“So you’re just going to stay with a stranger, in a strange city, in a strange country where you don’t speak the language or have any other local contacts?” “Yes.” “…so you’re going to be murdered.” “Hopefully not.”

I arrived in Berlin at night, sleep deprived and addled from 24+ hours of travel. I hadn’t made any reservations for a hotel or hostel, and was instead planning on couch surfing — my first time trying out this process.

For those who don’t know, couch surfing is a worldwide system that connects travelers and local hosts. If you have a spare room or sofa, you can offer to host a traveler. If you’re traveling, you can put out a request for a host in your destination. There are some checks in place to make sure that everybody is safe — there’s a review system, and the couch surfing team provides safe travel suggestions.

I’d never done it before, but was enthusiastic to try. I posted my travel date and asked if anybody could put me up for a night. A few days later, I received a hosting request from a Berliner who seemed 1. human, 2. nice, and 3. to have a spare room — all important traits for this experience. I confirmed the stay with him, and prepared myself…for an onslaught of safety concerns from friends and family.

Actually, it wasn’t a super big onslaught. My friends were a bit nervous…nobody outright warned me not to do it, but this type of exchange wasn’t uncommon:

“So you’re just going to stay with a stranger, in a strange city, in a strange country where you don’t speak the language or have any other local contacts?”

“Yes.”

“…so you’re going to be murdered.”

“Hopefully not.”

On the other hand, my family was (as usual) very cavalier. My parents’ approach to me traveling has always been “Eh, she’ll figure it out.” This mentality applied since I was a teenager, living in various countries and traveling around the globe. And in general, that approach has worked out — my fam trusts me to take care of myself, and I update them occasionally that I am Not Dead.

The best example of this approach was a few years ago, when I was driving through Mexico with a friend. Our car broke down, and we ended up asking some passing construction workers for a tow into town. After assuring the workers that tenemos ropa (we meant to said we had rope for towing, and ended up saying “We have clothing!” — they were amused, while we were somewhat mortified), we eventually made it to a city mechanic. I contacted my parents to let them know that I may be home a couple days late because our car kinda died…on a largely-deserted highway…in the middle of a Mexican desert…

Their response: “Great, have a few cervesas! We’ll see you in a couple days.”

So yeah, it wasn’t that big of a surprise when I announced a few months ago that I would be heading to a new country for school. I didn’t speak the language (yet…just you wait), didn’t have any supplies, and would be staying with friends and possibly couch surfing until I figured out my living situation.

Turns out my first time couch surfing experience was wonderful. My host was super friendly, picked me up at the airport, had a spare room in a great apartment, and even did a walking tour of the neighborhood before I left to Cottbus the next morning. Plus he had suggestions on the best way to got to Cottbus, and was happy to drop me off at the bus station in the morning. Thanks, Leo! 🙂

Is couch surfing for everyone? No. Did it work out super well for me? Definitely!