The first time I used CS, was 2 years ago, when I cycled to see the pyramids. My first host, Nasko in Bulgaria was so amazing, that I immediately loved this community. The idea is as simple as brilliant: Every member (we are more than 3 million meantime) posts a "profile" page of himself, relating details about himself, his hobbies, interests, experiences etc. Most of us offer free hospitality to other members. This is purely disinterested, no need for reciprocity. For young members, this is an ideal way to travel on a (very) low budget. Personally, I rather use this system to meet interesting people. I choose following their profiles, and send a "couchrequest", mentioning who I am, and why I want to meet them. If I cannot find someone who interests me, I just go to a hotel, as everybody else.

Meantime I have been hosted 21 times, all over the world, and I offered my hospitality to 16. (Number 17 arrives today from San Francisco) All my contacts have been good experiences so far.

My first host will be Kyle in North Pole, Alaska, in 5 days. (IN North Pole, not AT the North Pole. A city next to Anchorage)

www.couchsurfing.org

my profile: http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/raymondbehm/

You can learn more of CS, under: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CouchSurfing