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ONE COUCH AT A TIME
Surfing into a new sharing economy
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Today is the day…
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I set off for my around the world
couchsurfing journey.
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Couchsurfing…
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Couchsurfing?
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It's ridiculous.
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How can you trust a stranger?
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A lot of things could go wrong.
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… something like the YouTube video
of the guy going over Niagara Falls…
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You know, what if you stay with someone who's like a
sexual deviant, or something, and like they kidnap you…
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I'm a catholic and…
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I don't know, my husband wouldn't want me
sleeping on some stranger's couch.
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You're going across the continents…
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and meeting people you have never ever
met before and you're staying in their house?
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I know that everyone is screened,
but that doesn't mean that they're not freaks.
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The person could cancel on you…
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the person could end up being an axe murderer…
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I definitely have issues with my comfort zone…
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like this is my space…
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I'm gonna stay in my space.
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So you're saying you've never
made new friends before?
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That's actually really unlikely.
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At least these friends have references.
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The bigger risk in my mind…
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is what would happen if you didn't.
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You know, if you stayed at home,
in your theoretically safe little bubble…
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and never stepped into the opportunity
to expand yourself.
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It forces you to have this idea of this person…
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to have this preconceived notion
of who you're meeting.
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That's my only problem with
any kind of type of social network…
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any of those things, your Facebooks,
your Myspace, your Couchsurfings…
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your Twitters, your twats or whatever.
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Needless to say, we broke up
soon after that statement.
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So what would a Couchsurfing evangelist do?
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I'll tell you what they wouldn't do…
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they wouldn't stay in a hotel or a hostel.
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So that's it: for these next six months…
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I'm couchsurfing the whole way.
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Meet Casey Fenton.
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He is the founder of couchsurfing.org.
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So this is my living room,
and here's my couch.
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— Sit down, welcome.
— Thank you!
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I was lucky enough to meet Casey back in 2007.
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Just a regular guy, feeding nickels into a meter.
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So Couchsurfing is a social network.
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It's like a Facebook, a Myspace,
a tribe.net, a friendster…
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except the purpose of it
is to get people together…
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to stay on each other's couches,
for intercultural exchange.
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So it's like you have a profile online…
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and you can search for other CouchSurfers
all over the world…
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and you connect to them…
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and ask them to show you around their local area,
have a cup of coffee and just chat…
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get to know their culture, or even stay
on their couch. Hence "Couchsurfing".
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— Is Couchsurfing dangerous?
— It's like, is eBay dangerous?
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You know, people thought it wouldn't be a good idea…
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to send a package to someone you don't know
using the internet to someone you haven't met.
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But eBay overcame that problem with technology.
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Listening to Casey inspired me to want to give back.
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I wanted the whole world to know
how Couchsurfing could enrich their lives.
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{\an8}If you could have all the money, or the friendships,
the people… What's it all about?
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Having deep and meaningful experiences every day.
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And those were the very words that inspired the idea.
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BBC World News, we're looking at
how unemployment is affecting…
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We spend more money than we take in.
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— Do you see a ripple effect here?
— Well there is a ripple effect…
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… having communities where people
share things, and do things for each other…
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We pay for everything.
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A lot of people are trying to find what they love…
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they're trying to find a situation in life
that they like better than the previous situation.
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Vulnerable times call for action.
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It became clear when the economic crisis hit…
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it was time to make this Couchsurfing film.
It was time to focus on sharing.
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What would a world look like
where everyone couchsurfed?
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What would you be willing to share
with a stranger?
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Hey world! I'm Alexandra
and I'm a CouchSurfer.
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Unfortunately I'm not rich.
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And my savings were not enough
to fund an entire film.
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But being from San Francisco,
an innovative tech mecca…
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I was told about crowd funding.
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I used kickstarter.com and made a video…
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to see if a crowd of people from the internet
liked the idea enough to fund it.
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{\an8}It's our dream to make a Couchsurfing
documentary possible.
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So, what do you say? Can I stay with you?
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It took a lot of networking…
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but I got contacted from strangers all over
the world, who also love Couchsurfing…
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who wanted to help host, or join me on the journey.
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Based on their response,
that's where I decided to go.
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Six continents, 21 countries.
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Funded! This project raised its
funding goal on February 28, 2011.
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I was really surprised when
I got contacted from someone…
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from all the way in Karachi, Pakistan.
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Coming from Pakistan as an
unmarried woman…
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Zohra is an anomaly.
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{\an8}I think this a very scary idea!
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{\an8}It's acceptable if a man does it.
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{\an8}It's all new and unknown out there.
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{\an8}You don't even speak their language!
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{\an8}I'm thirty-four…
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I should have got married by now.
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My family is actually concerned.
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{\an8}Zohra, why are you going to travel?
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{\an8}You should get married now.
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Now they want me to get married
as soon as possible, to anyone they can find.
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But they don't get it; if I wanted to marry anyone
I can find, I would have been married by now.
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Not only is it difficult to get
visas where she's from…
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it's also really expensive.
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So I'm honored, she's willing to take a risk
and join me on this couchsurfing mission.
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{\an8}I am at the Bangkok Airport and will meet Alexandra
now who is a CouchSurfer,
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{\an8}and we will meet at this airport for the first time.
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{\an8}It's still some time for her to arrive I think
I should just freshen up.
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I'll be at gate #3.
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Zohra and I kept in contact months before this trip,
and finally we're about to meet.
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Hi! We found each other.
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My family friends, insisted that we stay with them.
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Tonight the couchsurfing commences…
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with Zohra's family friends, the Jillianis.
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Thank you for having us.
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Wow, this place is amazing!
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She's just like our daughter.
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I'm a bit nervous. A traditional Pakistani family?
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I'm a loud-mouthed San Franciscan.
I hope I don't do anything inappropriate.
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Couchsurfing tip:
You only have one chance to make a first impression:
be careful what that impression is.
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Sweet!
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What's that smell? It smells good!
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I've started with this notion as well.
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It's like, okay yeah… If you're hosting,
you're kind of giving…
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and if you're surfing you're… taking, maybe?
Or receiving or something…
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And it's kinda like this… am I getting credits
or something, how does this work?
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And it's also like this pay it forward, we all are
going to give and take this leap of faith together…
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and we're all gonna be paying it forward together.
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And here we are: total strangers.
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Welcome to Bangkok.
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— Are you tired?
— I'm very tired.
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I'm totally not tired, but I'm gonna force myself.
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Goodnight.
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Didn't get much sleep, due to the jet lag…
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so I thought I'd check out
my Couchsurfing messages.
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Awesome, I got an email from Alex Olsson,
a CouchSurfer living in Bangkok…
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who invited us to drop by.
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It's been such a pleasure.
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— And we hope to see you again, ok?
— Yes, for sure.
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My God, he was so uncomfortable hugging me.
Did you see that? I shouldn't have done that.
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It's been amazing, thank you, thank you!
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Couchsurfing tip:
If you're in a different country,
learn their customs. Embrace their culture.
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People appreciate the fact that you've come all the way,
you brought your culture all the way to their doorstep…
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and that's really powerful and
they're very thankful for you…
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spending time with them and
sharing their life together.
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This train is going to…
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Couchsurfing tip:
Learn what you can from the locals
and do what they do.
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Thanks to our local host, we got exact directions
to our next host, Alex Olsson's house.
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Hey, how's it going?
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— Bobby.
— Bobby, Alex. Nice to meet you.
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This is Zohra.
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Couchsurfing tip:
In case you didn't know,
Couchsurfing is not a dating site.
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We're shooting a documentary by the way,
hope you don't mind.
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— Not at all.
— There's no need to put on shirts.
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One of the most important pieces of hosting
and/or surfing is that of compatibility.
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They were all super nice guys…
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and they were actually on their way out
to go party on Khaosan Road.
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What kind of lifestyle do you lead?
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Are you an early to bed, an early riser?
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Are you someone who wants to go out and party?
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If I would have thoroughly gone
through Zohra's profile…
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I would have seen that it's not
in her cultural beliefs to drink.
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Couchsurfing tip:
Always make sure to read profiles
for compatibility.
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So we let the boys go on without us.
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Some of these kinds of lifestyle choices
are important to at least understand…
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or hopefully you're matched on…
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but if you're not, it's important to
kind of negotiate up front.
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Poor Zohra, what did I get her into?
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Let's say you're exploring the world,
you're couchsurfing and you get there…
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and you meet the person, and there's something…
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this doesn't work for me, different schedules,
something about it doesn't work.
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Well, hopefully you have a backup plan.
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Our ex-host, Alex, told us about his
couchsurfing friend, Scott Campbell…
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who had a very unique couchsurfing situation.
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We're at Tailek's house…
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it's the house where Tailek lives.
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This is Tailek.
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Originally it was because
we were traveling around…
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and we were interested in having
local experiences with people…
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not just staying in a hotel and like, doing tourist
things, but having cultural exchange with people.
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And then we got this place…
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about a year ago here in Thailand…
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and the house is really big,
has lots of extra space.
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I can't believe these people are so hospitable.
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I don't expect people to be so nice to strangers.
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Finally, Zohra can witness the Couchsurfing spirit.
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When you're a CouchSurfer…
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there's a certain level of trust
that surpasses the average traveler.
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I notice that you leave all of your money
next to your bed.
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You just trust everyone
not to steal all of your money.
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Yes.
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You're in the right place for that.
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No one would, but I'm just thinking,
you could never do that in a hostel.
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— You can trust that, being a CouchSurfer.
— Yup.
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That's trusting, man.
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That's how it should be.
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Considering that Couchsurfing
is in its first generation…
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Tailek's growing up in a house of sharing.
201
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It's commonplace to him…
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learning different languages,
learning about different cultures.
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I wonder how this is going to affect his future.
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Who thought this,
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situation would be so nice?
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Now you really look like Jesus,
just put your hands up a little bit more.
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00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,400
Alright, everybody. Cheese!
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00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,840
The space, the couch, the travel is almost, I think,
secondary to the cultural exchange that happens…
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00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:23,840
{\an8}that every interaction you have, where you're like,
this person is incredible, this person is interesting…
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and I'm seeing the world through their eyes.
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We're meeting with CouchSurfer Austin.
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He was able to teach himself English,
by conversing with other CouchSurfers and travelers.
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Pho?
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00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,580
Phở. That's the one that you've been receiving.
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00:15:05,180 --> 00:15:08,120
So, have you ever been to the States?
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00:15:08,170 --> 00:15:09,390
No, I want to.
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00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,950
For Vietnamese, if you wanna travel
to Western countries…
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you need to have a lot of money.
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The minimum wage here is
around 150 dollars a month.
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When I was at the ATM machine…
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I didn't think about what it was like to be
on the other side of a weak currency.
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Austin scoots us over to
CouchSurfer Adam's house…
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for an authentic Vietnamese dinner.
224
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CouchSurfers around the world,
welcome to my house!
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00:15:41,070 --> 00:15:42,750
Thank you very much.
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00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,980
Couchsurfing tip:
Although it's not required, it's always
good etiquette to bring a gift.
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— You've been traveling for three years?
— A thousand days, yeah.
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00:15:54,140 --> 00:15:57,600
— So you're finally settling down.
— That's the thing, you know, I was like…
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I realized that you gotta know when to stop.
It was my time to stop.
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00:16:02,810 --> 00:16:05,920
I was a fish in the bowl and
I wanted to see what was outside.
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And I made that leap of faith…
232
00:16:07,930 --> 00:16:11,930
and i suddenly was in the ocean with all
these new creatures I'd never been before…
233
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,240
and I was swimming around and…
234
00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,760
you know, the ocean never settles,
you move even when you're not moving.
235
00:16:17,770 --> 00:16:21,610
What I was searching for was not
actually what I was searching for.
236
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:26,760
It was what I'd left behind, it was just to
do it with somebody else. Not to be alone.
