Australian CS Newsletter June 2008
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Australian CS Newletter Archive
June 2008
Welcome to the Australian CS Newsletter
The idea of this newsletter is to provide, hopefully, a one-stop-shop of anything that you might be interested in that is happening within CouchSurfing in general and within Australia in particular.
It is understandable that some folks are traveling and MOST folks don't have time to subscribe to the CS Groups or to read of new developments so we attempt to keep you informed.
As always, please feel free to contribute yourselves by contacting leimondo
News from around the Australian States
The following news is brought to you by your State/City Ambassadors giving you a taste of some of the events that happened around the Country in the last month and an idea of upcoming projects or major events.
- - Australia Wide
An Australia CS major project has just commenced so you will have to wait until next month to read about it in detail. All we can say for the minute is "Macalla is coming"
- - QUEENSLAND
(Your Ambassadors are Skye, Ninja, Beni ,Geoff and Darren)
Had our monthly meeting at Beni's on the 17th May. Attended by about 10 local members and a couple of guests, we had a BBQ and sat around on the green-ant infested grass to talk shop, then retired under the house to play with clay (thanks to Megan who got everyone doing this and is firing our Brissy CS Collective Meeting's M&M bowl!!). Next meeting is organised for June 21st before Fete de la Musique hits Brissy later that day!!
Natalia Eiriz from Vilanova I La Geltru, Spain organised Free Hugs in the Queen Street Mall on the May 24th. Big Thanks to Belinda for uploading some photos of the Hugs to her online album. The Hugs were then followed by a viewing of the football game against Ghana at the Pig and Whistle at Riverside. Australia won 1-0 (in a still-unconvincing way according to Beni at least).
The Brisbane Zombie Walk was held on May 25th with Couch Surfers in attendance. They estimate around 1500 people took part in the walk.
Katrina organised a Karaoke night that was such a sucess that they did it again on May 30th for her farewell (for now).
The Brisbane Crew are having a Photo Competition - this is one of the entries
May also saw at least one happy gathering for dinner at Ileah's
... and lastly Darren is having a ball in Asia and is due home mid June to a welcome home party
- - NEW SOUTH WALES
- Sydney CS news. (Your Ambassadors contributing to this section are Lorenzo, Mike, and Quynh, Shoaib, Lynette, Aaron and Sarah)
May was another busy month on the Sydney CS Social Calendar. We had our 2nd Foodies night (B) - Brazilian BBQ at Churrasco - with almost 20 people coming along and feasting on all-they-could-eat meat! Before Natalia organised Free Hugs in Brisbane, she was part of a Free Hugs afternoon in Pitt St Mall. Pics from the day courtesy of the Sydney CSer who you will never see without his camera Aurelien. Later that night, we said a temporary farewell to Adriana before she headed to the NT to work on a pearl farm while extending her working visa to spend more time with us! The month finished with a gathering at the Primo Italiano festival, followed by a twilight harbour cruise and then finished off with some Salsa.
Hugs from the Sydney Crew 
The calendar for June is slowly but surely filling up. Nomadic Amb Heydi is coming back to Sydney for a couple of days and has organised a drinks night at the Lord Nelson on the 3rd. The Foodies Group tackle 'C' with a visit to a Doma Bohemian Beer Cafe on Thursday the 5th. And for the Queens Birthday long weekend there's the Jazz & Blues festival at Darling Harbour. And that's just the first week and a bit of the month!
To find out what else is happening in Sydney, make sure to keep an eye on the Sydney Group! Plans are afoot for more regular meetings, plus some weekends away, so if you don't want to miss out, keep your eyes peeled...
- Regional NSW News. (Contributing to this section is Lei)
Great news for Newcastle with the return of Nomad Ambassador Matto. There are now 149 mebers in the Newcastle group and hopefully we will see an increase of Gat togethers and meetups organised with newcastle having its own Ambassador. Elsewhere around the State it is quiet however it is hoped in the spring to see fuerther developments to the regional Wikis before the summer onslaught of overseas CSers arrive. Intended are regioanl wikis such as the South Coast of NSW Wiki
- - ACT - CANBERRA (Your Ambassador contributing to this section is Alice)
The CS Canberra Monthly meeting was held in early May at Phu Pho Quoc Vietnamese Restaurant in Dickson. Hosted by Alice nine CSers braved the cold of Canberra to venture out for chatting, eating, having a good time finishing up with karaoke. Staye tuned to the Canberra Group as Danoz is organising the next one in June.
