I love the concept of couchsurfing, and want to check it out for myself. I'm going to be traveling a lot in the next year, but I'm also going to be living in some cool places, so I want to take advantage of both sides of the equation. I love meeting new people and REALLY appreciate the local touch. When I travel, I try to stay in a place for a few weeks so I can really get to know some people and get the inside scoop on the awesomeness of wherever it is that I happen to be. In the past, I've done this through WOOFing, which has always been an awesome experience. It's not always possible to stay so long, however, and sometimes you just need to be in a city! So hopefully couchsurfing will be equally awesome. As for welcoming people into my home in Brazil, when I have that set up, I look forward to returning the favor. I'd be especially psyched to help women traveling alone--I know I do endless extra research to make sure I'm traveling safely when without a partner. I'd love to make things a little easier for my compatriots by providing a safe place to stay the night.

Herded goats in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees Cuidava de cabras nas montanhas da Espanha