237
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:31,080
And I found this person right here,
and now we have this wonderful baby on the way…
238
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:32,890
which doesn't mean that life is over…
239
00:16:32,890 --> 00:16:35,970
it just means that there's three of us now,
doing the same thing together.
240
00:16:45,690 --> 00:16:47,610
{\an8}I don't think we can underestimate…
241
00:16:47,610 --> 00:16:52,360
{\an8}how big the role the digital revolution has played
in accelerating collaborative consumption…
242
00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,460
{\an8}not just in terms of creating the efficiency
and trust that make it work…
243
00:16:56,460 --> 00:17:00,880
but actually fundamentally changing
people's behaviors around sharing.
244
00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,820
So now we're bussing from Vietnam to Cambodia.
245
00:17:03,820 --> 00:17:06,770
Sometimes you get on each other's
nerves when you travel…
246
00:17:06,770 --> 00:17:09,370
and Zohra is a little nervous.
247
00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,410
Traveling with a Pakistani passport is not easy.
248
00:17:12,590 --> 00:17:15,020
They just think she's a terrorist or something,
I don't know.
249
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,990
— You shouldn't be saying that word, please.
— I'm sorry…
250
00:17:19,310 --> 00:17:24,330
— Look, I'm trying to make light of this.
— No, but this word is not right.
251
00:17:24,540 --> 00:17:28,620
So we get to the border,
and they won't let Zohra into Cambodia.
252
00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,200
And we can't understand what they're saying.
253
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,450
And now she's not talking to me.
254
00:17:33,770 --> 00:17:36,680
First, you know, in couchsurfing fashion…
255
00:17:36,910 --> 00:17:39,760
my hope is that when people
are having a challenge…
256
00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:41,240
they actually try to work it out…
257
00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,730
they actually try to understand
each other's perspectives…
258
00:17:44,780 --> 00:17:47,850
and they actually go there to try to work it out.
259
00:17:47,850 --> 00:17:50,240
Finally, she starts walking back.
260
00:17:52,110 --> 00:17:56,920
— That was a lot of drama.
— Do you know why?
261
00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,700
— I got the security guard's phone number.
— You got the guy's phone number?
262
00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:02,830
Are you serious?
263
00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,830
— Are you serious?
— He was so nice to me, I said "I'll call you".
264
00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:10,590
Okay!
265
00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,580
I apologized for my off-color comment.
266
00:18:14,330 --> 00:18:17,840
She explains to me why
my joke was not so funny.
267
00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:19,600
And I learned something.
268
00:18:20,270 --> 00:18:22,840
So it's a very important piece of the system…
269
00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,190
the reference system,
and leaving the negative references.
270
00:18:26,270 --> 00:18:29,420
It's kind of a last resort in some ways, I think.
271
00:18:29,420 --> 00:18:32,520
It's when you can't work it out,
but you need to let other people know…
272
00:18:32,790 --> 00:18:36,350
that there's something dangerous,
or something bad or something inappropriate.
273
00:18:36,970 --> 00:18:41,820
But I think they don't end up having to leave a
negative reference, because they want to work it out.
274
00:18:41,820 --> 00:18:46,160
They talk about it, they figure out what the problem is,
and they hopefully resolve it.
275
00:18:46,270 --> 00:18:50,910
And that to me is awesome,
because that is our mission and vision in action.
276
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,360
The man you are about to meet has been
dubbed the world's biggest freeloader.
277
00:18:55,390 --> 00:19:00,290
And surprisingly, it's a tag that Ramon Stoppelenburg
wears like a badge of honor.
278
00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,810
Because he's come up with a travel scheme
that makes him the envy of millions:
279
00:19:04,810 --> 00:19:06,730
touring the world for free…
280
00:19:06,730 --> 00:19:11,770
using the power of the internet,
and relying on the hospitality of others.
281
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:17,950
— Welcome to my palace in Phnom Penh.
— Thank you, it's good to be here. Wow, it's beautiful!
282
00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:21,980
I once traveled around the world for free,
using the power of the internet…
283
00:19:21,980 --> 00:19:26,400
and that made so much influence in media
and online history…
284
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,770
that people started calling me
The Godfather of Couchsurfing.
285
00:19:29,820 --> 00:19:34,840
I have to admit, I was pretty excited
to meet Ramon. He's a legend.
286
00:19:35,340 --> 00:19:39,560
He was able to travel for two years,
without spending a penny.
287
00:19:40,090 --> 00:19:43,740
I always wanted to travel the world,
and I never had the money.
288
00:19:43,740 --> 00:19:45,790
You always need money to travel.
289
00:19:45,790 --> 00:19:48,770
The purpose of my project is that
I don't have any money with me…
290
00:19:48,770 --> 00:19:51,320
I don't spend any money,
I don't even want money.
291
00:19:51,550 --> 00:19:54,330
I admit, I am an economic refugee.
292
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,920
So I didn't want to pay that much money on tax…
293
00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:03,790
I don't want to make that much money,
because the costs of living are so high.
294
00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:05,230
Have you decided on dinner yet?
295
00:20:05,230 --> 00:20:08,730
— I mostly stay with the budget food.
— It's all budget food.
296
00:20:08,730 --> 00:20:12,000
— Yeah, 2.50 or 1.50.
— Are you serious?
297
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:14,300
This is Cambodia!
298
00:20:15,130 --> 00:20:18,120
Why not pay for your trip
like every other backpacker?
299
00:20:18,990 --> 00:20:24,140
Because if I have to pay for a trip,
I have to work to get the money…
300
00:20:24,140 --> 00:20:28,120
but I just kept on dreaming that
it's not necessary to work for money…
301
00:20:28,380 --> 00:20:33,710
and came up with this idea, and decided
that there is also another possibility:
302
00:20:33,850 --> 00:20:34,840
without money.
303
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:38,980
My parents never grew up with the idea of:
ask something on the internet.
304
00:20:40,830 --> 00:20:42,720
But does that mean that you're too lazy to work?
305
00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,760
No, not at all, I just see that there are
more possibilities in life than just work only.
306
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:56,010
I made my point, you can travel the world for free that
way, you can use the internet to make dreams reality…
307
00:20:56,330 --> 00:21:01,630
but to a certain extent. And after two full years
of traveling, I was like that...
308
00:21:01,630 --> 00:21:06,220
maybe after Canada, this is enough.
Let's grow up now.
309
00:21:07,530 --> 00:21:14,440
Couchsurfing tip:
Traveling is the perfect opportunity to go outside
your comfort zone and overcome your fears.
310
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:17,930
He'll eventually come to you.
311
00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:22,090
— See? Here, hold the cup.
— No, thank you.
312
00:21:22,090 --> 00:21:24,630
He's roaming around like a lion.
313
00:21:24,630 --> 00:21:28,860
Zohra, really, what is your fear of cats?
What happened in your childhood?
314
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,840
— Did you get bitten, because my cat doesn't even bite.
— No…
315
00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,540
He will just walk past you…
316
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,800
— … and you'll feel his tail going by you, and that's it.
— Yes, well I felt it this afternoon.
317
00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:43,680
I'm holding him, I'm holding him…
318
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,810
Look, I'm holding him, he can't get to you.
319
00:21:46,810 --> 00:21:48,040
Look at his eyes.
320
00:21:48,620 --> 00:21:50,290
Yes, his eyes.
321
00:21:51,770 --> 00:21:56,680
Ramon took us to one of his favorite surprises,
Dr. Fish Massage.
322
00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,530
If I was going to give Zohra crap about the cat…
323
00:21:59,530 --> 00:22:04,680
then the least I can do is stick my feet in this
body of water, and let these fish suckle on them.
324
00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:15,320
Come to me babies!
325
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:17,870
Oh look how popular you are!
326
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:19,530
You're popular.
327
00:22:21,770 --> 00:22:23,240
So on our walk home…
328
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,840
we come across this random block party.
And everyone was just dancing.
329
00:22:43,570 --> 00:22:47,600
Normally if I was back home,
maybe I would have been a little bit more shy…
330
00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,920
but I was in a different country,
so we danced.
331
00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:56,240
Couchsurfing tip:
Travel like nobody is watching.
332
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,180
You suddenly have this out of the blue
person jumping in your life…
333
00:23:27,260 --> 00:23:30,910
who you share things with for only a short period.
334
00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:35,340
And you get to know each other a little bit,
in that short period…
335
00:23:35,340 --> 00:23:40,680
and then they jump off again,
but both have been feeding information…
336
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:45,400
on their background, on my background
and on life here…
337
00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,060
so it's always beneficial.
338
00:23:49,050 --> 00:23:52,510
Zohra and I sat in the airport together
for one last time.
339
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,240
The Americans have increased
the Drone Attacks…
340
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,680
and our government can't do anything
but condemn the attacks.
341
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,530
Suggest, who should step up to stop
these attacks on the sovereignty of Pakistan?
342
00:24:02,030 --> 00:24:03,710
And we are sitting together.
343
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:10,080
I think it's not the common people
who have problems with each other…
344
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,400
like, you are an American and I am a Pakistani…
345
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:14,360
and we are sitting together and we are friendly.
346
00:24:14,590 --> 00:24:16,280
But I think it's just the politics.
347
00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:22,720
When I stepped out of the airport,
I was so afraid of couchsurfing…
348
00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:27,400
that I was thinking someone will
snatch my bag in Thailand…
349
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:33,820
or if I stay at someone's home…
350
00:24:33,820 --> 00:24:36,480
I might get robbed or raped.
351
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,890
From this couchsurfing experience
I learned that…
352
00:24:38,890 --> 00:24:44,120
the world is not that unsafe
as I thought it would be…
353
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,330
and I learned to do makeup.
354
00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:51,560
As much as we got on each other's nerves…
355
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:53,690
I'm sure gonna miss her.
356
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:56,830
Now to South Africa…
357
00:24:56,890 --> 00:24:58,400
Now to South Afric…!
358
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:06,400
You scared me there…
359
00:25:11,610 --> 00:25:14,000
My next host, Sifiso Mazibuko…
360
00:25:14,620 --> 00:25:17,550
picked me up from the airport.
And we never even met.
361
00:25:18,510 --> 00:25:20,990
My good friends don't pick me up from the airport.
362
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,400
Good day. I will see you at two o'clock.
363
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:26,960
Ok, cool. All right.
364
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:30,600
— What language is that?
— That's Zulu.
365
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,610
Back in the day, black people would have
to live in a certain area…
366
00:25:33,610 --> 00:25:35,490
white people would have to live in a certain area.
367
00:25:35,500 --> 00:25:37,690
Well, black people had to live here.
368
00:25:41,950 --> 00:25:43,390
It's a party over here, y'all!
369
00:25:49,610 --> 00:25:51,660
— This is where you sleep.
— Really?
370
00:25:51,790 --> 00:25:55,360
Um… Not a whole bunch has changed
in that regard, but now it's become…
371
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,700
I suppose it's no longer a racial oppression,
it's become an economic oppression.
372
00:25:58,700 --> 00:26:01,640
We still have the majority of black people
still living in the townships…
373
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,040
so very little has changed
in that regard unfortunately.
374
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,650
Because ultimately, you know,
if you don't have skills…
375
00:26:06,650 --> 00:26:08,810
you can't get a great job,
if you can't get a great job…
376
00:26:08,810 --> 00:26:11,370
you can't move out of the slums as it were.
377
00:26:11,620 --> 00:26:12,520
I just thought of…
378
00:26:14,650 --> 00:26:15,990
surfing in the sense, of…
379
00:26:16,660 --> 00:26:18,420
surfing in the sea.
380
00:26:19,830 --> 00:26:22,530
But I couldn't understand where the couch fits in…
381
00:26:22,630 --> 00:26:24,700
And I thought, maybe…
382
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:25,660
maybe
383
00:26:26,430 --> 00:26:31,270
{\an8}you watch and observe and
you relate to people who surf.
384
00:26:31,340 --> 00:26:34,770
I didn't understand what it meant.