from left to right: top: Wallabies Fan (mate of Johnny), Johnny (Johnny_P), Alice, Stephane Monteil (STPHMTL) from France , Tim and Lana (TWOSEETHEWORLDTOGETHER) bottom: Daniel (DANOZ), Wim (WIM1982) and Amy (INSANE CUBE FISH)
- - VICTORIA (Your Ambassadors contributing to this newsletter is Alisdair,Peel, Ai,Stu, Lyndes and Ruth)
Foodies Night in Belgrave. Eleven people turned up for the foodies night at Earthly Pleasures in Belgrave. A fabulous old venue which was originally a doctors house. (photos here). We thought that it would encourage local people to meet on the eastern side of Melbourne, but the majority of people came from Melbourne anyway.
One thing I noticed that the average age was a lot higher than what we usually get. It was a good night with good food and good conversation. Thanks to Nicole who orgainsed the Restaurant and now Earthly Pleasures is to be a regular event on the first Friday of the Month. Everyone Welcome.
For more info go to this post and for photos of the May Belgrave night see them here
Melbourne Foodies Night Bimbo's 13th May After a bit of discussion Rochey suggested we meet at Bimbo's in Brunswick. It was a perfect venue and we took over the roof top area with about 55 people. Twice as many people turned up as replied, but because of the venue it worked well. It allowed for people to be spontainious and there was no problem with the bill as people ordered and paid for their drinks and $4 pizzas. The place was buzzing. Hopefully this will also be a regular met. And, as always, the photos
Job Surfer Ranjan and Craig have started a new wiki page for CouchSurfers looking for work in Melbourne. It is still in the developing stage and needs contribution from others. It's a great idea as a valuable resource. The Job Surfer Wiki page can be found [://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Job_Surfer here]
Victorian High Country Group Within weeks of returning from Nomadic CSing in Sweden Cold Erin is full steam ahead forming the Victorian High Country Group.
What is there to actually do in the Victorian High Country if you don't like being cold and wet - aka, skiing? What about if you're visiting in summer? Hiking and walking, horse-riding, dirt-bike riding, four wheel driving, fishing, house-boating, cheese-tasting, wine-sampling, coffee-drinking...whatever you like! Go and Visit and meet all the CSers who love living in that area.
The Burning Couch Meetup - 21st June
Ever felt like burning your couch. Well here is an opportunity to unleash the pyromaniac in you. A meetup has been organised at Mansfield in the High Country.
You can find more details here
Trip to Mornington Peninsula: Queens Birthday Weekend: 8 & 9th of June
The wonderful [://www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=24HT3QA Lena] has once again organised a meetup extravaganza. This time it is a weekend at the Mornington Penninsular. Even though it is early in the month hopefully those who are interested might still be able to participate one way or another... have a look at this link for more info.
For the Melbourne CS Cyclists
Be the first to ride the new EastLink motorway and join in the festivities of the EastLink Roadshow, Sunday 15 June. A post has been raised here and you can obtain more info on the event here.
and lastly.... Nightfell cruised back into Melbourne from his CS Nomadic wanderings and organised himself a welcome home get-together. Welcome back to Melbourne. No doubt the Melbourne CS Socialising will now crank up another notch.
- - TASMANIA (Your Ambassador contributing to this newsletter is Alisdair whilst a Tassie contributer is found
All is pretty quiet in Tassie as the weather cools down. We heard from Jules up in the NW that they had a great season of Surfers through but things have quietened.
Stephanie and Rex sent in an delightful email:
Hi Tasmanian CSers,
We are two new Tassie couchsurfers. We are really enjoying the experience. Hosting two great guys from Salzburg was a wonderful experience.We are expecting another couple from Singapore next week. In late June we are off around the world for three months.We have already made some great cs connections to make our travels a more connected experience.We are especially looking forward to a Hungarian CS canoeing trip.Lastly we have a shack down the Tasman Peninsula so maybe in the summer we could host a local gathering there. Best wishes and great travels,
Keep in mind that when you are travelling to Tassie it is well worth the effort to explore the North West corner as well as the regular routes South and East. Tasmania is truely a wonderful destination. For a quick tour of Tasmania via my own montage of photos click here
We are always looking to improve the Tasmanian CS Wiki page so if there are any Taswegians who would like to contribute please contact Leimondo
Some of our more adventerous SA CSers joined up with the AdelaideFlashmob on May 24th to do a "Raid" on Rundle Mall. You can read a bit more of the raid here - all good fun !!
