Hello everyone,
My name is Blair and I am a Canadian who traveled for years using Couchsurfing, and these are some of the memorable experiences I have had because of CS:
(1) In Argentina, I stayed with an artist in Mendoza and wrote a story in his home that later won a literary award.
(2) In the US, I stayed with a filmmaker who collaborated with me to make a film of that story.
(3) In Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil, Austin, Texas and San Francisco, California, CS friends who I barely knew let me stay alone at their summer homes for months while I completed the writing of several books.
(4) In Cuba, I met a CSer who gave me a touring bike that let me do a 1000 km cycling tour through the whole island.
(5) In California, a retiring CSer gave me a car so I could do a 6-month road trip through the United States.
(6) On that American road trip, I did not need to pay for accommodation even once, thanks to Couchsurfing, and was able to travel much longer and see much more of the country than would have been possible otherwise.
(7) I found a job in Saudi Arabia through the recommendation of a Saudi CS connection, and became a highly-paid supervisor of a university program there for years.
(8) I was able to learn Portuguese through friends made in Brazil, when I stayed for several months in São Paulo, and later when I traveled down the Amazon River.
(9) My unique and authentic “all-walks-of-life” travel experiences helped me to write two whole books on Latin America and the United States (Here is my author page: https://writers-profile-blair-bourassa.com).
(10) Because I am naturally a rather shy and introverted person, without Couchsurfing I never would have made all the wonderful friends and helpful acquaintances that enriched my life beyond measure in my travels. Now I have hundreds of contacts around the world!
Without Couchsurfing, probably none of these things would have happened! So I am very grateful for this community, and all it offers to the world.
Thank you, CS, for everything! I would never travel again without you!