385
00:26:34,940 --> 00:26:36,940
Now I know.
386
00:26:38,410 --> 00:26:41,960
{\an8}I'm such an easygoing person,
I can get along with anyone.
387
00:26:42,220 --> 00:26:44,410
But when I meet an Afrikaner…
388
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,420
I know for a fact that we are
not going to be friends.
389
00:26:48,430 --> 00:26:51,420
If you see me as a human being…
390
00:26:52,170 --> 00:26:54,410
then it's going to be a whole lot easier.
391
00:26:55,210 --> 00:26:58,970
It's gonna be a whole lot easier
if you see me as a human being.
392
00:26:59,580 --> 00:27:02,170
And you forget that I'm black, or whatever.
393
00:27:02,750 --> 00:27:04,570
Because I could be your best friend.
394
00:27:04,570 --> 00:27:06,430
I could be your next best friend.
395
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,320
Now we're driving from Durban to Capetown.
396
00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:54,220
Sean responded!
397
00:27:54,410 --> 00:27:55,520
If I would have told you…
398
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:57,690
that we would have been able
to meet up with a stranger…
399
00:27:57,690 --> 00:28:02,620
by writing to someone by running
my finger across the screen, in the car…
400
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:04,430
you wouldn't have believed me.
401
00:28:04,860 --> 00:28:07,320
Got the day off, shout if
you wanna do something.
402
00:28:07,690 --> 00:28:08,480
Sweet!
403
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:20,220
I've hosted a bunch of people,
over the first two years of doing it…
404
00:28:20,510 --> 00:28:22,940
and I got to meet some
interesting people from places.
405
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,610
Sean generously offered for us
to take one of his yoga classes.
406
00:28:38,110 --> 00:28:39,310
The next day…
407
00:28:39,310 --> 00:28:42,940
Sean's roommate, Karl,
invited us to his family's farm.
408
00:28:44,970 --> 00:28:46,970
CouchSurfing? What's that?
409
00:28:47,610 --> 00:28:49,960
Couchsurfing, it's where people come
and stay at your house.
410
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,020
How did you hear about it way on the farm?
411
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,150
On the farm, we've got internet on the farm, so…
412
00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:02,840
I like that it's a community
of like-minded people who…
413
00:29:03,770 --> 00:29:06,190
are willing to open
their homes to other people…
414
00:29:06,350 --> 00:29:14,280
and allow you to view different countries
from the inside, and not as a tourist.
415
00:29:14,780 --> 00:29:18,490
— So you grew up around these parts?
— Yeah, I grew up in that house right over there.
416
00:29:27,750 --> 00:29:29,750
This place is like a museum.
417
00:29:29,750 --> 00:29:30,980
It's crazy.
418
00:29:37,370 --> 00:29:39,400
— How is it?
— The tea is awesome…
419
00:29:40,030 --> 00:29:42,160
Um, well, -ish.
420
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:46,970
A house like this, me, a hundred years
walking in there with you guys?
421
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,750
Forget a hundred years ago, forty years ago,
there's no way, it was never ever gonna happen.
422
00:29:52,750 --> 00:29:55,560
Well I suppose depending
on the owner of the house but…
423
00:29:55,930 --> 00:29:57,450
You might be working there…
424
00:29:57,450 --> 00:30:00,940
Yeah, you'd probably have
to leave me outside, you know…
425
00:30:01,100 --> 00:30:02,440
to look after the horse.
426
00:30:02,730 --> 00:30:05,600
South Africa's riddled with a checkered history.
427
00:30:05,850 --> 00:30:09,280
And right before my eyes, history is being made.
428
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,730
I promised I wasn't gonna do this!
429
00:30:28,470 --> 00:30:31,280
Stay well, my brother.
430
00:30:31,940 --> 00:30:32,980
Nice. Go well.
431
00:30:33,250 --> 00:30:34,080
Yes.
432
00:30:34,450 --> 00:30:35,280
Ohhh girl!
433
00:30:37,130 --> 00:30:41,070
I am genuinely going to miss Ifiso
and South Africa so much.
434
00:30:41,690 --> 00:30:45,180
I can't even fathom that fourteen short days ago…
435
00:30:45,180 --> 00:30:49,870
I was meeting Sifiso for the first time,
he was holding up that sign in the airport…
436
00:30:49,870 --> 00:30:53,080
and before that moment we were complete strangers.
437
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:57,420
Couchsurfing in general, it just brings
such diverse groups of people together…
438
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,760
and even though it's all done in fun…
439
00:31:01,740 --> 00:31:05,080
there is so much important exchange
that goes on under the surface.
440
00:31:06,460 --> 00:31:10,920
When one travels for long periods of time,
they can get a little stinky.
441
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:12,810
Couchsurfing tip:
Use the resources around you.
442
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:20,910
You smell nice.
Told ya?
443
00:31:24,380 --> 00:31:25,560
Nice.
444
00:31:26,010 --> 00:31:28,560
— You happy?
— I'm very happy.
445
00:31:34,570 --> 00:31:37,850
Morning, Alex!
Here's your tea.
446
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:42,720
So Emile, Bianca and I are taking their car,
and going on a road trip…
447
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:44,880
making loads of stops along the way…
448
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,650
from Botswana and ending up
in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
449
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:55,180
So, do you guys know any interracial couples?
450
00:31:55,180 --> 00:31:56,030
No.
451
00:31:56,260 --> 00:31:57,730
No, I don't know anyone.
452
00:31:57,730 --> 00:32:00,520
Not one? Really?
453
00:32:01,100 --> 00:32:02,570
It doesn't happen around here.
454
00:32:02,700 --> 00:32:05,200
Like I said to you, I won't have any friends left
455
00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:08,940
or family left if I have a black girl in south Africa.
456
00:32:09,170 --> 00:32:13,580
Well you probably will, you know, but… no no no no
457
00:32:13,610 --> 00:32:15,480
You can't go that way.
458
00:32:16,430 --> 00:32:18,540
Me and my sister had this
conversation the other day…
459
00:32:18,540 --> 00:32:22,030
and it's like, we have nothing against it,
it's just like being gay for me…
460
00:32:22,650 --> 00:32:25,950
I've got nothing against it, but it's just not for me,
and I don't want it in my face.
461
00:32:27,150 --> 00:32:28,060
You know what I'm saying?
462
00:32:28,060 --> 00:32:33,120
If I've learned anything with my experience
with Zohra, and traveling thus far…
463
00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:35,400
we all have our cultural baggage.
464
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:40,970
It just so happened that Emile and Bianca
were pretty keen about having a romantic getaway.
465
00:32:40,970 --> 00:32:43,770
So this is where we decided to part ways…
466
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:49,420
I was gonna go on with the film, meet with locals
and continue capturing the Couchsurfing spirit.
467
00:32:52,910 --> 00:32:55,740
— Is this the house of Steve Kim?
— Yeah, exactly.
468
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:00,720
— Steve.
— Bianca, nice to meet you.
469
00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:10,830
Here…
470
00:33:12,140 --> 00:33:14,220
I cleaned the bed myself.
471
00:33:16,300 --> 00:33:20,320
It was lot of work. Two blankets.
472
00:33:22,860 --> 00:33:26,170
For the outside of Zimbabwe, like asians, you know…
473
00:33:26,170 --> 00:33:33,210
when we came here, we were surprised
to see the rates of HIV infected people.
474
00:33:33,210 --> 00:33:36,830
They were so shocked by the
AIDS situation in Zimbabwe…
475
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,760
they decided to open a kids daycare centre.
476
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:45,040
15% of the inhabitants in Zimbabwe live with HIV.
477
00:33:46,030 --> 00:33:48,760
And we closed last December.
478
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:49,520
Because?
479
00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,150
We were short of financial support.
480
00:33:55,150 --> 00:33:58,920
I paid all of expenses with my own money.
481
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,200
Even though the Kims had to shut their doors…
482
00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:07,320
they would still take their van,
and give away medicine for free.
483
00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,750
We are going to see some kids
who is HIV positive…
484
00:34:10,750 --> 00:34:15,210
and I would like to visit them, to give
some medicine and what they need.
485
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:25,000
— How about your daughter?
— She's fine. Laura?
486
00:34:27,260 --> 00:34:30,480
— Yeah, she's growing up.
— Oh, she growing!
487
00:34:31,370 --> 00:34:34,880
Before you said your ears' problem, but now it's ok.
488
00:34:40,830 --> 00:34:42,520
Laura, how old are you?
489
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:43,950
She's now 4.
490
00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:55,960
This' HIV positive baby list.
491
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:05,340
Wow, you is so handsome than last time!
492
00:35:05,340 --> 00:35:08,140
Ok, I give cough medicine.
493
00:35:08,140 --> 00:35:12,380
The little bit that they have,
they decided to share with strangers.
494
00:35:14,890 --> 00:35:18,760
We are human beings, they are human beings.
We all are human beings.
495
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:24,840
That's why we did it, just to cover something.
Not everything, we cannot.
496
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:29,630
I love money, she loves money! We want to be rich,
but we're human beings.
497
00:35:29,630 --> 00:35:31,440
We want to share something.
498
00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:36,810
This Korean family is so cool,
they have just opened their homes to me…
499
00:35:36,810 --> 00:35:42,320
and I'm getting a nice comfortable bed,
and I'm looking forward to some good sleep.
500
00:35:42,650 --> 00:35:43,710
Community.
501
00:35:43,710 --> 00:35:50,600
Like, am I going to feel close to people? Feel like
I'm surrounded by people I like, who love me?
502
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:52,350
Am I gonna feel those feelings?
503
00:35:52,350 --> 00:35:58,780
If you don't have those,
suddenly things start to feel a little weird…
504
00:35:58,780 --> 00:36:02,800
like, I don't know, I just feel a little empty,
I feel like I wanna go home.
505
00:36:03,660 --> 00:36:08,410
But if you can get that need met, then you
can probably travel for quite some time.
506
00:36:08,410 --> 00:36:10,280
Even after all of their kindness…
507
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:14,830
they wanted to cook me an authentic
Korean barbecue, on my last night.
508
00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:27,420
Wow, this looks amazing!
509
00:36:30,300 --> 00:36:31,640
Cheers!
510
00:36:31,660 --> 00:36:34,460
What you find is that people often…
511
00:36:35,370 --> 00:36:39,200
{\an8}think of a pinpoint in their own life,
or something they want to change…
512
00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,180
{\an8}and they start changing their
behavior around that one thing…
513
00:36:43,180 --> 00:36:45,760
and then they suddenly start
to extend into other verticals.
514
00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:52,250
So it's often, I'm going away for a month,
maybe I'll try renting out my house…
515
00:36:52,250 --> 00:36:56,080
or I'm going into this new city,
oh, look, there's a really interesting property…
516
00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,320
I don't want to stay in a hotel,
or I'd rather go and stay with a local.
517
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:03,400
And they try that and then it reinforces
that these ideas work…
518
00:37:03,420 --> 00:37:06,060
and then they come back and they're like,
ok, what else can I do?
519
00:37:13,070 --> 00:37:16,090
That's Chelsea. She's originally from Oregon.
520
00:37:16,090 --> 00:37:18,860
She moved to San Francisco
as an internet entrepreneur.
521
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:24,110
She loves her some technology, and has
some really interesting ways she uses it.
522
00:37:24,110 --> 00:37:27,610
I started a website when I was fourteen,
called Free Mania.
523
00:37:27,610 --> 00:37:31,720
I'm sending out a newsletter
to 80.000 people on Fridays…
524
00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,650
It's exciting. I tell them about free stuff.
525
00:37:34,970 --> 00:37:38,990
One thing led to another,
and I was making really good money.
526
00:37:39,390 --> 00:37:44,300
More than my parents, so that was awkward for me.
527
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,900
There's no words to describe that,
because at the time…
528
00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:52,200
I lived in Rogue River, Oregon, and there's
no such thing as an internet entrepreneur.