Keep an eye out in your Adelaide Group for upcoming events !!
- - WESTERN AUSTRALIA (Your Ambassadors contributing to this newsletter are Renae and Dhugal,Matt and Serendipities)
May was a huge month for CS in Perth. We had our usual fantastic fortnightly meet ups, planning meetings for the Where on Earth is Perth Festival, dinners out, Spanish Film Festival outings, a house party, and, waved goodbye to four of our favourite long-stay CS international visitors; Lynne, Dodes, Alice, and Damon.
Have you ever had a night where you started out meeting great people, having a LOT of fun, and a LOT of drinks which turned into a LOT of dancing and ended up in a gay nightclub getting hit on by a go-go dancer with no underwear? Well that is a standard Perth Meetup if you would like to get involved. Dates in June are the 11th and the 25th.
May CS events included dinner at Analakshmi. Eat as you like, pay as you feel - Couchsurfing food heaven! Thanks to Heals putting up a post on the Perth group, 30 couchsurfers dined at Annalakshmi and took in the panoramic views of Perth. Dinner as always was fantastic: all food is prepared by volunteers, its simple, tasty, vegetarian Indian. We had a mix of local couchsurfers and visitors. Great food, great conversations, table hopping and then a bevy at the Lucky Shag (pub!) next door. Thanks to everyone’s great replies to Heals’ post, we learned that Meatloaf, Hitler, Charles Manson and Vincent van Gogh are (were) vegetarians!
and as for partying - Perth knows how to do it in style !! Our lovely Quebecois friend, Michael, and his housemates came up with a great night mid May - Canadia House Party! Wild night... For more photos check out this CS album
and Coming Up in WA....
June 12th is International CS Day and the Perth Crew are working on conductiing a charity day for the homeless. You can find more details at this link
Saturday July 5th is a huge CS PERTH QUIZ NIGHT at Carlisle Bowls club. Tickets will be on sale soon! Invite all your friends and family. The night will raise funds for promotional costs of Where on Earth is Perth festival in October this year. Keep Sat July 5th open for the huge CS Perth Quiz Night!
... down the track in October WHERE ON EARTH IS PERTH - and please check out this link for a start
OK, we shall set the scene .. remember the song "It Started with a Kiss" by Hot Chocolate ? It started with a thread, I never thought it would come to this. Come to what ? What is Perth up to ? Perth ? Who is Perth ? Where is Perth ?
Lots and lots of very good questions. Really, our ambassadors should know better, ask for us to come up with some big wild ideas and well, this is what you get.
Its such early days yet and we don't want to spoil the surprise and yet its nice to let out a few hints. To tantalise and entice. Lets just say for now keeping mid October free and finding any way you can to get to Perth would be a VERY good thing.
Where On Earth is Perth ?
We are about to let the world find out. If you are going to be the most remote city in the world, then you have to go off with a very very big bang to get everyones attention. Of course, there are many that will not appreciate this, they have been keeping the magic of Perth a big secret and let me tell you, they are not going to be happy that we are about to let this one out.
Watch this space as the news and events unfold. I can hint at music festivals featuring some of WA's up and coming finest. We won't mention how many of WA's bands have made it big in Oz, is it something in the water ?? Oh what else, Dolphins, Penguins, Surfing, Sailing, Kite Surfing, Wine/Song/Wine/Food/Wine/Dancing/Wine and Spring in the Valley, Picnics, Pubs, Fremantle, Beer, Chocolate, Theme Parties, Beach BBQ's, not to mention the most amazing attraction yet and that would be the awesome people of Perth.
Keep Mid October free and make sure you find any way you can to get to the biggest, best event this country has seen in a long while. If you are traveling around Australia, this is a MUST DO event !!! If you are one of our own, don't miss this opportunity to come and visit the Wild Wild West.
Start planning for it NOW .... don't let this be one of those events you wished you didn't miss. Perth is champing at the bit to host all you wonderful CS'ers and to show off our magical kingdom.
Keep watching this link.. lots, lots more to come.
Western Australia is CS Rocking !!!!!!!!!
