I believe that couchsurfing is great to connect with local people, to learn about the culture in your host country and to travel cheaply too. I had my first couchsurfing experiences in Utrecht and liked it very much! Before that, I slept on many couches of my friends and hosted some as well. I always had positive experiences and never faced any problems.

One? I can't decide! - visiting a morning prayer in a Buddhist monastery in Ladakh, India - paragliding in Switzerland - hiking through sand dunes on Texel in the Netherlands - sailing on Pangaea into the harbor of Monaco - standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon in the USA - living with a Swedish family for one week - meeting Jane Goodall in person at age 12 - camping trip through middle Sweden - joining dogsledding expeditions in Russia - swimming from Brazil to Bolivia