Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing Couchsurfing International was founded to create memorable and life-changing experiences through cultural diversity, openness and respect. The ability to encounter and explore meaningful connections with the places and people, give couchsurfers a unique outlook on life. Also, the appreciation for other cultures builds tolerance and acceptance as well. Couchsurfing encourages people to encounter life through a variety of different experiences such as inspiring experiences, and magnetic experiences. Each of these experiences can be intertwined with one another but also can be experienced in its own right. A Magnetic Experience is an experience that electrically charges the members participating in the event. The positive experience draws an individual in like a magnet. These experiences are engaging, fun and easy, however, they don’t necessarily challenge an individual to get out of their comfort zone. These experiences help us to make friends through tolerance and acceptance. A Growth Experience happens when couchsurfers connect with people who are vastly different from themselves. These opportunities allow couchsurfers to learn about cultural diversity while overcoming their fears of conflict. Inspiring Experiences occur when both the fun of the Magnetic Experience and learning experiences of the Growth Experience happen simultaneously. Inspiring Experiences allow us to overcome both our inhibitions about exploring and our resistance to differences. Creating an experience that helps a couchsurfer appreciate diversity and value another person or culture is the Couchsurfing mission.

Guiding Principles. .. .

The Couchsurfing Project was conceived by Casey Fenton in 1999. According to Fenton’s account, the idea arose after finding an inexpensive flight from Boston to Iceland. Fenton randomly emailed 1,500 students from the University of Iceland and asked if he could stay. He received 50 offers for accommodations. On the return flight, he