529
00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:54,240
Chelsie's always been a little ahead of the curve.
530
00:37:55,960 --> 00:38:01,000
Chelsie decided she could rent her life
while she was gone. Her apartment, her car…
531
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,940
so she could subsidize her trip
and make it possible for her to come…
532
00:38:04,940 --> 00:38:07,690
help on the documentary shooting.
— We're not in Kansas anymore.
533
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:19,680
Just in time! Hi, you made it!
534
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:26,810
When couchsurfing in Morocco, I was a little
apprehensive about choosing my host.
535
00:38:27,150 --> 00:38:30,520
But Walid, through our many interactions
over the internet…
536
00:38:30,910 --> 00:38:32,730
I knew he was gonna be a gem.
537
00:38:37,230 --> 00:38:39,240
Walid was a graphic designer…
538
00:38:39,450 --> 00:38:44,080
and he was willing to host us all, in one room
of his apartment which he shared.
539
00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:55,040
This is your couch?
Awesome, perfect.
540
00:39:01,770 --> 00:39:03,240
Tour, can I see?
541
00:39:03,710 --> 00:39:06,250
Okay, the bathroom could use a little cleaning.
542
00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:08,350
No, I like.
543
00:39:09,790 --> 00:39:11,260
Depending on where you are…
544
00:39:11,260 --> 00:39:15,500
be really flexible about your expectations…
545
00:39:15,500 --> 00:39:19,000
and your interpretation
out loud and on your face.
546
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,510
But still, something was really special
about this experience.
547
00:39:23,230 --> 00:39:28,860
This is unique that a twenty-six-year-old lives
outside of his family's house when he's not married.
548
00:39:34,410 --> 00:39:37,850
Is this the computer you used
to contact me on Couchsurfing?
549
00:39:37,930 --> 00:39:41,180
Yeah, this is my home computer.
550
00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:44,040
Nice.
551
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:46,170
— You don't like?
— I like.
552
00:39:46,410 --> 00:39:50,480
— You play Rubik's cube?
— No, I use it to fix this.
553
00:40:05,930 --> 00:40:10,280
Couchsurfing tip:
Facebook surgery.
Get off your computer and experience.
554
00:40:21,260 --> 00:40:23,870
To me it seems like it should be a balance, I guess.
555
00:40:24,890 --> 00:40:28,840
On one side people really want to know about you,
and who you are and where you come from…
556
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:31,370
so if you assimilate too far,
they aren't going to learn anything.
557
00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:39,130
But at the same time, you want to learn and
experience and understand it and jump in and feel it…
558
00:40:39,210 --> 00:40:43,390
what it is like to be in that place or live in that place,
so you do want to assimilate.
559
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:48,320
So I think you kinda need to find that healthy balance,
where you're still sharing who you are…
560
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:50,680
in a way that people can feel and connect with.
561
00:40:51,230 --> 00:40:55,880
I wanna do this Morocco experience differently.
562
00:40:55,880 --> 00:41:03,420
Like, I am only here for a short period of time,
but I really really really wanna live like you do.
563
00:41:04,860 --> 00:41:08,200
— I wanna be a Moroccan, while I'm here.
— Ok.
564
00:41:08,700 --> 00:41:11,720
So you're going to teach me how to do it?
565
00:41:12,420 --> 00:41:14,450
Ok. First thing, you need to wear the scarfs.
566
00:41:14,850 --> 00:41:16,760
And put it on your head.
567
00:41:22,430 --> 00:41:24,330
— You want to pray?
— Yeah!
568
00:41:24,730 --> 00:41:26,630
So I wake you up at 5 o'clock.
569
00:41:28,620 --> 00:41:31,200
— 5 AM?
— Yeah. To do the first prayer.
570
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:33,580
Walid got the time mixed up.
571
00:41:34,220 --> 00:41:35,850
He meant to say 4 AM.
572
00:41:37,450 --> 00:41:38,940
It's 4 AM now…
573
00:41:39,180 --> 00:41:42,010
and now before the praying we need to wash.
574
00:41:45,370 --> 00:41:47,070
Inside and outside.
575
00:41:48,720 --> 00:41:49,310
It's finished.
576
00:41:54,270 --> 00:41:55,560
Allahu akbar.
577
00:41:57,930 --> 00:41:59,320
Allahu akbar.
578
00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:09,760
So when we're praying, we say
"Allahu akbar", which means…
579
00:42:10,140 --> 00:42:12,090
— "God is great".
— "God is great".
580
00:42:13,450 --> 00:42:18,750
Isn't that what they say
when terrorists martyr themselves?
581
00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:21,650
Yea, because they was thinking that they go to the heaven.
582
00:42:22,860 --> 00:42:25,080
What do you think of extremist Muslims?
583
00:42:25,420 --> 00:42:27,160
Extremist Muslims?
584
00:42:27,390 --> 00:42:29,130
I don't think they are Muslims.
585
00:42:29,980 --> 00:42:31,000
Interesting.
586
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:34,470
Because in Islam nothing tell you to go kill people
587
00:42:34,670 --> 00:42:37,040
and do anything cruel.
588
00:42:37,340 --> 00:42:40,110
We have a lot of opportunity now to get the information.
589
00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:43,310
From the Internets now.
590
00:42:43,310 --> 00:42:44,720
Now I think it is very…
591
00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:46,510
— Important?
— Yea, very important.
592
00:42:46,510 --> 00:42:48,850
A very huge, large resource
593
00:42:48,850 --> 00:42:50,980
where you can find everything in reality.
594
00:42:56,240 --> 00:42:57,530
It's pretty awesome.
595
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:00,510
Places are a lot about the people…
596
00:43:00,510 --> 00:43:05,390
and when you have people that you can stay with
and be comfortable with and happy around…
597
00:43:05,390 --> 00:43:10,810
it's like, this is amazing, there's
musical instruments and paintings, and…
598
00:43:11,550 --> 00:43:14,110
lots of noise outside and commotion…
599
00:43:14,860 --> 00:43:16,540
everything you really need.
600
00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:43,900
Couchsurfing and traveling, they happen
at the same time, but they're different.
601
00:43:43,900 --> 00:43:46,330
People couchsurf for different reasons
than they travel.
602
00:43:46,330 --> 00:43:50,010
It's not about, oh, I'm gonna go travel
and I'm gonna get a free place to stay.
603
00:43:50,010 --> 00:43:55,040
It's, I wanna connect to people,
maybe I'm dealing with this thing in my life…
604
00:43:56,030 --> 00:44:00,010
Whatever, whatever it is, there's just so many
different motivations for why people couchsurf.
605
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:01,870
And at the end of the day, I think it's just…
606
00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,090
it's about human connection.
607
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:28,300
Raph is a CouchSurfer I met in New York.
608
00:44:28,300 --> 00:44:32,040
I hosted him for a week,
and now he's here to return the favor.
609
00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:38,910
They have a tremendous sense of who that person
is by the time they actually meet up face to face.
610
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:46,030
And that's because technology creates the different
channels to give you very different dimensions of…
611
00:44:46,030 --> 00:44:47,200
is this person trustworthy?
612
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:51,230
Raph insisted that he showed Chelsea and I
the French countryside.
613
00:44:51,850 --> 00:44:57,230
A lot of American people think that
going to Paris is going to France.
614
00:44:57,230 --> 00:45:00,960
That that's France.
No, it's not. Like, this is France.
615
00:45:01,690 --> 00:45:04,620
Paris is just one tiny part of France. It's just…
616
00:45:06,730 --> 00:45:08,910
Une petite partie de la France.
617
00:45:08,910 --> 00:45:10,350
It's beautiful out here.
618
00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:14,910
You said I'd get bored, but I get bored anyway,
I get bored in San Francisco.
619
00:45:16,490 --> 00:45:18,490
— Where's your internet connection?
— I got internet right here!
620
00:45:18,490 --> 00:45:20,600
Traveling I always chase internet around…
621
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:24,140
I can't wait until the day that
internet is everywhere.
622
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:27,310
As long as there's internet and I get
to an airport I'll live anywhere.
623
00:45:27,310 --> 00:45:31,660
I think in the future, when babies are born,
you know when they cut the umbilical cord?
624
00:45:31,660 --> 00:45:34,140
They're also going to put in a USB port…
625
00:45:35,690 --> 00:45:40,780
so we can live off of our own electricity,
and plug in our iPhones, and our laptops…
626
00:45:41,500 --> 00:45:42,650
I think that's the future.
627
00:45:44,300 --> 00:45:46,650
So Raph, your parents don't speak any English?
628
00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:52,760
Uh, I guess they can say hello. Like that: 'ello.
629
00:45:52,780 --> 00:45:53,600
Hello.
630
00:45:54,030 --> 00:45:56,900
Are you hungry?
631
00:45:59,070 --> 00:46:01,760
She says she wants to try to talk English now.
632
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,590
Okay, perfect, we're good at that.
633
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:07,950
This house was originally a ruin.
634
00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:12,810
There was no roof, nothing, and my father did it.
635
00:46:14,410 --> 00:46:15,690
Bonjour!
636
00:46:16,030 --> 00:46:18,800
And you do a lot of the air kissing.
637
00:46:20,250 --> 00:46:26,650
I feel weird about that when it's, when a guy
has a big beard, you know, like… I do!
638
00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:31,550
Where do I kiss, how do I do this?
639
00:46:37,020 --> 00:46:39,710
Do your parents know about Couchsurfing?
Who we are?
640
00:46:40,780 --> 00:46:43,360
— They know you, they remember you.
— They do?
641
00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:44,810
— Of course!
— From what?
642
00:46:44,810 --> 00:46:47,340
I've talked about you. A lot.
643
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:52,490
You hosted me in New York, Central Park,
and you gave me the keys of your flat.
644
00:46:53,050 --> 00:46:54,350
{\an8}Straight away.
645
00:46:54,780 --> 00:46:58,250
{\an8}Wow! That's a proof that you really trust me.
646
00:47:00,250 --> 00:47:03,260
— Instant friends!
— It was so nice, so generous of you!
647
00:47:03,840 --> 00:47:05,290
How can I forget that?
648
00:47:06,110 --> 00:47:08,300
Couchsurfing tip:
Learn a bit of your hosts' language.
649
00:47:08,810 --> 00:47:11,910
Thank you very much for this dinner.
650
00:47:15,420 --> 00:47:16,780
Maybe you won't like it!
651
00:47:23,210 --> 00:47:26,590
The downside of the internet
is that we're connecting in a…
652
00:47:29,100 --> 00:47:30,760
mostly shallow way.
653
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:36,200
Most people are spending hours and hours
a day sucked up in social media…
654
00:47:36,350 --> 00:47:38,200
and… sorry.
655
00:47:43,850 --> 00:47:46,650
Have you ever had a very bad
experience on Couchsurfing…
656
00:47:46,650 --> 00:47:52,680
like, hosting very naughty people or
being hosted by very rude people?
657
00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:54,060
Yeah, I think so.
658
00:47:54,840 --> 00:48:01,240
My first time trying to couchsurf actually, in Italy,
I stayed with this guy in the countryside…
659
00:48:01,240 --> 00:48:04,620
and he was amazing, he made
this amazing dinner, and wine…
660
00:48:04,620 --> 00:48:08,190
and then, he wouldn't stop hitting on me.
661
00:48:08,190 --> 00:48:12,910
And I made it clear this is not why I came,
this is not what I want…
662
00:48:13,290 --> 00:48:17,960
and he just sort of wouldn't let up.
He was like, oh, you are the most beautiful girl…
663
00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:20,760
I never see beautiful girls like this…
664
00:48:21,150 --> 00:48:23,630
Like, all Italiano, yeah?
665
00:48:23,630 --> 00:48:26,620
And at one point I just got up and I'm like:
666
00:48:26,620 --> 00:48:28,670
alright, I'm gonna go do the dishes
and then I'm going to bed.
