One of our adventurers has recently embarked on a fascinating, unique and exciting adventure around the world, not by plane, not by train, not by automobile but by couch. Yes, that comfy fluffy thing sitting in the middle of your living room. An interview with this charasmatic couchsurfer reveals answers to some questions you may have for him:
Captain Q: What is your goal?
Wander Boy: As cryptic, Zen-like or just plain stupid as it may sound; my goal is simply to find a goal. I have always just existed, working jobs I hated so as to save enough money to live in shitty apartments and get drunk on weekends with no real passion or purpose. This kind of lifestyle is detrimental to the soul. I hope that while travelling this fascinating planet, immersing myself in its cultures and experiencing its marvels, adventure will be kind enough to show me a purpose that I can finally, wholeheartedly and passionately pursue. If not that, than I at least hope to find someone who can finally beat me at a thumb war. He (or she) has got to be out there somewhere.
Captain Q: What exactly is couch surfing?
Wander Boy: http://www.couchsurfing.com started as a website to offer travellers free accommodation in different cities around the world but has since grown into something much more substantial. Couchsurfing now is more of an ethos; a belief that there is something much stronger and more sustainable in the relationship between individuals than can ever be manufactured by commercialism. Couchsurfing is a way to meet people, share culture and language and to help one another, not because there is money in it, but because it unites us.
Captain Q: If you could have one super power which one would you pick, why?
Wander Boy: I’m sure most people have posed this question to their friends and answered it dozens of times themselves growing up. I often thought immortality or mind control were good ones, and no doubt they’d have their benefits, but I’ve come to realize that in having everything you want, when you want it, it cheapens whatever it is you covet. Half of the fun in owning something is the struggle to obtain it. So I can say with confidence, if I could have any super power in the world, it would be that of flight. It epitomizes freedom. Pilots must think the rest of us are all suckers. I’m writing this interview from a 5 story balcony in Barcelona and all I can think of doing now is soaring over the rooftops. I don’t think it’s something you could ever get jaded with. It would also cut travel costs significantly.
Captain Q: What leg of the trip do you think will pose the biggest problems?
Wander Boy: I think the part of the trip that will pose the biggest problem will probably be coming home. When on the road there is always something to see and people to meet. There are always obstacles to overcome and adventure surrounds you. You can be who you want and nothing seems impossible or out of bounds. Stepping out of that world into a routine where you are known and familiar is a hard transition to make. The longer the adventure, the harder the transition. And I plan on being gone a long time.
Captain Q: Please share with us your most memorable couch surfing experience.
Wander Boy: My most memorable couchsurfing experience? That is difficult. I suppose one that will probably be with me till the grave is shopping for a gimp mask in the various sex shops of the seediest districts in Tokyo.
I was staying with a legend of couchsurfing, Yuji Hidemura. Yuji had a 2 bedroom apartment in Tokyo and at any given time would be hosting 7 or 8 people simultaneously. For his birthday, as a joke, I and some fellow surfers thought it would be funny to buy him a gimp mask. We were looking for something both stylish and practical. It took the 3 of us several hours and about 6 different shops before we found the perfect mask.
But no doubt my most memorable couchsurfing experience is yet to come. The trip has only just begun and I have a considerable amount of adventure ahead of me.
Adventure is like a swift river. Whether you are willing or not, it’s always rushing past, ready to swallow you up and carry you off should you get to close. So leap in, head first, with wanton disregard for structure or routine. Wrap yourself up in the frightening unknown and relish it. It’s reckless, dangerous, terrifying and nourishing for the soul.
Captain Q: Well Conner, thanks for your time and good luck in your fantastic couchsurfing adventures we look forward to hearing more. To follow up on Conner's adventures check out his blog at the following link: Chronicles of Wanderboy.