- - NORTHERN TERRITORY
(Your Ambassador contributing to this newsletter is Steven Pearce)
With so many new NT CS members coming on board (there are now 78) there is a spot available for anyone wishing to apply to be an Ambassador. So if you are interested in helping Steve out and learning more of how the CouchSurfing organisation works have a look at this link.
For everyone else, feel free to use the groups to meet each other, to develop friendships and references and maybeeven gain vouches that will difinately improve your own opportunities of being hosted when you travel.
Australian Couchsurfing Org News.
BIG NEWS: We have just finished the New Australian CS Members Welcome Kit.. check it out.
May was a big month for CouchSurfing Australia with the appointment of three new Ambassadors !!
Your new City Ambassador is:
DaJinjaNinja] from Brisbane
and your two newly appointed Aussie Nomadic Ambassadors are:
Tracey Bell worjking in Russia for two years on the Trans Siberian trains as a tour guide
and Skye High who is about to set of on a grand Tour.
Congratulations to each and all of them. And to know who your other Australian Ambassadors are have a look at this link.
And To get to know your Ambassadors a little more we have set up an Australian Ambassadors Photo Album
Following in on from last months newsletter we continue presenting the opportunity for you to meet two more of your Australian Ambassadors.
Last month it was our new Country Ambassadors Mike Benjamin and Melbourne Experience - this month it is:
Ruth from Healesville in Victoria
Hi Everyone,
Tony and myself (Ruth) are new Ambassadors for Healesville. You might well ask where is Healesville, well it’s 65 km east of Melbourne and is accessible by public transport. It probably takes about 1.45 – 2 hours from Melbourne. Tony is a local bus driver and I’m involved in Community Development work in local government so I often have ideas that are community based – I just can’t help myself. Because Tony drives the bus from Lilydale train station to Healesville, he often meet travellers on his travels (and sometimes CouchSurfers) and occasionally we end up taking them on a tour of the Yarra Valley.
We have hosted a couple of BBQ’s in Healesville inviting local CouchSurfers as well as traveling ones. We are working on extending CouchSurfing to more rural communities by organizing a foodies night in Belgrave along with a local CouchSurfers in Belgrave. We also have had many CouchSurfers to stay from all over the world.
We got involved in CS in Sept 06 when we started to look for cheap accommodation for a six month Europe trip we were planning in 2007. I fell in love with the site and started to search for couches straight away. However we were a little tentative and decided we wanted to get to know a few Couchsurfers so we organized a BBQ in the December. Thirteen people attended and we got to know some really great people. Photo’s are on our profile. Stu, another ambassador came to the BBQ having returned from his four month trip around Europe just a few days before. He told us lots of great stories of CS and the benefits – from then we were hooked.
We hosted several people before we went away and everyone was a positive experience. We were concerned because we were older than the average CouchSurfer that people wouldn’t want to stay with us; however one of comment by a young Chinese CouchSurfer was; he liked staying with older people because he knew he would be hosted well – a good bed and fed!
We stayed with about ten CSers while in Europe and again had great experiences. If you want a bit be info on our trip here’s our blog.
One experience we had with an English couple in Spain was amazing, we went for three days and ended up staying for 12 and still they didn’t want us to leave – neither did we! There were too many experiences to mention. By having our own car it did enable us to visit some quite isolated CouchSurfing hosts.
We became ambassadors because we wanted to promote the concept and the spirit. We had a very rich experience and wanted other people to experience it too. We also live in a beautiful part of Victoria and know there are many tourists in the area. I’m sure if just 5% knew about CouchSurfing they would do it and have a richer travel experience because of CouchSurfing.
An idea that we wanted to promote after staying with the CouchSurfers in Spain, was that of hosting campervans, motor homes and Wicked Vans through CouchSurfing; where possible to park in CouchSurfers driveways. We have already had a couple of vans stay and it worked really well. It enables people who are traveling on the road with their own accommodation to also enjoy the benefits of CouchSurfing. This has now begun with a cute logo developed by Leimondo and a group that you can join if you would like to host Couchsurfers with a van or you are a CouchSurfer traveling with a van. Here is the group link so if you fit into this category please join.
