Name: Niccolò Kojo Ferrarese
City: Milan, Italy
Years on Couchsurfing: 11
What was your first Couchsurfing experience?
Well, I started host people on 2001 (yep, right before any travel website) and right now, September 2019, I hosted roundly 1500 surfers and travelers… no relevant negative experience at all. Anyway the first was hosting an Austrian guy, Klaus, for 7 months: something unforgettable
Wow. So you started CouchSurfing before there was CouchSurfing! So what made you get involved with CouchSurfing the site?
CS is Freedom and I’m a free spirit: travel and meeting people all over the world, is there something better? .
After traveling, I always come home with me some new friendship and new experiences… something i enjoy most is catching sunsets, living postcards, getting chance to meet diversity and accepting people the way they are. I don’t like to judge others, surfers are those kinds of people who don’t care for material things, who give equal chance to everyone, who enjoy present being happy with the best thing they have and that is called FREEDOM!
I am the one who is trying to live without borders. Since now i met many people who became my friends, people from all over the world. I like to see & hear positive attitudes about life, life with smile, life with open minds, with will to fight for life
What is your most unforgettable memory of hosting?
After hosting bunch of 23 couchsurfers at same time I’ve learned on how to develop space in vertical way fitting all of them in my previous cosy little flat… that actually was not a castle (that is not a fairy question to ask) Lyon – France for the FOL (Festival of Lights) many years ago and absolutely the MontRoyal CouchCrash in Germany!
Incredible. What is the best gift you have received?
Invitations and travel tickets to visit them and… Words, words and words by letters postcards or by voice. One above all a letter left by one of my surfers, Rohan from Australia: “Today is my last day in Milano with these boys… and the thought of leaving their home brings upon me a sadness which I normally experience when going away from family. They have treated me like their brother, cooked for me, taken me out to parties, chatted away till the wee hours of the morning and the entire experience has only reinforced my belief that couchsurfing is the next best thing after sex. Any community that brings the world closer and to your door step can only be a good thing. Whether you have a family or not, feel like you do not have time or might be uncomfortable with hosting strangers in your house, my only words of advice to you would be let do it and marvel at how such a simple act of humanity will change your life! People make the world and your world will only be enriched when you open the doors of your life to them…”.. I was crying when I was reading these words.
If you could surf with any historical or famous person, who would it be?
Banksy to be more inspired
Ah, great answer! And what is your favorite travel quote?
The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes…Awwwooowww
On The Road, Jack Kerouac
I love ‘On The Road’! Great book! So what has been your craziest moment…. On the road…
Going to the airport with one of my fellow traveler and being blocked… both almost naked because all of our clothes were dirty. The whole airport was amused, even the security
Incredible! That takes quite a bit of condience. Speaking of, what is your go-to Karaoke song?
“Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Got My Mind Set On You”
I’d love to see your Queen rendition! What is one trip that is on your bucket list?
5 years break to dedicate to the World and his cultures
And lastly, what is your one piece of advice to a new Couchsurfer?
Never forget that happiness is complete when shared and that the more you know about yourself the less you need. No matter who you are, where you are from, what you do. Life is yours, Enjoy It as much as you can, you will never regret so don’t wait and live as if you were die tomorrow and learn as you were to live forever, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” [John Lennon]