I learned to practice hospitality and to listen to different perspectives from people who shared a living space with me during the process. It is more than just lending a bed, but sharing the culture that makes us who we are and influences where we will go.”

    — Ethan Boehm, a veteran couchsurfer,

    who has hosted around two hundred people

    Tan Yifan

    cicitan2011@gmail.com

    THESE days, there are many approaches to connect with people from various backgrounds. The quickest and most economical way is to set up an online social-networking account and click on the names and faces flickering before our eyes. In addition to that, an ideal scenario to help fulfill a dream of traveling the world would be to have countless friends in every corner of the globe.

    Ethan Boehm, a high school mathematics teacher born in North Carolina, the United States, expressed how he managed to achieve both at once during the Shenzhen Idea Exchange event last Saturday night in a crowded venue inside OCT-LOFT.

    Instead of being identified as a trained mathematician, Boehm, now in his 30s, prefers to be called a veteran couchsurfer.

    “Couchsurfing reshaped my personality and the way I live,” said Boehm, speaking highly of a hospitality exchange and social networking website, couchsurfing.org, which was founded in California, America, in 2004 and boasts a membership of over 6 million as of last year. “I learned to practice hospitality and to listen to different perspectives from people who shared a living space with me during the process. It is more than just lending a bed, but sharing the culture that makes us who we are and influences where we will go.”

    A couchsurfer in the Muslim world

    Now teaching at Nansha College Preparatory Academy in Nansha District, Guangzhou, Boehm previously spent three years teaching in the city of Fez, Morocco, where he came to know Couchsurfing and began his journey of surprises and wonders.

    “The time I went to Morocco, I met my roommate and friend who introduced me to Couchsurfing,” said Boehm. “He hosted people at our house and loved to bring people together.”

    The local couchsurfer encouraged his roommate, Boehm, to join the network. Boehm then began guiding people who visited Fez through the tiny labyrinth-like streets, and encouraged them to deeply appreciate the 1,200-year-old city.

    “I created an online account and completed my profile on the website. By viewing members’ detailed information and reading the references left by others, I made my decision to either accept the couchsurf request or just drop it,” Boehm further explained.

    His first visitors were a couple from Poland, who “surfed” two days on his couch.

    “I felt very excited. And the couple were very nice, easy-going guys,” recalled Boehm. “The pleasant experience made a good start for me. It was surprisingly easy for us to build mutual trust.”

    Boehm said he gradually got used to and enjoyed the merging of him and his visitors’ lifestyles, and decided to offer extra cooking services as a way to practice his hospitality.

    “Staying in Fez for several years, I had hosted both people from the Muslim world and outside their community. It felt novel to hear voices from both sides and found Muslims are fun and friendly,” said Boehm. “I met my best friend in Morocco through Couchsurfing. Often we would travel together, and we had many adventures traveling around Morocco.”

    Get connected

    Living a life as a couchsurfer for five years, Boehm said he has hosted around two hundred people, which means on average he offered free boarding for 2.5 people a month.

    “I’ve had many couchsurfers and most left me indelible memories,” said Boehm.

    “Once I hosted a couple from the Netherlands. I didn’t expect to be life-long friends with them at first,” said Boehm. “They asked me whether they could carry a basket on the back of their bicycle with a puppy which they adopted on the road to my house. I granted it, but didn’t expect it to pee on the floor after they entered,” giggled Boehm. “Originally I would refuse to stay with pets, but the couple were cute.”

    “To my surprise the wife was six-months pregnant when she arrived and they even decided to bicycle from Morocco to their country,” said Boehm. “I was impressed by the guts of them. Now the baby was born and we Skype on occasion.”

    The Dutch couple were not the only life-long friends of his. He said another couple from Germany had met him three times on three different continents.

    “It’s amazing to find that people actually can be so closely connected,” said Boehm. “We hosted each other in Morocco and Germany and reunited over Christmas in Hanoi. Next month we will reunite again in Chiang Mai, which will be the fourth reunion.”

    Boehm said one thing he found hilarious was to meet a couchsurfer traveling through the Research Triangle area. The man was specialized in making peculiar model cars and traveling around.

    “A year ago, when I was back in my hometown, I happened to host the people from the group. They won a bit of fame nationwide and one day I saw the local newspaper covered their trip to my town. I got in contact with them and invited them to surf at my place,” Boehm said. “To my surprise, they visited and parked their large banana-shaped car at my place.” Boehm said the act drew a lot of local attention.

    A couchsurfing

    ambassador

    With 330 references for both hosting and surfing on his profile homepage, Boehm has been chosen as an official “ambassador” for the website.

    Now one of the three ambassadors of Guangzhou, Boehm strives to be an outgoing and hospitable surfer.

    “Ethan was my first CS guest. He is a fascinating guy, trustworthy, humorous, open-minded, very smart and easy-going, with rich experience in travel. ... He come from America, but can speak Arabic and French. ... We hanged out with my friend, went to a few markets, tasted some local food and sightseeing at daytime. We had very nice conversation with a variety of topics when we walked beside the river at night. Both of us laughed a lot. It was a great experience staying with him,” one Chinese surfer called Lily posted his homepage.

    Surfing couches, places and culture

    Boehm said he has been to almost every continent on earth in addition to offering his place to other surfers.

    Talking about his discoveries in human nature, Boehm said: “Being afraid of strangers is the mechanism of our societies.” But to believe in people behaving positively is his way of shedding those doubts.

    “Most of the people in the world are kind,” he said. “They need to be welcomed when they are in a strange place. Hospitality is important because it will make them at ease and open their heart. It is not for sale. By hosting others you will receive more than you can imagine.”