“Couchsurfing” differs for Asians

travel — By Bob Riel on February 6, 2009 at 3:22 pm

I’ve previously covered couchsurfing on this blog, both the idea behind it and the actual organization that connects people around the world by offering free places to stay. Now comes an interesting story that compares Western and Asian cultures in terms of their levels of comfort with the idea of hosting strangers in one’s home.

It’s great for soaking up the sights on a shoestring budget, but as some Asians have found, “couchsurfing,” or staying at a stranger’s home, can be a culturally jarring experience, especially if you reciprocate…

Juana Jumat, a Muslim from Singapore, was offered a breakfast unlike any other during a recent holiday to Germany. “My hosts fed me breakfast with their local beer at 8.30 in the morning and I told them I can’t drink, but the host’s mum told me “you are in the Bavarian Alps and you should drink,”" said Jumat of a recent “couchsurfing” experience.

And when the time came for her to play host, Jumat had to persuade her conservative mother of the benefits. “Initially my mum was like, why are you hosting people whom you do not know and simply asking them to come to our house?” said Jumat, who has since hosted 50 couchsurfers, mostly from Germany and Australia…

For some Japanese, the responsibility and hospitality that comes with taking care of guests may act as a deterrent.

“When my friend stayed over at my house, my mum was feeling stressed because she thought she would have to cook her meals and wash her clothes. My mum even sewed a hole on my friend’s trousers when she saw it,” said couchsurfer Ayami Kobayashi.

Despite the Asian reticence, though, the concept continues to gain in acceptance. Couchsurfing now has well over 800,000 members worldwide and is growing quickly in Asia.