Wanderlust 5

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Wanderlust (wŏn'dər-lŭst') -noun. A very strong or irresistible impulse to explore. Issue #5

In this edition:

• Wandering With Wonder* *CS Is Growing Up* *The Savvy Surfer* *You Wanna Surf With…*

Hey there surfer,

It’s been quite a while since a dispatch from the ol’ Wondergirl and I have the best excuse ever… I’ve been out taking advantage of this awesome network we’ve all created together! In these past months I’ve been surfing in three continents, six countries and dozens of cities. Let me tell you (just in case you didn’t already know): CouchSurfers rock! Getting back on the couch has made me fall in love with this community all over again. I’m filled with joy, appreciation and *wonder* at how really fantastic it is to see the world with new friends who are happy to show off their hometowns and countries. Thanks, everybody! Come visit me in San Francisco… if I'm ever home long enough.

Now we’ve got a lot of catching up to do:

CS is growing up

This is an exhilarating time for CouchSurfing. We wrapped up a successful Collective in New Zealand, we’ve got a tech-focused Collective in Rotterdam making major website improvements, and there’s a large gathering, I mean, rendez-vous (ooh la la!) this month in Paris. The organization is more organized than ever with the establishment of the CS Leadership Team and we've hired two new full-time employees to help us move into our next phase of development. CouchSurfing is growing up!

It takes a lot of work to keep the project running, and up until this point we’ve managed to get by with an almost all volunteer staff, including the efforts of participants at Collectives. We’re so grateful to the amazing members who’ve contributed so much over the years--we can't do it without you! CouchSurfing is growing so fast that the time has come to strengthen the organization with additional full-time help. I’m happy to introduce Mattthew “Triple T” Brauer as CouchSurfing's new General Manager, and Jim "RedCouchGuy" Stone as CouchSurfing's Volunteer Coordinator. CouchSurfing co-founder, Casey Fenton, is taking on the role of Chief Information Officer, and will now be able to focus all his time and energies on the magic that is the technology behind CS. If you want to learn more about the CouchSurfing organizational structure, the Leadership, or volunteering, see our about us page.

The Savvy Surfer

Have you noticed that little green lock in profiles and next to some messages in your inbox? It’s a safety feature, and it means those members have verified their name and location. Becoming a verified member is one of the ways you can help make CouchSurfing a more secure network and support the project at the same time. And hey, our statistics show that verified members have an average of three times as many friends as non-verified members and they are twice as likely to meet up (in real life) with other CouchSurfers.

Plus:

  * We've implemented sliding scale that takes into account the world’s economy and makes verifications fair and affordable for everyone.  Sweet!
  * We've created a much faster process, no more waiting for your confirmation letter.
  * The official CS financial statements are online so you can know exactly where your donations go.

You wanna surf with... Manolis in Athens, Mav in London and the Templers in New Zealand! Like I said in the beginning, I've been back on the couch recently. Traveling with some fellow surfers, I've stayed with so many awesome people that I can't just pick one to tell you about (getting it down to three was hard enough!).

Manolis is absolutely wonderful, and as my travel mate said, “No matter what time of year you visit Athens, Manny would still be the warmest thing you experience in Greece.” He was an amazing ambassador of the city, providing us with that uniquely CouchSurfing experience of getting off the beaten path and into some really special places we would never have found in a guide book or on our own. Thanks for taking such good care of us!

Mav was simply a kind and generous host, with a wickedly funny sense of humor and a million dollar smile. Mav heckled and charmed us to no end! I love connecting with people who are constantly learning (and laughing) about themselves and the beautiful world around us all. Thanks for showing us a bit of your world, Mav!

Helen and Chris Templer are gems of New Zealand and a must-surf! They will make you feel quite welcome in their country home and if you're interested in anything to do with local geology, nature, Maori culture, a myriad of caves complete with glowing worms, history, botany... you name it, Chris is your man! What a pleasure to surf with people so dialed in.

Check out these surfers, you won't be disappointed!

And that’s the end of the dispatch! Over and out.

-Agent Shameless Heather

p.s. To unsubscribe to this newsletter click here http://www.couchsurfing.com/editprofile.html?edit=privacy and set “Disable CS Newsletters?” to Yes. I’ll miss you, but I understand.