667
00:48:28,780 --> 00:48:30,940
And, you know, had I been younger…
668
00:48:30,940 --> 00:48:34,010
or not had as much experience or confidence,
I probably would have been really afraid…
669
00:48:34,010 --> 00:48:37,660
but I sort of trusted my instincts
and I knew he wasn't a bad person, but…
670
00:48:37,660 --> 00:48:40,510
it was definitely not a good situation, you know.
671
00:48:40,510 --> 00:48:42,600
And I was alone and in the country.
672
00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:58,380
It's so cool being here,
and seeing how you grew up.
673
00:48:59,500 --> 00:49:03,920
It always feels very intimate to see that
and meet someone's parents.
674
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:09,790
This house has stories, it's full of stories.
675
00:49:10,940 --> 00:49:13,340
— If the walls could talk, right?
— Yeah, there's an aura.
676
00:49:13,340 --> 00:49:15,200
There's something coming out of it.
677
00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:17,480
We're perfect strangers, Raph and I…
678
00:49:17,480 --> 00:49:21,660
he's opened his home,
and made us amazing meals…
679
00:49:21,660 --> 00:49:25,770
taken us off to the country with his parents,
and treated us like family.
680
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:44,640
Eric told me the best way to
experience Paris is by bike.
681
00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:49,320
Problem is, I didn't pack one.
— So one of the cool things about living in Paris…
682
00:49:49,320 --> 00:49:51,320
is that they have this public
bike system called Vélib'.
683
00:49:51,320 --> 00:49:56,010
I have the year membership,
so it's 29 euros for the year…
684
00:49:56,010 --> 00:49:59,290
and it's pretty good because you can
use it unlimited, I mean, so cheap.
685
00:49:59,520 --> 00:50:02,780
So you go to any of these stations
and there's like 400 around the city…
686
00:50:02,780 --> 00:50:06,190
and you pick up a bike
and use it for up to 30 minutes for free…
687
00:50:06,190 --> 00:50:09,020
you drop it off wherever, and then next time
you need it you get another bike.
688
00:50:09,400 --> 00:50:13,950
So when people bike share,
they reduce carbon, reduce congestion…
689
00:50:13,950 --> 00:50:18,030
they get healthier, they have
a different perspective on the city.
690
00:50:19,920 --> 00:50:25,880
You talk to bike sharers, and they would actually
say how it's not just about that ride to work…
691
00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:28,570
it changes their whole experience of the days.
692
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:35,800
I'd been to Paris before…
693
00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:38,560
but never experienced it quite like this.
694
00:50:38,890 --> 00:50:44,160
Wow, it made me wonder, if we're able
to share our apartments, our bikes…
695
00:50:45,020 --> 00:50:46,510
what else is next?
696
00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:04,990
No matter how many millions of positive
experiences people have all over the world…
697
00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:08,200
the number one question I always get is:
698
00:51:08,460 --> 00:51:10,760
What if your host is an axe murderer?
699
00:51:18,540 --> 00:51:19,770
What are you doing?!
700
00:51:20,380 --> 00:51:21,560
Preparing my couch.
701
00:51:24,140 --> 00:51:27,610
So this is Hans.
He's my host in Koblenz, Germany.
702
00:51:29,040 --> 00:51:30,090
Ze Germans…
703
00:51:30,890 --> 00:51:34,640
I always loved to have people
in the house that were different.
704
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:37,020
So when Couchsurfing came along…
705
00:51:37,020 --> 00:51:41,080
I didn't do anything different than before,
but I just had brought a platform.
706
00:51:41,530 --> 00:51:44,110
So he paid his neighborhood kid
to pull a tractor…
707
00:51:44,330 --> 00:51:47,740
he got a couch, fixed it all up, rigged it together…
708
00:51:47,740 --> 00:51:50,190
and now we're actually gonna couchsurf.
709
00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:55,600
For an official entrance to the couch…
710
00:51:55,600 --> 00:51:57,500
please use this door.
— Okay.
711
00:52:04,740 --> 00:52:06,730
— I like it, I'll take it.
— You'll take it?
712
00:52:06,730 --> 00:52:08,090
— I'll take it.
— It's free!
713
00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:10,440
Free? Free.99?
714
00:52:10,440 --> 00:52:13,210
Hans wants to show me the German countryside…
715
00:52:14,540 --> 00:52:15,720
via motorcycle.
716
00:52:15,720 --> 00:52:16,890
Are you serious?
717
00:52:18,410 --> 00:52:25,000
Couchsurfing tip:
As a survival tip says: always say yes.
Even if it stretches you outside your comfort zone.
718
00:52:25,310 --> 00:52:29,040
Which I am definitely stretched.
719
00:52:43,230 --> 00:52:46,480
Hans took me to meet
a fellow CouchSurfer, Christian.
720
00:52:46,480 --> 00:52:49,500
And I was so amazed that this guy,
despite his condition…
721
00:52:49,500 --> 00:52:54,380
works, earns his own money,
has employees that work for him…
722
00:52:54,590 --> 00:52:56,140
and that impressed me so much.
723
00:52:56,140 --> 00:52:57,790
Hi, I'm Alex.
724
00:53:03,600 --> 00:53:08,570
CouchSurfing is also about challenging oneself.
725
00:53:08,570 --> 00:53:11,370
to expand the comfort zone.
726
00:53:11,370 --> 00:53:14,360
But if he wants to travel,
as he wants to meet people…
727
00:53:14,570 --> 00:53:20,160
he has a chance to really go and see the places,
and also he says he invites the world to him.
728
00:53:20,810 --> 00:53:26,720
People who visit me or surf my couch
729
00:53:26,990 --> 00:53:29,790
mostly do it on purpose.
730
00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:33,760
They want to get a new impression.
731
00:53:33,860 --> 00:53:36,400
They want to challenge themselves.
732
00:53:36,460 --> 00:53:38,730
They want to learn about
733
00:53:38,830 --> 00:53:41,900
what it is to live with a disability.
734
00:53:42,270 --> 00:53:46,410
Christian had a very interesting take
on the economy of Couchsurfing.
735
00:53:47,240 --> 00:53:50,740
In a normal economy, a good has more worth
736
00:53:53,680 --> 00:53:56,850
when it's few,
737
00:53:57,050 --> 00:54:00,890
when it's not owned by people.
738
00:54:02,150 --> 00:54:04,090
Like in the communications business
739
00:54:04,190 --> 00:54:08,730
it's more worthy when more people own it
740
00:54:08,860 --> 00:54:12,100
because then you have more chances to use it.
741
00:54:12,560 --> 00:54:15,500
That's the change of a whole paradigm.
742
00:54:15,630 --> 00:54:16,860
It's been awesome…
743
00:54:17,070 --> 00:54:21,200
and we'll see each other again one day.
744
00:54:22,060 --> 00:54:23,600
You know, people ask me about impact…
745
00:54:23,600 --> 00:54:25,470
and what impact can Couchsurfing
have on the world…
746
00:54:25,470 --> 00:54:28,940
and how would you know if you've actually
achieved something meaningful?
747
00:54:28,940 --> 00:54:32,430
Couchsurfing for a part is kind of an illusion…
748
00:54:32,810 --> 00:54:36,750
because you're thinking about cultural
exchange that you do, and you find it so nice…
749
00:54:36,750 --> 00:54:38,810
but who is exchanging the culture?
750
00:54:39,050 --> 00:54:42,760
It's like a small minority of people
that have internet access…
751
00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:44,830
that know English to communicate…
752
00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:47,310
so If I go to india and exchange culture…
753
00:54:47,310 --> 00:54:51,720
I sit there with a retired army doctor,
and exchange philosophical thoughts…
754
00:54:51,720 --> 00:54:57,680
but the average Indian, in the village,
who is happy when he's filled his stomach...
755
00:54:57,680 --> 00:54:59,960
he does not have any interest
in cultural exchange.
756
00:54:59,960 --> 00:55:01,920
I never really thought about it this way.
757
00:55:03,340 --> 00:55:06,170
Is Couchsurfing actually making the world better?
758
00:55:06,810 --> 00:55:09,290
Or are we just a bunch of haves
who are fooling ourselves?
759
00:55:09,560 --> 00:55:12,480
So it's actually a small group of elite people…
760
00:55:12,480 --> 00:55:15,690
that walk around, you know, and think,
hey, we are great, you know…
761
00:55:15,690 --> 00:55:19,020
we are entering a new world, you know,
we're starting something…
762
00:55:20,190 --> 00:55:24,080
which is not bad, but I think it
does not change the world…
763
00:55:24,080 --> 00:55:26,250
in the way that Couchsurfing claims.
764
00:55:27,510 --> 00:55:30,620
But I argue and say that
it is making the world better.
765
00:55:30,620 --> 00:55:34,890
It's not solving all the world's problems,
not ending world hunger or poverty…
766
00:55:34,890 --> 00:55:40,940
— It starts a process.
— But it creates… It creates an understanding…
767
00:55:40,940 --> 00:55:44,510
and it creates awareness,
in those of us who have…
768
00:55:44,510 --> 00:55:49,080
because we're the people that have
the resources to make these changes.
769
00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:51,680
So that is making the world better.
770
00:55:51,690 --> 00:55:53,020
It's a start, it's something.
771
00:55:53,020 --> 00:55:56,440
if a powerful idea reaches, you know,
10% of a network…
772
00:55:56,440 --> 00:56:02,010
that powerful idea will just take off like wildfire
and engulf the entire network.
773
00:56:02,170 --> 00:56:05,500
The way I understand there are
about 1.4 billion people…
774
00:56:05,500 --> 00:56:08,190
in the developed policy-making world,
something like this.
775
00:56:08,190 --> 00:56:12,400
So if we could reach 10% of these people,
that would be maybe 140 million people…
776
00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:13,800
maybe that's the magic number.
777
00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:17,160
But if it doesn't reach 10%,
it will be like it never existed.
778
00:56:18,360 --> 00:56:22,400
Hans told me in Germany, it's common
for the locals to use ridesharing.
779
00:56:22,750 --> 00:56:24,360
Since I needed to get to Berlin…
780
00:56:24,360 --> 00:56:27,130
I thought I would do what the locals do,
and try something new.
781
00:56:27,130 --> 00:56:30,200
So, when you take a car trip…
782
00:56:30,720 --> 00:56:33,640
often there's the driver and
there's four empty seats.
783
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:37,370
What ridesharing is is have you actually
take the capacity of those seats…
784
00:56:37,370 --> 00:56:40,380
and match it with other passengers
that are going in the same direction.
785
00:56:40,380 --> 00:56:42,970
— Okie dokie.
— Let's do this.
786
00:56:45,450 --> 00:56:48,010
— Do you do rideshare often?
— Oh, yeah.
787
00:56:48,010 --> 00:56:56,330
Yeah, because it's way too expensive to drive
alone, so I do this every time I have to go home.
788
00:56:56,700 --> 00:57:00,270
{\an8}The cost of owning a car,
maintaining and insuring it…
789
00:57:00,270 --> 00:57:02,910
people are realizing
that's a hassle I don't have to deal with.
790
00:57:02,910 --> 00:57:05,680
I don't wanna deal with that hassle.
So they're kind of moving along from now on.
791
00:57:07,360 --> 00:57:08,670
Mitfahrge… what?
792
00:57:08,670 --> 00:57:11,310
"Mitfahrgelegenheit".
793
00:57:11,310 --> 00:57:13,530
"The opportunity to drive with".
794
00:57:14,300 --> 00:57:15,920
— Is that what it translates to?
— Yeah.
795
00:57:16,080 --> 00:57:17,950
Could you come up with a longer name?!
796
00:57:17,950 --> 00:57:20,220
If we look at all the extrapolation graphs…
797
00:57:20,220 --> 00:57:23,550
if we let things go as they'll go,
we are going to have more cars than people.