Anyway people are welcome to visit us here in Healesville with or without a van. We have a huge variety of wineries, restaurants, the Healesville Sanctuary and forests with beautiful walks. We love to tell stories over wine or beer with good food sitting on our deck. We’re also happy to share some of our experiences. Give advice about issues of staying and hosting people. You learn a lot by just doing it and of course there is a lot of advice already on the CS site.
Look forward to meeting some of you. Ruth and Tony
and Beni MC from BrisBEN:
Oh crap, that's me. Or should I say us?
I'm Beni MC and I'm slightly ill-prepared and rambling. In life that is. I found out about CS from a random group email update from one of my friends who was travelling, threw it into a search and immediately hooked up. Love the whole travelling side of it but have also grown to love (possibly even more) the hosting side and the sharing of local Brisbane culture - especially our beautifully kick-arse music scene.
My first actual CS experience was staying with some great people in Berlin, Rostock and Hamburg during World Cup 2006!! Sweet, sweet time and I'm still shouting, "Timmy Cahill, golden boot!!!". Unfortunately that was also the time of the original website's crash and I nearly ended up homeless for a while in Hamburg. Was rescued by attending a local meeting of members of Hospitality Club and this got me thinking about the local CS crew back home in Brisbane. Anyway, I came home, hosted heaps of great people and then went back overseas in 2007. While there this time I received an email from an Estonian girl who was staying in Brisbane and emailing every Brisbane profile to tell them about a BBQ she was having at New Farm Park. Hard to believe, but before that I hadn't even known about the local groups! I think I just assumed the groups were stupid things like "the Teapot Appreciation Society" or "the underwater Chess club".
So, found the Brisbane group and when I got home this time I posted to see if anyone would be interested in having a meeting to talk about CS in Brissy (not a party) and was suprised to get something like 10 responses in the first day. Since then Brisbane CS has been getting more and more active, not just as the party animals we all already were, but as organised and actively-improving-the-community animals. You can read more about CS history (so far) in our wiki page.
Come to Brissy - come meet the crew!
Beni MC.
Welcome home to three travelling Nomadic Ambassadors who have been out there wandering the globe. They are:
- -Cold Erin who has just returned from Stockholm and is back in Mansfield, Victoria
- -Paul Lau who has just returned from travelling Africa and
- - Matto] who has settled back into Newcastle
Australian Groups
The CS Campervan Group
Ruths Woods, from Healesville had a dream. A dream of a CS Campervan Group that would encourage vanning travellers to also use CouchSurfing. May saw the launch of the group and since then it has taken on a life of its own with 69 members joined from around the world already. If you are interested in having a look for yourself the link to the group is here
(left)Pedro and Lenka with their van and (right) the new 
CampervanFriendly logo
Rural Couchsurfing Australia
Some time ago a Draft proposal for Rural Couch Surfing was developed. Hand in hand with that comes the latest Australian CS Group: Rural Couchsurfing Australia. If you live outside of the metropolitan areas or interested in visiting rural Australia Bookmark this group and if you have an interest in contributing to the International Rural Couchsurfing proposal please join this group.
Australian CouchSurfing Zone news
CouchSurf Zones are still popping up around the planet. The latest in Tyler, Texas. Keep these in mind for when you are travelling as they are a wonderful way to meet up with other CSers. The link to the CouchSurf Zone wiki is here
In the meantime, if you live somewhere where there is the opportunity for a CS crew to get together regularly for a coffee or a chat why not think about it as a CouchZone. For more info read this
Your present Australian CZ is Perth CouchSurfing Zone
What is the current Status of your Couch?
As you know you can edit the status of your couch from Available to Coffee to Travelling and to Not Available.
Did you know that if you have your Couch unavailable the "Request to Couchsurf with" button is removed?
So as not to be pestered with CouchSurfing request whilst you are Travelling or presently unable to Host, make sure the Status of your Couch is what you want it to be. It will solve a lot of unwanted emails. Just on that, did you know that for every "CouchSurf Request" you don't answer it decreases you Replied to % percentage, which then places you towards the back of the queue when someone does a CouchSearch of your town/city?
So easy peasy, if your couch isn't available change the icon !!
This months Stats:
Australian Couches for Surfing (surfers)
- Traveling at the moment 5,865 35.3%
- Yes 3,644 21.9%
- Maybe 2,700 16.2%
- Coffee or a drink 2,127 12.8%
- No 1,909 11.5%
- Definitely! 386 2.3%
Adios to Aussie CS members who didn't log in in the last six months
Over the last month Australia has lost 52 or so CS members who have not logged in to CS in the last 180 days.
