There's hope for saving the warm and fuzzies

With the memories still fresh in my cerebrum, I will share my couch surfer experiences with you.

Couchsurfing.com

Honestly, I know its probably been said before by a million couchsurfers, but WHAT A GREAT IDEA! Tonight we hosted our third set of couch surfers (I'll include the Brits in this count, even though they were found on the street and not on the website). Sarah and I have a profile on the site, which fellow couchsurfer travelers can see, and they can request to stay at our house. Seeing as how we have three empty bedrooms, an extra bathroom, and a wide array of extra bedding, we are glad to fill up the space with some cool peeps. Bringing the warm, communal, hostel atmosphere into my home is by far one the coolest things I have ever experienced. We don't get too many tourists around here, so its always nice to make the ones who do come feel at home.

Leaving our house a couple months ago to watch a futbol game at a bar, we spotted two backpackers looking hopelessly lost. Before learning their names, we invited them to stay with us. David and Adam turned out to be some of the most comical humans to walk this earth. They were our entertainment for the night, full of jokes, stories, and that wonderful British dry-wit humor. After drinking in numerous bars, we headed to the karaoke bar where we all shared in the experience of being bombarded by drunk Honduran men. The Brits made the most of it and definitely had a good time, inspite of the fact that they spoke absolutely no Spanish. The night continued on our roof, and by that time my stomach hurt from laughing so much. So ended our first couchsurfing experience.

A couple weeks ago we got a request from a young newly married Canadian couple who wanted to stay with us. They took us out to dinner, were extremely sweet, and we took them to the orphanage on Sunday. Rebecca played the guitar and sang for the kids and Ryan seemed like he was born to play with underprivileged parent-less children. They definitely left here with a little place in their hearts for Santa Rosa.

Today we had our third set of surfers. They were only with us for a mere 10 hours, if not less, but they were delightful. Yes, I did just use the word "delightful", and I meant it. We hosted two friends: Agustin from Mexico City and Pasquale from Italy. Agustin has to be the sweetest Mexican alive. Pasquale is not your stereotypical Italian who are typically full of compliments to try to get you into bed. Pasquale insisted on making us pasta, since that's what Italians do best. Sarah, Pasquale, Augustin, and I shared two bottles of wine, one huge pot of pasta, music, and travel stories. How could a Friday night have been any better?

Now that I've shared my house with all these beautiful people, I have places to stay in Italy, Mexico, Canada, and England. Couchsurfers makes the world just a little bit smaller and has made me part of this world wide couchsurfing community. Should I never stay at any of our guests' houses, its no big deal. I'm happy just to have met all these people and shared a night, a day, and a conversation or two with them. Today I learned that Mexico City has a great music scene and isn't nearly as dangerous as the U.S. media makes it out to be. I may definitely be staying on Agustin's couch in the near future!

Like I said before, I love bringing the hostel feeling into my own home. Young travelers all have the same energy and a lot of the same openness and desire to change the way we think and perceive the world. We are all interested in what others have experienced and seen. We listen intently to each other, sometimes hanging on every word, editing our mental lists of where we MUST go before we turn 30. We share pictures, music, stories, food, our houses, and our selves. We feel very free, a feeling of being unattached, away from our home country, language, and culture, away from all that is familiar, making our minds as blank as possible so as to take everything in with unspoiled minds. It's a state of being many young travelers have in common, so that when we come together, the energy burns brighter. The excitement, the freedom, the almost frenzied thirst to learn, to do, to make a difference can be nearly tangible at times.

I have one very worried email from Laura's dad saying, "I'm a little concerned about having strangers stay in your house, but you are more trusting than I am." I do understand the concern and its always good to be cautious. But so far, so good, folks. The good times keep on rolling down here in Honduras.

We've got some beds open...hit me up if you wanna couchsurf with us! ;)