798
00:57:23,550 --> 00:57:27,880
There's also another thing
that's called Take My Car…
799
00:57:28,830 --> 00:57:34,460
and they can, like, put an ad on,
and you can say:
800
00:57:34,460 --> 00:57:40,830
I have a car, you can have it for a day and
you pay 15 euros and you can take his car.
801
00:57:40,830 --> 00:57:44,300
An interesting study actually that
carpooling had done in Germany…
802
00:57:44,300 --> 00:57:51,200
where they did a survey of 18 to 25-year-olds,
and 80% said they'd rather own…
803
00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:54,780
if they had to choose, 80% would pick
the smartphone over the car.
804
00:57:54,780 --> 00:57:56,520
And that's pretty powerful, like…
805
00:57:56,520 --> 00:58:03,820
that's people saying I don't need to own a car
as this symbol of "I've made it in the world".
806
00:58:03,820 --> 00:58:06,520
I can actually have more access
through my phone.
807
00:58:07,360 --> 00:58:11,500
Because at the end of the day, it's like:
you can't take it with you when you die.
808
00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:15,370
— It's really about having access to use it, right?
— That's right.
809
00:58:15,370 --> 00:58:19,100
I think that cars used to be
the ultimate symbol of ownership.
810
00:58:19,790 --> 00:58:27,020
So if we can change people's attitudes
towards cars, then anything becomes possible.
811
00:58:27,320 --> 00:58:29,470
— Thank you so much.
— Yeah, you're welcome.
812
00:58:29,470 --> 00:58:32,780
— You gave me a ride right there…
— Yeah, it was one of the best…
813
00:58:32,780 --> 00:58:35,690
"Mitfahrgelegenheit" I had so far, so…
— Me too.
814
00:58:35,690 --> 00:58:37,530
One of the most interesting.
815
00:58:39,070 --> 00:58:40,160
Thank you so much.
816
00:58:40,840 --> 00:58:42,650
Ow, Gabe!
817
00:58:43,390 --> 00:58:47,770
I'm meeting one of my old friends,
Gabriel Stempinski, in Brussels.
818
00:58:48,140 --> 00:58:50,320
He says he has big news to tell me.
819
00:58:53,340 --> 00:58:56,240
Gabe, look at you!
820
00:58:57,480 --> 00:59:00,800
Gabe showed me the sights,
such as the famous peeing child.
821
00:59:01,080 --> 00:59:04,060
I think its one of the oldest statues in the city.
822
00:59:04,640 --> 00:59:07,610
There are a couple of legends
about how it came about.
823
00:59:08,120 --> 00:59:12,570
The one I like is that there was a little boy
that saved the city by pissing the fire out.
824
00:59:12,570 --> 00:59:14,430
So I asked Gabe the big news.
825
00:59:14,600 --> 00:59:16,960
And he says he fell in love…
826
00:59:17,870 --> 00:59:19,870
with a CouchSurfer.
827
00:59:20,940 --> 00:59:26,640
I'm conflicted, because in case you forgot…
— Couchsurfing is not a dating site.
828
00:59:26,640 --> 00:59:30,060
— Couchsurfing is not a dating site.
— But you get a little tempted…
829
00:59:30,060 --> 00:59:31,960
sometimes you see people
who have really attractive photos…
830
00:59:31,960 --> 00:59:33,350
and a lot of times they're not
wearing shirts and stuff.
831
00:59:33,550 --> 00:59:36,790
It's like the best dating site. Ever.
832
00:59:37,370 --> 00:59:38,700
In the world.
833
00:59:40,030 --> 00:59:42,480
But there are a lot of really cool people on there.
834
00:59:42,480 --> 00:59:45,450
Sure it's not a dating web site,
but if you find yourself in the situation…
835
00:59:45,450 --> 00:59:47,930
where obviously you're
getting along with the person…
836
00:59:48,460 --> 00:59:50,250
all I say, and this is just one man's opinion…
837
00:59:50,250 --> 00:59:50,970
embrace it.
838
00:59:51,530 --> 00:59:53,320
It's not a dating site.
839
00:59:54,280 --> 00:59:58,460
But it is a community site,
and definitely a part of community…
840
00:59:58,460 --> 01:00:01,580
or something that a strong community fosters
is healthy relationships.
841
01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:09,560
My last Couchsurfing travel partner
to join me on the trip was David Vega.
842
01:00:09,560 --> 01:00:15,070
He's a pretty regular guy, works for
a big bank, works nine to five…
843
01:00:16,120 --> 01:00:18,730
and the only one of his friends to couchsurf.
844
01:00:18,840 --> 01:00:22,860
He saw my Kickstarter campaign,
and was really compelled to write.
845
01:00:23,740 --> 01:00:26,570
I couldn't wait to meet the person
behind the messages.
846
01:00:27,210 --> 01:00:31,660
Now it sounds crazy, but
just after one conversation…
847
01:00:32,320 --> 01:00:34,600
we booked a whole month of our lives together.
848
01:00:34,600 --> 01:00:40,560
And so technology reduces the barriers to
exchange, creates many more ways to explore.
849
01:01:21,660 --> 01:01:23,210
So I'm at baggage claim.
850
01:01:31,210 --> 01:01:31,800
Alex!
851
01:01:32,300 --> 01:01:34,300
— David Vega!
— What up, girl?
852
01:01:42,840 --> 01:01:46,670
— Is this your first time couchsurfing?
— No, I've done it a couple times before.
853
01:01:47,840 --> 01:01:50,220
— What about you?
— Is that a joke?
854
01:01:51,240 --> 01:01:53,770
I'm a Couchsurfing professional.
855
01:01:53,770 --> 01:01:55,390
I've seen your profile.
856
01:01:55,740 --> 01:01:57,690
I've seen it too, I've read yours.
857
01:01:58,380 --> 01:02:00,080
Yeah, what'd you think?
858
01:02:00,590 --> 01:02:02,670
Well, it was good enough to get you here.
859
01:02:04,720 --> 01:02:05,790
We're on our way.
860
01:02:07,130 --> 01:02:10,430
Uhoh. My phone is dying.
861
01:02:13,260 --> 01:02:14,540
I know, major fail.
862
01:02:15,360 --> 01:02:16,970
That's one of my biggest survival tips.
863
01:02:16,970 --> 01:02:20,550
Always charge your phone
when going to a new country.
864
01:02:20,960 --> 01:02:22,720
But she's expecting us.
865
01:02:24,460 --> 01:02:25,720
Hey, think she's here?
866
01:02:25,720 --> 01:02:27,980
I don't know, I mean, there's a girl waiting there,
it doesn't look like her.
867
01:02:27,980 --> 01:02:30,060
Yeah, that's her. It looks just like her.
868
01:02:36,490 --> 01:02:38,640
— Hi.
— Hi, darling!
869
01:02:38,940 --> 01:02:41,740
— Nice to meet you.
— Nice to meet you too, welcome.
870
01:02:42,000 --> 01:02:44,590
We immediately bonded with Marcelle.
871
01:02:46,560 --> 01:02:49,880
So welcome, guys.
Like I told you, it's very small.
872
01:02:52,560 --> 01:02:54,090
I'm already breaking things.
873
01:02:54,860 --> 01:02:56,030
Lovely.
874
01:02:57,230 --> 01:03:02,440
So you're going to stay here, guys,
it's not so big, but that's alright.
875
01:03:02,440 --> 01:03:03,580
It's perfect.
876
01:03:03,980 --> 01:03:09,160
Her place may be small, but her heart, huge.
And that made all the difference.
877
01:03:09,160 --> 01:03:10,920
You will trust us with your key.
878
01:03:11,720 --> 01:03:14,540
Yeah, everything you own is here?
879
01:03:14,680 --> 01:03:18,750
Yes, all our stuff is here,
my whole life is in that bag.
880
01:03:18,750 --> 01:03:20,520
— Yeah.
— And I have your key.
881
01:03:20,700 --> 01:03:22,250
— Yeah.
— Cool.
882
01:03:22,510 --> 01:03:24,170
— It's a deal.
— It's a deal.
883
01:03:26,380 --> 01:03:30,860
— You will not run away.
— And I will not lose this, I am very, very responsible.
884
01:03:32,480 --> 01:03:37,200
Did you remember, we are friends for a long time,
but we've just met each other for two hours.
885
01:03:37,200 --> 01:03:39,470
Yes, but we're friends for a long time.
886
01:03:39,470 --> 01:03:41,290
— We just hadn't met yet.
— Yeah.
887
01:03:41,920 --> 01:03:42,830
I like that.
888
01:03:42,830 --> 01:03:47,770
Without any hesitation, she offered
to cook for us our first Brazilian meal.
889
01:03:49,200 --> 01:03:50,250
Bon appétit!
890
01:03:52,680 --> 01:03:54,700
— I like it.
— It's good.
891
01:03:55,770 --> 01:03:57,480
It almost tastes like popcorn.
892
01:03:58,060 --> 01:03:59,150
Popcorn?
893
01:04:00,480 --> 01:04:02,360
My little stove.
894
01:04:03,370 --> 01:04:04,640
You know it's funny…
895
01:04:07,550 --> 01:04:13,790
me and my roommate live in a 2500 sq. ft. house,
and we still step on each other's toes.
896
01:04:15,180 --> 01:04:17,080
This really puts things in perspective.
897
01:04:18,510 --> 01:04:19,500
I know.
898
01:04:21,740 --> 01:04:24,970
I'm not even sure where we're gonna sleep exactly.
899
01:04:26,110 --> 01:04:27,450
It's gonna be intimate.
900
01:04:28,280 --> 01:04:30,800
— What's our couch?
— Ah, yeah.
901
01:04:32,570 --> 01:04:35,280
A very efficient use of your space.
902
01:04:35,480 --> 01:04:39,360
Marcelle told us of a Couchsurfing
meetup right on the beach.
903
01:04:43,340 --> 01:04:46,270
Like you said, it's commonplace
to get to meet people online…
904
01:04:46,270 --> 01:04:50,410
people you haven't met in real life before.
905
01:04:50,760 --> 01:04:53,440
And because this is such a commonplace thing…
906
01:04:53,440 --> 01:04:56,920
that barrier, and that fear,
is kind of removed from the picture.
907
01:04:57,180 --> 01:04:59,320
And that is a pretty powerful thing.
908
01:04:59,530 --> 01:05:01,950
Once you have that barrier removed…
909
01:05:02,830 --> 01:05:05,580
it may only be a couple
of other smaller barriers…
910
01:05:05,580 --> 01:05:10,840
which may even be just technical, or
what your imagination allows you to think of.
911
01:05:12,620 --> 01:05:16,520
For those just ready to dip their feet
into the idea of Couchsurfing…
912
01:05:16,520 --> 01:05:20,350
going to a meetup is a great way
to get used to the community.
913
01:05:20,350 --> 01:05:25,070
We'd just arrived to Rio, and already
we had a group of Couchsurfing friends.
914
01:05:32,580 --> 01:05:35,710
Ok. You have to feel it. Feel the music.
915
01:05:49,790 --> 01:05:54,330
David was drawn to a specific
CouchSurfer's profile, Ryan Fix…
916
01:05:54,810 --> 01:05:58,330
and had arranged to meet him
at his house at Ipanema beach.
917
01:05:58,330 --> 01:06:01,260
So I wanted you guys to
meet me here in my place…
918
01:06:01,260 --> 01:06:05,740
just so I could give you guys
a sense of a pretty unique view.
919
01:06:06,190 --> 01:06:08,270
I've never seen anything like this.
920
01:06:08,270 --> 01:06:14,280
One of the seven hundred favelas in Rio,
it's called Cantagalo…
921
01:06:16,910 --> 01:06:21,920
and we're overlooking Ipanema beach,
facing towards Arpoador.
922
01:06:22,120 --> 01:06:27,850
There's really no difference between
someone like me and you and this and that…
923
01:06:29,210 --> 01:06:34,350
with someone like Bono, or Branson
or Obama, or any of these people.
