I'm always amazed at the people who prophecise rape and death and mutilation by muppets to anyone not following the standard tourist model. "Alright people, now stay in the lines, lock your hotel rooms at night and remember to meet up with the group at 8 for breakfast. And always hold your buddy's hand."
As some of the other posters mentioned - the relatively amount of danger in the world is pretty much the same. As a society, we've just grown more fearful of it.
I've never couchsurfed through the net, but I have several friends who have (most on my recommendation) hosted and surfed. Everyone one of them has had a wonderful time doing it too. Personally, I spent the summer hitchhiking around the US, from Texas to DC. I got the same comments from people - the running odds on me dying this summer were pretty high from everything I heard. Instead of listening to all that, I went out and wandered over 6000 miles in two months. I met a lot of awesome people and didn't have any 'life-threatening' situations. A few quirky people, but I've met worse in Walmart.
Put a little trust in your fellow person. I don't mean blind trust - keep your wits, watch your surroundings, but give people a chance. Life's too short not to go beyond the cubical sometimes.
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I'm always amazed at the people who prophecise rape and death and mutilation by muppets to anyone not following the standard tourist model. "Alright people, now stay in the lines, lock your hotel rooms at night and remember to meet up with the group at 8 for breakfast. And always hold your buddy's hand."
As some of the other posters mentioned - the relatively amount of danger in the world is pretty much the same. As a society, we've just grown more fearful of it.
I've never couchsurfed through the net, but I have several friends who have (most on my recommendation) hosted and surfed. Everyone one of them has had a wonderful time doing it too. Personally, I spent the summer hitchhiking around the US, from Texas to DC. I got the same comments from people - the running odds on me dying this summer were pretty high from everything I heard. Instead of listening to all that, I went out and wandered over 6000 miles in two months. I met a lot of awesome people and didn't have any 'life-threatening' situations. A few quirky people, but I've met worse in Walmart.
Put a little trust in your fellow person. I don't mean blind trust - keep your wits, watch your surroundings, but give people a chance. Life's too short not to go beyond the cubical sometimes.
- The Hitchhiking Geek.
Woo! Thanks Paul.
- 2nd other Boilermaker.
Well, considering Mars could use a little more CO2 in its atmosphere to prep it for colonization, global warming is a good thing :P