The process is that these members receive an email from CS and should they fail to log in as advised their profiles are frozen and can't be seen by other members. The profile will however be unfrozen when they next log in so fear not for your profile info if you choose to take a break from CS. The best option if you do want a break is to alter your profile Privacy settings here making a change to the "Hide in Search" field
Remember to log into CouchSurfing periodically (there are always new things being developed so at the least read the main menus after you log in)
International CouchSurfing News
June 12th is International CouchSurfing Day
Our Ambassadors are leading the charge in creating a day for us to all celebrate being CouchSurfers!
On Thursday, 12 June 2008, join CouchSurfers around the globe in celebrating this member-created holiday.
Check your own nearest City Group to see what is planned.
If you happen to get together for International CouchSurfing day and take a photo could you please contact Crystal as she would love to use it.
Tips and hints for better CouchSurfing
This Months DID YOU KNOWs?
The Last login address
http://www.couchsurfing.com/last_login.html
The nearby travellers is based on the "last log in" function that you can read about [http://www.couchsurfing.com/last_login.html here.
There isn't much CS can do about the fact that the last login location is defined by the ISP provider of the computer you sit at. It is just an unfortunate thing for people that live in remote areas or use providers that channel their internet from somewhere else that their last login address can be thousands of kilometres Wrong !!.
I need a Calendar - why doesn't CS provide one?
One way to get around a calendar thing would be to use a google calendar and link it in your profile. There are many members effectively doing that. Contact your Ambassador if you would like advice on how to set one up.
My photos won't upload in the order i want
For the photos to upload in the order you want the best solution is to upload them in the order you want and set the photo as "last" each time you upload a new one.
What defines the order of your "Friends"
"The friends list order is based on the strngth of the links that you (and your friend) both put into the site when you first registered the friends link with each other. You should be able to test that by editing the strength of one of your friends links and seeing where they move to."
An Icon key
Members have asked if there is a symbol "Key" that is easy to find for new people? Simply by clicking on the symbols you will be taken to a link that explains that symbol.
so....what then is the Purple Horseshoe? - now that is a rare symbol indeed and you can read more here
For more tips and hints to improve your profile or your experience of Couchsurfing go to: Australian Tips Hints and links to better CouchSurfing
This Months things of interest from the corridors of CouchSurfing
Unusual Profiles
We offer some unusual profiles that are not allowed under Terms of Use 2k thatt however, exist for the moment.
Keep in mind, if you wish to "copycat" that any new "inappropriate" Profiles created will be deleted... The following are purely for your entertainment this month and you are asked not to create any step outside of the terms of use.
There is Nata the Cat,there is Confetti the cat],there is Rhashida the dog and not to forget Coona von Pardiel Grischun the dog
and if those profiles seem outside of the rules then there is even a wonderful profile for a house, a Collective in London and several for fluffy toys starting with Bimbo, Tigger, Melissazonino and lastly ET
The European Hitchhiking project 888
Another interesting CS Initive in Europe is The European 888 Hitchhiking project. This is well worth having a look at an already two Aussie CSers that we know have registered and will be hitchhiking into Paris. Hopefully down the track we will be able to bring you photos. In the meantime make sure you check out the 888 Group
Aussie CS Safety
No news this month on Safety. For any new members there is an Australian CS Safety Wiki with lots of good tips, links and advice.
Couchsurfing in the Media
The Guardian - travel blogs
Whilst it is pleasing that CouchSurfing has appeared in national newspapers it is annoying that the main points of the articles have been the free sleep aspect.
The Guardian has a more balanced travel blog written by a Couchsurfer travelling in South America. The blog actually focusses on the sharing/community aspect of CS and more to the point, the fact that CS is fun and a brilliant way to meet people whilst travelling. You can find it here
And from News.com.au comes the following story that you will find at this link and more impressively Couch Surfing made it to the Business Week Cover Story that you can read here
And now for your entertainment : A song
Bran Van 3000 with the song "Couch Surfer" ... here are the words:
"By sampling the wealth of music and sound effects available on audio fidelity stereo disks, you can take a trip around the world without leaving your easy chair.
Couch Surfer
Together with everything and nothing between us, You are the whole soul goal me you, Universal universal union, Blending in matter, Journeying harmony, journeying harmony.