924
01:06:35,280 --> 01:06:38,840
You know, we all start from the earth
and we go back to the earth.
925
01:06:39,630 --> 01:06:43,550
Some people come into life
with more privileges…
926
01:06:43,550 --> 01:06:49,600
but at the same time, because they have so many
privileges, they don't really have the drive.
927
01:06:49,600 --> 01:06:53,610
But then you see other people that come
from really tough places, like the favelas…
928
01:06:53,610 --> 01:06:55,820
and they do amazing things.
929
01:06:56,010 --> 01:07:00,490
The majority of my focus right now is in
this area, collaborative consumption.
930
01:07:00,840 --> 01:07:02,520
Collaborative consumption?
931
01:07:02,890 --> 01:07:08,140
It's a global trend that's been
developing over the past six years…
932
01:07:08,140 --> 01:07:14,000
and it's connected to many different
manifestations of sharing…
933
01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:20,350
so Couchsurfing being one, bike-sharing
programs, car-sharing programs, all of this.
934
01:07:20,350 --> 01:07:26,830
And the way that people live, the way that people
work, the way that people consume is changing.
935
01:07:26,830 --> 01:07:31,520
The future is not certain, and we can
either embrace it, or we can fear it.
936
01:07:31,950 --> 01:07:34,140
And if we fear it we're controlled by it.
937
01:07:35,290 --> 01:07:39,550
So so many people are controlled
by fear, and so therefore…
938
01:07:39,550 --> 01:07:45,520
they try to build certainty into their future,
security into their future.
939
01:07:45,520 --> 01:07:48,200
But it's a myth. It's not reality.
940
01:07:48,800 --> 01:07:51,050
Just when we couldn't get any more inspired…
941
01:07:51,050 --> 01:07:54,880
Ryan realized he was late,
for a tandem paragliding date.
942
01:07:55,900 --> 01:07:59,530
I really think what Ryan said
struck a deep chord within David.
943
01:07:59,720 --> 01:08:04,170
He was now ready to jump off a cliff
and build his wings on the way down.
944
01:08:22,860 --> 01:08:26,030
Do I love what I do?
I can't say I love what I do.
945
01:08:26,360 --> 01:08:29,600
My job doesn't offer a lot of creative outlet.
946
01:08:29,600 --> 01:08:33,440
So that's part of the reason why
I'm on this journey in the first place.
947
01:08:33,840 --> 01:08:42,240
When I'm home and I'm working, and when I'm in
my work schedule, I feel like time just flies.
948
01:08:42,250 --> 01:08:44,700
I blink and it's two weeks later.
949
01:08:44,700 --> 01:08:47,000
I blink again, two months have gone by.
950
01:08:47,000 --> 01:08:50,600
I blink again, holy cow,
two years have gone by…
951
01:08:50,600 --> 01:08:53,610
and what have I done with my life
in the past two years?
952
01:08:53,610 --> 01:08:57,580
I can't even remember twenty percent
of what had happened.
953
01:08:57,920 --> 01:09:05,200
If I won the lottery, some people would buy a
huge house, the fastest car, et cetera et cetera.
954
01:09:05,200 --> 01:09:08,650
Me? You would never see me,
because I'd be gone.
955
01:09:08,650 --> 01:09:12,400
I would sell all my goods,
I would have no possessions…
956
01:09:12,400 --> 01:09:15,790
and I would travel the world.
Unfortunately I can't do that…
957
01:09:18,170 --> 01:09:21,200
because I need to make a living.
I need to earn a living.
958
01:09:29,710 --> 01:09:30,780
Good night.
959
01:09:30,860 --> 01:09:33,310
— See you tomorrow.
— See you tomorrow.
960
01:09:34,220 --> 01:09:37,870
It's been very good having you here guys.
961
01:09:39,040 --> 01:09:41,850
— Thank you.
— And you've been an amazing host.
962
01:09:42,190 --> 01:09:47,150
Oh, cool, it's good, good to hear.
You are a very nice guest.
963
01:09:49,230 --> 01:09:50,640
Have a good night, guys.
964
01:09:52,060 --> 01:09:54,070
— Good night.
— Good night.
965
01:09:54,070 --> 01:09:56,220
— See you tomorrow.
— See you tomorrow.
966
01:09:56,220 --> 01:10:00,600
You know, you meet people
and they barter their nanny time…
967
01:10:00,600 --> 01:10:03,870
they never pay for things like
haircuts and accountants…
968
01:10:04,080 --> 01:10:07,130
they only travel with Couchsurfing, Airbnb…
969
01:10:07,310 --> 01:10:10,940
when they travel they use ride-sharing
and bike-sharing systems…
970
01:10:10,940 --> 01:10:14,730
when they're away they rent out their car,
they rent out all the other stuff in their lives.
971
01:10:16,350 --> 01:10:19,580
There, I still think they are the few.
972
01:10:23,790 --> 01:10:26,400
Ryan was headed to a
social business conference…
973
01:10:26,640 --> 01:10:30,570
and since David was so interested in the
subject, he invited us to come along.
974
01:10:30,880 --> 01:10:32,990
{\an8}There comes a point
where the balance tips, you know…
975
01:10:32,990 --> 01:10:38,880
{\an8}like ok, wait a sec, what I do professionally
twelve hours a day is weighing too much.
976
01:10:38,880 --> 01:10:41,920
There are increasingly more people
throughout the world…
977
01:10:41,920 --> 01:10:44,960
that are reaching this moment of catharsis,
where they're like…
978
01:10:44,970 --> 01:10:48,920
wait a sec, I like my job, you know,
I like my house, I like my cars…
979
01:10:49,120 --> 01:10:53,920
but what legacy am I living,
and what legacy will I leave?
980
01:10:55,070 --> 01:10:58,730
David had so many questions about
what it was like to work for yourself.
981
01:10:59,000 --> 01:11:01,160
And they advised that before we leave…
982
01:11:01,160 --> 01:11:04,090
{\an8}we check out this co-working space,
called The Hub.
983
01:11:05,160 --> 01:11:08,890
Because people don't necessarily need to work
in a traditional office space.
984
01:11:08,890 --> 01:11:14,220
Even if people work for a large company, there's
a benefit to working in a collaborative workspace.
985
01:11:14,220 --> 01:11:16,190
The concept here is,
986
01:11:16,320 --> 01:11:18,760
like the hub in San Francisco,
987
01:11:18,790 --> 01:11:20,790
this is a shared space
988
01:11:20,830 --> 01:11:22,560
adopting the co-working model.
989
01:11:22,650 --> 01:11:25,470
— Serving massages, here at work?
— Yeah.
990
01:11:26,720 --> 01:11:30,280
— Join us, come in, come in.
— Let's go.
991
01:11:41,080 --> 01:11:44,380
{\an8}I think that we're returning to these
multiple mini-currencies…
992
01:11:44,380 --> 01:11:49,720
{\an8}and you see that in everything from, let's say,
on the micro-level of Burning Man…
993
01:11:49,720 --> 01:11:51,390
to something like Bitcoin.
994
01:11:51,600 --> 01:11:54,520
So, it's fascinating to watch…
995
01:11:54,520 --> 01:11:57,230
but I think people are beginning
to realize that, ultimately…
996
01:11:57,230 --> 01:12:02,170
the income is just an intermediate
step to an experience.
997
01:12:02,570 --> 01:12:05,500
Whether that's a belonging, let's say a car…
998
01:12:05,500 --> 01:12:09,440
that's also for a certain experience
or certain social proof…
999
01:12:09,580 --> 01:12:14,460
and I think people are bypassing
that intermediate step and trading directly.
1000
01:12:14,460 --> 01:12:17,690
I think it's gonna become very
empowered with technology…
1001
01:12:17,690 --> 01:12:20,840
and that's gonna become more and more
prevalent and I think it's a good thing.
1002
01:12:22,460 --> 01:12:24,400
Remember Gabe from Brussels?
1003
01:12:24,620 --> 01:12:29,340
Well, he messages me to let me know
he's going to surprise Shiva…
1004
01:12:29,470 --> 01:12:32,830
by proposing to her at the
Couchsurfing headquarters.
1005
01:12:32,970 --> 01:12:34,750
And he asked me if I could come.
1006
01:12:36,330 --> 01:12:39,100
It is on the way to our last destination.
1007
01:12:40,060 --> 01:12:42,270
We're gonna go pick up a charger for the camera…
1008
01:12:42,270 --> 01:12:44,670
from the art director of the
Couchsurfing headquarters.
1009
01:12:45,440 --> 01:12:48,010
— They have a shitload of cameras.
— Should I be coming out and gonna stay at the car?
1010
01:12:48,030 --> 01:12:49,880
{\an8}No, I want you to meet everyone.
1011
01:13:12,090 --> 01:13:14,410
It's a beautiful night,
1012
01:13:14,410 --> 01:13:17,500
we're looking for something dumb to do
1013
01:13:18,360 --> 01:13:23,100
Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you!
1014
01:13:25,230 --> 01:13:27,740
Is it that look in your eyes,
1015
01:13:27,740 --> 01:13:31,040
or is it these dancing juice?
1016
01:13:31,580 --> 01:13:36,110
Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you.
1017
01:13:37,200 --> 01:13:42,780
Just say I do!
1018
01:13:51,140 --> 01:13:52,140
Yes.
1019
01:13:53,210 --> 01:13:54,680
Yes.
1020
01:14:18,080 --> 01:14:24,490
This is a pretty huge part of both of our lives,
and I'm really grateful that Couchsurfing exists.
1021
01:14:29,610 --> 01:14:34,850
This is the desert of Black Rock City, Nevada,
home to Burning Man.
1022
01:14:35,980 --> 01:14:40,760
Children, here we are at the playa at Burning Man.
1023
01:14:42,700 --> 01:14:45,320
And what are we doing? We're sharing.
1024
01:14:45,880 --> 01:14:49,690
I couldn't believe it that something like this
existed on the face of this Earth.
1025
01:14:49,950 --> 01:14:52,670
It was beyond anything I'd ever seen at that point.
1026
01:14:52,670 --> 01:14:55,950
And I remember driving out of there…
1027
01:14:56,320 --> 01:14:59,610
after just seeing all of these people
really going for it…
1028
01:14:59,610 --> 01:15:04,640
really putting the most creativity they
possibly could, you know, creating their dreams.
1029
01:15:04,700 --> 01:15:06,750
Sharing what we've got!
1030
01:15:07,900 --> 01:15:09,930
Sharing what we've got, giving!
1031
01:15:10,190 --> 01:15:14,010
I had the idea for Couchsurfing, but I felt like
it was still inaccessible to me…
1032
01:15:14,010 --> 01:15:19,760
I couldn't connect the dots from where I was
to like doing something and really going for it.
1033
01:15:20,080 --> 01:15:22,230
And when I met all of these people at Burning Man…
1034
01:15:22,240 --> 01:15:26,010
and I saw what they were doing
and how they were just going for it…
1035
01:15:26,010 --> 01:15:29,340
and they were just people like me,
it helped me connect the dots.
1036
01:15:29,340 --> 01:15:33,340
And I remember leaving
at sunset, on Sunday…
1037
01:15:33,340 --> 01:15:37,210
and telling myself, "I can be that guy",
so to speak, "I could do something…
1038
01:15:37,210 --> 01:15:40,540
"I could try my hardest
and do something interesting".
1039
01:15:40,940 --> 01:15:47,130
And so that just changed my mind and gave me
the perspective and inspiration to really go for it.
1040
01:15:47,130 --> 01:15:51,640
I'd been to Burning Man before,
but this was David Vega's first time.
1041
01:15:51,640 --> 01:15:55,160
Still getting into the groove,
I don't feel a hundred percent here yet.
1042
01:15:55,160 --> 01:15:58,240
Just kinda like slowly transforming.
