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1000 Americans: Diego Sarraseca, Los Angeles

February 22, 2009 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

Diego Sarraseca

 

Argentinean-born Diego lives in an old gang house in South-East LA with his wonderful wife Claudia and two kids. when they moved in, they had to remove tons of trash and plaster some bullet holes.

Diego is trying to make a difference in the community by being actively involved in the local youth’s soccer competition. He is fighting against local government, so they can keep on using the fields for the soccer games and the kids keep shooting at the goal instead of shooting at each other…

If you want to know what else goes on in his head, read his blog: http://www.thesarrasecacode.com/

1000 Americans: Bill Korn, Santa Maria

February 12, 2009 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

Bill Korn

Bill is a great guy. He cooked us a wonderful meal (made Ivana feel at home immediately).
His wife and kids are very friendly though one of the Dachshunds is a bit psychotic, the other makes up for it 🙂

He cycles a lot, first out of necessity (as he did not have a car), then out of pleasure (because it is so great).

He helped us with our bikes and cycled a few hours with us, showing us a much better route through the Foxen canyon Road, which we would have missed otherwise.
Thanks Bill, hope to see you on our trip again, else in Argentina or Amsterdam!

1000 Americans: Carol, Mike & Ben

November 28, 2008 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

Carol, Mike & Ben

We already had met Ben in Northern Alaska and had the pleasure to meet his family Carol & Mike and to spend Thanksgiving with them.

Even though life has not always been easy on them, they are positive and have faith in the future and each other…

1000 Americans: Dan & Nancy Nelson, Olympia, USA

November 19, 2008 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

Nancy & Dan Nelson

Dan & Nancy are a great couple who enjoy life. They live in the dark woods South of Olympia, but spend the coldest time of the year in Costa Rica. They both love cycling and almost have finished their trip across the USA, even though Nancy has lost a large part of her leg in a motorcycle accident several years ago.

They have prepared a special type of tandem, with one recumbent part and one regular part and have done 3 of the four parts so far, hoping to finish next summer!

In their spare time, they both play the ‘Irish Fiddle’, though they actually master a range of instruments. If you are ever in the Irish pubs in Olympia, check them out during one of the great ‘sessions’ they have there!

Nancy & Dan Nelson's trip map

It was a pleasure to spend some time with them, thanks Dan & Nancy!

Tips from the road: Couchsurfing, WarmShowers & Hospitality Club

November 19, 2008 by ,  
Filed under Tips & Tricks, Friendly people, General

This post is a thank you to all the wonderful people that have hosted us on the way and offers advice for travelers as well as hosts.

A couch from one of our Hosts (though we stayed in a nice bed :)For those new to Couchsurfing, WarmShowers.org and the Hospitality Club, these are networks of people opening their house and/or local knowledge up to other travellers, supplying them with free lodging (a ‘couch’, though it can be a spare room, a sofa or just a spot on the floor or in the garden).

Couchsurfing is the largest , currently there are almost a million members inviting strangers into their homes, following the mission of Couchsurfing:

“CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding.”

WarmShowers.org is an older, but much smaller organisation (less than 10,000 members), but it is especially focused on BikeTravellers.

“The Warm Showers List is a list of Internet cyclists who have offered their hospitality towards touring cyclists. The extent of the hospitality depends on the host and may range from simply a spot to pitch a tent to meals, a warm (hot!) shower, and a bed.”

This has some advantages:

  • Hanging out in an Irish pub, where our host Dan was playing the fiddle!the hosts generally have cycled themselves, so you do not have to explain why or how you do it 🙂
  • They usually have storage space for your bike
  • They might have spare parts, but at least useful tools
  • They know all the local cycle routes and the best way to get out of cities etc
  • They are very friendly 🙂 and almost always will answer positively to any requests

The disadvantage is of course that there are fewer members, but usually the ‘quality’ is more important here than the ‘quantity’.

The Hospitality Club is the second largest organisation, with currently about 330.000 members. Their mission is similar:

Mitchell, photographer and excellent CS hostOur aim is to bring people together – hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling – be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town.
The club is supported by volunteers who believe in one idea: by bringing travelers in touch with people in the place they visit, and by giving “locals” a chance to meet people from other cultures we can increase intercultural understanding and strengthen the peace on our planet.

Joining any of these 3 organisations is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. Members can look at each other’s profiles, send messages and post comments about their experience on the website. Of course you can become a member of all of them, it will increase your chance of finding a host and to meeting new travellers. You can be very clear about what you can offer and what you request: if you only want to meet up for a drink, that is ok. If you have a backyard where people can pitch a tent, that is perfect as well. if you want to offer a spare room and serve dinner that is wonderful, but not required. if you need a week’s notice, that’s no problem (though many travelers, especially BikeTravellers, cannot tell exactly when they arrive as it is dependent on wind..)

Ivana & CS pro Samir having a great timeWe had only ‘Couchsurfed’ a few times so far, but Samir was a professional. Even though they had surfed only a few times themselves, he gave us all kind of tips about how to find hosts and how to use Couchsurfing more effectively, though these are mostly true for the others as well:

Samir’s CS tips:

  • Sign up for local CS groups (the ‘Amsterdam’ or ‘California’ group etc, any group of the place you are travelling in), so you can easily get in contact with members and post message in the group.
  • Check for people who are online in your area (CS shows where you recently logged in from). This is actually how Samir found us, he just checked which CS-ers where near him and checked our profile!
  • Of course, if you want to be hosted, you will need a complete profile, so add much information about yourself.
  • Try to meet other CS-ers locally if you are new. This way they can see you face to face, and vouch for you.

