Agnes Varda, Jim Jarmusch, Nasty Girl, Kes, Blues Brothers, Joel/Ethan Coen, The General, Kontroll, .... oh, I can't name them all!
Music: Roots, Spanish Classical Guitar, Old-timey (bluegrass), Piedmont Blues, Decemberists, Cesaria Evora, Getz/Gilberto, Jethro Tull, Johnny Mercer, Mavis Staples, Leo Kottke, Jorma Kaukonen, Django Reinhardt, Mahalia Jackson, Bach, Beethovan, Albinoni....
Books: Oliver Sachs, Margaret Atwood, Paul Theroux, Kingsley Amis, Russell Banks, T.R. Pearson, Cormac McCarthy, Michael Lewis, Tom Sharpe....

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Walking up the subway steps to find the Sagrada Familia looming above me in Barcelona.... the coast of Belfast under an enormous moon the summer of '83 as I was leaving Ireland on a boat for Liverpool with my 3 year-old son....walking through the back streets of Ceuta in Morrocco with a trail of curious children following behind. ... walking in the torch procession for Hogmanay in Edinburgh, ... meeting the good people at the Barras flea market in Glasgow. Every time I find myself in these places, I wonder at my good fortune.

Teach, Learn, Share

Besides cooking, organizing parties, sharing movie and music tips, I know how to do a lot of silly little tricks with paper, scissors, rubber bands, string, paper clips, water bottles, etc.
It's all from teaching science in an interactive science museum.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I try to bring a personal gift, to do a favor, invite someone for a dinner or an outing or just somehow offer something to please a host and share some advantage for him or her.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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