1043
01:15:59,070 --> 01:16:03,480
The concept for Burning Man
was inspired about twenty-five years ago…
1044
01:16:04,190 --> 01:16:06,120
at Baker Beach in San Francisco.
1045
01:16:06,330 --> 01:16:11,980
{\an8}It was just an 8-foot man, but of course
burning human figures always draws attention.
1046
01:16:12,550 --> 01:16:16,540
It was a gift, it just was public beach
and we just gave it to everybody.
1047
01:16:24,940 --> 01:16:27,820
It's not enough just to say "love, everybody!".
1048
01:16:28,060 --> 01:16:32,500
It's about finding your being, sharing
your being, recognizing it in others.
1049
01:16:33,070 --> 01:16:37,000
Coming out here for a week,
sharing what you have…
1050
01:16:38,170 --> 01:16:42,380
finding people, sharing what they have with you.
1051
01:16:45,180 --> 01:16:48,330
It's such a startling economy.
1052
01:16:49,980 --> 01:16:53,420
An emotional agreement…
1053
01:16:54,800 --> 01:16:56,700
for fifty thousand people!
1054
01:16:57,370 --> 01:17:01,720
And now, to imagine that it turned
into the massive event that it is.
1055
01:17:01,720 --> 01:17:03,850
In gift economy you need each other.
1056
01:17:04,330 --> 01:17:06,370
You can't just pay somebody else to do it.
1057
01:17:06,370 --> 01:17:12,090
And we live today in the world,
in the West, at least…
1058
01:17:12,090 --> 01:17:19,390
where our quantifiable needs are,
for many people, fulfilled and overfulfilled.
1059
01:17:19,630 --> 01:17:21,680
But they're still starving for something…
1060
01:17:21,680 --> 01:17:25,320
and they're starving for the things that can't be
measured, you know, almost something personal.
1061
01:17:25,320 --> 01:17:29,280
I want to be fed, I want real relationships,
I want authenticity, I want intimacy.
1062
01:17:29,550 --> 01:17:35,550
And these things are, I mean,
you can pay someone to fake it.
1063
01:17:35,800 --> 01:17:38,270
But you can't pay someone to actually care.
1064
01:17:38,270 --> 01:17:40,270
Remember my friend, Alex Scott?
1065
01:17:40,480 --> 01:17:43,550
Well, she finally decided to leave her space.
1066
01:17:43,550 --> 01:17:48,110
… electrifying my taste buds, it's delicious!
1067
01:17:48,620 --> 01:17:52,990
And somebody's mom just came up
and handed it to me…
1068
01:17:52,990 --> 01:17:54,410
and then somebody handed me this beer.
1069
01:17:54,410 --> 01:17:56,830
Even our cars, you can get a ride, get a free ride.
1070
01:17:56,830 --> 01:17:59,610
— Share rides, sharing art…
— Make a friend.
1071
01:18:01,580 --> 01:18:04,670
— Hello! How are you?
— Good, how are you?
1072
01:18:05,550 --> 01:18:08,760
— Pretty good, what's your name?
— Pretty good, pretty pretty good.
1073
01:18:08,760 --> 01:18:11,440
I actually just ate a pulled pork sandwich
and it was amazing.
1074
01:18:12,750 --> 01:18:16,240
— That lady right there.
— Oh yeah, mama… she's my neighbor.
1075
01:18:16,240 --> 01:18:23,250
In pre-monetary cultures, very often status
would go toward the person who gave the most…
1076
01:18:23,960 --> 01:18:27,390
to the community, rather than the person
who had or controlled the most.
1077
01:18:27,390 --> 01:18:29,950
You know, here, it's all the people
that are all about that.
1078
01:18:29,950 --> 01:18:33,030
That get more satisfaction at giving
than you do receiving.
1079
01:18:33,030 --> 01:18:36,250
They don't want status over people,
they just want to be with people.
1080
01:18:37,020 --> 01:18:39,520
Playa? I'm surrendering day by day.
1081
01:18:41,150 --> 01:18:45,550
The first day I got here I felt like MOOP:
Man Out Of Place.
1082
01:18:46,110 --> 01:18:52,920
But little by little I'm starting to interact more, and
to kind of get the language, and the attitude, and…
1083
01:18:53,110 --> 01:18:54,190
it's beautiful.
1084
01:18:54,190 --> 01:18:58,190
And you enter into a sharing economy
or a pay it forward system…
1085
01:18:58,190 --> 01:19:00,650
you're able to kind of let your guard
down a little bit, you're trusting that…
1086
01:19:00,650 --> 01:19:03,420
Well I'm just gonna trust,
this is all gonna work out…
1087
01:19:03,580 --> 01:19:08,200
I'm gonna pay into this system, and this system
will provide, these people'll provide…
1088
01:19:08,200 --> 01:19:11,560
and these are people
who I believe and believe in me.
1089
01:19:12,030 --> 01:19:16,560
It was very nerve-wracking
almost to give gifts out.
1090
01:19:16,560 --> 01:19:20,880
I saw those rings, and the DJ would have
those rings and just give them out.
1091
01:19:20,880 --> 01:19:23,440
I carried them for two days,
I didn't give any of them out.
1092
01:19:23,790 --> 01:19:25,420
Why? I don't know, I just…
1093
01:19:25,420 --> 01:19:29,070
I just didn't have it in me to just go up to people
and just start giving them and handing them out.
1094
01:19:29,290 --> 01:19:30,510
But like, today…
1095
01:19:31,260 --> 01:19:34,830
we were walking around and that's
all I was doing and it was so amazing…
1096
01:19:34,830 --> 01:19:40,970
I mean, people were so happy and so, you know,
wanting to just come and hug and be around.
1097
01:19:40,970 --> 01:19:43,040
I don't know why it took me so long to do it!
1098
01:19:43,690 --> 01:19:45,950
I've never seen such beautiful things before!
1099
01:19:45,950 --> 01:19:49,580
Even witnessing generosity
inspires people to give.
1100
01:19:51,080 --> 01:19:54,240
So gifts create ties.
1101
01:19:54,960 --> 01:19:57,950
And you could even say that
community depends on gifts.
1102
01:19:58,060 --> 01:20:00,920
And if you have no gifts,
then there's no community.
1103
01:20:01,070 --> 01:20:03,050
When people have met all of their needs…
1104
01:20:03,280 --> 01:20:09,050
they can really get into a point in their mind and
their heart, when they can really transcend.
1105
01:20:09,230 --> 01:20:12,190
And they can transcend and create,
and ask themselves:
1106
01:20:12,190 --> 01:20:14,200
if I can do anything, with my time…
1107
01:20:14,200 --> 01:20:17,550
I'm not trying to meet these needs,
I'm not distracted by meeting these needs…
1108
01:20:17,550 --> 01:20:21,760
of, like, community and love and food
and whatever, I've got those set.
1109
01:20:22,010 --> 01:20:24,140
What can I create with other people?
1110
01:20:25,160 --> 01:20:31,100
I was really hoping, more than anything, to be
able to interview Casey Fenton on the playa…
1111
01:20:31,100 --> 01:20:35,660
but there was no cell phone coverage,
I had no way to contact him…
1112
01:20:35,660 --> 01:20:40,650
and there's fifty thousand people sprawled out
like one gigantic couchsurf.
1113
01:20:40,800 --> 01:20:45,080
If I could take that feeling from this world,
and bring that to the default world…
1114
01:20:45,320 --> 01:20:48,890
and contribute, instead of just taking all the time…
1115
01:20:49,130 --> 01:20:54,410
I think that is where this journey ends
and the next one begins.
1116
01:20:56,140 --> 01:21:00,920
And then it all made sense:
we are entering an age of sharing.
1117
01:21:01,760 --> 01:21:04,030
As I walked through the playa it hit me:
1118
01:21:04,670 --> 01:21:08,360
Couchsurfing is just a planet
in this galaxy of sharing.
1119
01:21:09,150 --> 01:21:11,500
And due to the omni-access of the internet…
1120
01:21:11,950 --> 01:21:16,480
the potential to connect safely in new ways
that were never possible before…
1121
01:21:17,440 --> 01:21:18,760
are now possible!
1122
01:21:18,860 --> 01:21:22,520
I mean, the sheer magnitude
of opportunity blows my mind.
1123
01:21:22,520 --> 01:21:24,380
And no, I'm not on drugs.
1124
01:21:25,310 --> 01:21:28,490
From couchsurfing literally around the world…
1125
01:21:28,880 --> 01:21:33,080
bike-sharing in Paris, to ride-sharing
in Germany and through Africa…
1126
01:21:33,240 --> 01:21:34,760
co-working in Brazil…
1127
01:21:35,160 --> 01:21:38,440
and even crowdfunding to raise
the money for this project…
1128
01:21:38,840 --> 01:21:42,170
without even knowing it,
I have been living a shareable life.
1129
01:21:42,800 --> 01:21:48,090
And given access to a world that once required
only money as its barrier for experience.
1130
01:21:48,480 --> 01:21:52,510
But now, sharing and social currency
are subsidizing money.
1131
01:21:53,400 --> 01:21:56,670
Sharing can change the way
we meet our basic needs.
1132
01:21:56,960 --> 01:22:00,650
The way we can do business,
and how we interact with each other.
1133
01:22:01,130 --> 01:22:05,150
By using underutilized resources,
like someone's couch…
1134
01:22:05,440 --> 01:22:07,340
it becomes a win-win for all.
1135
01:22:08,040 --> 01:22:12,040
When you are willing to share with a stranger,
you forge deep connections…
1136
01:22:12,330 --> 01:22:15,640
and the stranger is no longer so strange.
1137
01:22:28,800 --> 01:22:33,760
The man had just burned,
it's literally the last shoot of the film…
1138
01:22:35,900 --> 01:22:40,940
and who do we run into, out of 50000 people?
1139
01:23:09,330 --> 01:23:13,840
Casey continues to be a passionate
champion of the Couchsurfing spirit…
1140
01:23:14,270 --> 01:23:18,240
He now splits his time between Couchsurfing and
new innovative projects that have social impact.
1141
01:23:19,750 --> 01:23:22,080
Zohra started her own film business.
1142
01:23:22,240 --> 01:23:25,450
And to the relief of her family,
Zohra is getting married in the fall.
1143
01:23:26,990 --> 01:23:30,890
Tailek is now a lot bigger…
1144
01:23:31,060 --> 01:23:35,060
and they continue to host guests
from all over the world.
1145
01:23:35,430 --> 01:23:39,930
{\an8}Chelsea had some epiphanies
of her own at Burning Man…
1146
01:23:37,240 --> 01:23:39,930
I've unconsciously realized for a while that…
1147
01:23:40,330 --> 01:23:43,570
I am addicted to technology a little bit.
1148
01:23:43,740 --> 01:23:47,370
Chelsea is using her internet powers for good by
pioneering the Sharing Economy movement.
1149
01:23:50,010 --> 01:23:53,010
David still works for the bank…
1150
01:23:53,310 --> 01:23:56,920
but is still looking for a social business to join.
1151
01:23:58,050 --> 01:24:00,220
Gabe and Shiva are happily married.
1152
01:24:00,890 --> 01:24:03,060
I've been hosting a CouchSurfer for about 9 months.
1153
01:24:04,690 --> 01:24:06,860
Yeah, any day now he'll be moving on.
1154
01:24:08,030 --> 01:24:10,330
"Occupy Shiva"
1155
01:24:11,500 --> 01:24:15,230
Alexandra has co-authored a book with Gabe and Chelsea,
a practical guide to the new sharing economy.
1156
01:24:15,240 --> 01:24:18,570
Alex and her boyfriend keep their couch
open for surfers like you!
1157
01:25:29,050 --> 01:25:31,160
We've got to radically share now.
1158
01:25:32,410 --> 01:25:34,170
It's giving time!
1159
01:25:35,340 --> 01:25:36,800
Give-a-lujah, children!
1160
01:25:37,770 --> 01:25:39,870
Somebody gimme a give-a-lujah here!