Why would you sign up with any of these organisations?

Just a place to dry out can be heaven...

To give

  • You can help travellers finding a safe place to stay, or even just help them out with useful information or just a cup of tea or a warm shower & a washing machine. Travellers do not need fancy places, just a roof can be great.
  • You can save travellers a lot of money, they otherwise had to spend on expensive hotel rooms. This money is much better spent on travelling more, food, a museum etc!
  • You meet many different people: travellers with great stories about their hometown/-country, travelling tips and much more. It is a free way to get a good bite of ‘strange’ culture!
  • You can show the world, that not all strangers are bad people and that it is easy to help a fellow human being; even though the media will try to convince you to believe the ‘fear culture’ (don’t trust anybody, axis of evil, discrimination etc). Fear is big business, with the weapons industry leading the way…
  • To show that the Internet is a great thing. Our generation is empowered by it and can use it to make the world a better place.

To receive

  • To find hospitality in unexpected places by unexpected people and restore faith in humanity.
  • To get first-hand knowledge about the place and area you are staying in.
  • To save a lot of money which is much better spent otherwise 🙂
  • To see how people are really living in the place/country you are staying in. No Hotel can teach you about local breakfasts, the way people talk to their kids etc in foreign countries!
  • Dub, one of our many Couchsurfing Cats!If you are a cyclist, it is a great way to have a day ‘off’: when you know your gear is in a safe place, you can go for a ride, without luggage, or walk into town, without a bike for a change. If you do not have to watch your bike, you can visit museums, shops, a swimming pool, library, or simply have a siesta in the park. You would see cities, you would otherwise have to pass.
  • You might be able to freshen up (a Warm Shower) or even do some laundry and generally load up your energy levels.
  • If you like pets, you will love the chance to play with the dog or cat (hosts generally have pets, unless they travel a lot themselves :))

We already met so many wonderful people, many of them are mentioned in the ‘1000 Americans’ Category. Most of them we would never have met, if it was not for the 3 initiatives mentioned here, and without them we would have camped more, but also learned and seen a lot less…

Of course you must always use your own mind when deciding to stay with somebody as in culture, both online as well as offline, there are a few less good people trying to spoil it for the rest. Whatever you do, in the end it is always your own responsibility/choice, but do not let this stop you from travelling and meeting new people.

Unaware hosts 🙂

We have stayed at several people, who either had no internet connection, and/or no idea about the organisations above. Still they invited us into their homes, becase they wanted to help us out, dry us, feed us, listen to our stories or share theirs.

They found  us on the street, in front of a library, looking for a place to camp, or stumbled upon our website and invited us: spontaneous Warm Showers!

They are great hosts, who offer help from their hearts without even thinking about the huge internet resources. As one host said: ‘You know, they should make a website to connect travelers!’. When we told them about the 3 mentioned above he was pleasantly surprised 🙂

1000 Americans: John Williams, Suquamish, USA

October 25, 2008 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people, Go green

20081024-John-Williams_MG_1170

John Williams is a filmmaker that has captured the wonderful colourful life under sea level. He has shown flora & fauna of all sizes, colours and types, but maybe the most interesting thing is that most of this was shot jus in his own ‘backyard’: the Puget Sound, the busy body of water separating Seattle from the Western Part of Washington State.

Many of his films are used for educational purposes, which might help preserve the wonderful world that so few people know about…

See more about John and the programs he made, on his website http://www.stillhopeproductions.com/

1000 Americans: Luigi & Pete

October 16, 2008 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

20081012-Pete-Luigi-Vancouver_MG_1099

Luigi & Pete were cycling through Stanley Park when we met them. They noticed our bikes even without luggage and started asking about our trip.

When we bumped into them a few kilometers away, a few hours later, they invited us for dinner. Thanks guys!

1000 Americans: Barbara and her dogs, Agassiz, BC, Canada

October 7, 2008 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

_MG_1033-Barbara-dogs-agassiz

‘Hey, are you travelling on those bicycles?’

‘Yes, we are on our way from Alaska to Argentina’

‘Great, do you already have a place to stay tonight? Come with me, I live close, I hope you are not afraid of dogs?’

It turned out that Barbara was a traveler and a dog (and cat) lover, who had adopted several dogs she found on the streets in India. She was also a great cook and host and treated us on stories and a very yummie breakfast!

She was a Couchsurfer & WarmShowers host extraordinaire, without even knowing about the organisations, but just because of being a traveller herself she knew the value of good company and a safe place to stay, one of many angels along the way that were watching over us and our trip…

1000 Americans: JP Benoit & Christy, Spuzzum, BC, Canada

October 6, 2008 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

_MG_1026-JP-Benoit-Christy-Spuzzum

“Trains are great. We met on a train and I love the trains that come by here every day.”

JP had found spring water on his piece of land and had grown great tomatoes and other veggies. He had no email address or Internet access, but wrote down his PO box on a piece of paper. ‘Send us a postcard when you get to Argentina!’.

Thanks JP, for taking care of us and showing us the true American generosity.

1000 Americans: Scott & Tina, Cache Creek

October 3, 2008 by ,  
Filed under 1000 Americans, Friendly people

_MG_1006-Tina-dad-cache-creek

‘I live in Alberta now, but my heart always will be in British Columbia’ Scott said, after he posed with his daughter in the garden of his sister, where we had pitched our tent for the night…

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