The ecstasy is voyaged through swaying, interplaying, Perennial gardenia gardens, Flowing into fuscia fountains, Leaping into warm purple pink gaseous fumes, purple pools, Moving in, undulating emanating jewels, Into a timeless spaceless placeless place.
Couch surfer (such a pretty face) I'm surfing, couch surfing
Move into your house, I'm a couch surfer
I move into your house, I'm a couch surfer, Yeah, but I don't mean to be, Somebody took my keys, I'm a couch surfer.
Well I'm locked inside the Holiday Inn and I'd like to get out with just a little bit of rain, Down and down and down and out, but I don't give a damn.
Can I crash at your place again? Just one more night?
Couch surfer
I'm couch surfing, I'm a couch surfer Locked on the inside, I'm locked in but you locked me on the outside, Inside of no longer me, Move to tears beyond into a pond of cool quivers, My being shivers, I'm pure energy beyond the sun, I'm utterly complete union.
I'm a couch surfer
Mind if I eat those chips? Oh that's okay, I don't like salt and vinegar anyways. No no no, I didn't use pay-per-view. I figured it was free.
Yeah, I'm going. I'm a couch surfer, couch surfing"
The next article (here) resulted in 200+ new CouchSurfers joining in Equador. If you can't read the article (it is in espanol) ten you can translate it using Google Translator.
and... you might enjoy this article from GoNomad
and FinallyFinally from Corine
"Ok this totally made my day.... I was watching a TV show on ABC Family channel and on came a T-Mobile commercial about couchsurfing. Has anyone else heard anything about this? I re winded it like 20 times! I was like OMG how cool! The first words out of the guys mouth is Im a couchsurfer and blah blah blah about I need my phone when I travel with no set itinerary! I'll try to record it on my camera and upload so others can see it! It was so unreal to see it on netwrok cable television! "
this is what Corine was so enamoured about...
CS Website Technical Developments
If you are interested in following the Tech developments you will find what you are looking for here.
CouchSurfing Collective News
Newsflash: The Alaska Collective have started their blog and can be read here
The Alaska Collective is now underway. For more info on the Alaska Collective use this link and for the roles of the Collective participants you can find out more here.
and... they have set up a Alaskan Collective: Frequently Asked Questions link here
In case you missed it the CS Thai Collective wrapped up their time with this newsletter that links to this report
Australian Statistics
In the last month 953 new Aussie CSers have joined up -
This now brings the number of Aussie CouchSurfers to 16631 from 1077 towns/suburbs across the country with 571 Unique Languages Represented.
Some More Stats
- Australia, Victoria, Melbourne 3,844 23.1%
- Australia, New South Wales, Sydney 3,337 20.1%
- Australia, Queensland, Brisbane 1,732 10.4%
- Australia, Western Australia, Perth 1,393 8.4%
- Australia, South Australia, Adelaide 788 4.7%
- Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra 416 2.5%
- Australia, Queensland, Gold Coast 320 1.9%
- Australia, Tasmania, Hobart 249 1.5%
- Australia, New South Wales, Newcastle 230 1.4%
- Australia, Queensland, Cairns 136 0.8%
etc....
Australian CouchSurfer Genders (surfers)
- Male 8,044 48.4%
- Female 7,180 43.2%
- Several people 1,331 8.0%
- Unknown 76 0.5%
Australian CouchSurfer Ages (surfers)
- Average Age 27
- Ages 18 to 24 8,606 51.7%
- Ages 25 to 29 4,314 25.9%
- Ages 30 to 34 1,523 9.2%
- Ages 35 to 39 804 4.8%
- Ages 40 to 49 698 4.2%
- Ages 50 to 59 456 2.7%
- Ages 60 to 69 122 0.7%
- Ages 70 to 79 11 0.1%
- Ages 80 to 89 5 0.0%
- Surfers with Photos 9,730 58.5%
- Vouched Users 1,343 8.1%
- Verified Users 1,055 6.3%
Other Helpful Links at a Glance
Other CS areas that might interest:
- A new overview of Couchsurfing has been provided called the Cheat Sheet
Newsletter Archive
- Australian_CS_Newsletter February 2008
- Australian_CS_Newsletter_March_2008
- Australian CS Newsletter April 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter May 2008
- Australian CS Newsletter June 2008
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