Couchsurfing: An opportunity or a nightmare? The Truth about Couch Surfing

Portland,Oregon...if you insist on couch surfing there

2012-01-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

When I first arrived in Portland, keep in mind I spent weeks in Seattle and Washington State in general before I arrived in Portland. Portland seemed bland right from the start. Not very colorful, the architecture of the buildings is not very impressive,and I saw a lot of brown buildings. Oh and in Portland being homeless is a lifestyle, and the homeless are very angry.

I visited the library in Portland and it was well...very brown...like most of the rest of the city....I was wearing headphones while listening to music and reading a book and a lady asked me to turn the volume down....don't make any noises there. It was like in the movies...you were afraid to turn the page of the book because it might make some noise.I was only there for maybe 15 minutes I had to leave. Not because I was thrown out, but because I felt uncomfortable.
People from Portland will talk about it like it's the best city to live in. They say the have the best public transportation system in the country. I don't think they do. What they do have is a lot of homeless people, the highest rate of depression because they rarely see the sun but they can't deal with it like the people in Seattle do.
I was only there for three days and it seemed like a month. My hostess never wanted to spend any time with me showing me around. I even said I would buy her dinner and drinks and she told me she was too busy. She had a male roommate,same story, but to give him credit, he did work a lot. She did not.
She was also broke... I gave her twenty dollars because she just made me feel so guilty because I grabbed some bread and jelly from the fridge(which she offered). Being flat broke is not the time to host people....because you are stressed out and your guest will feel it.
Very bad experience, I don't like the city and did not like my couch surfing experience.
If you want to couch surf in Oregon go to the smaller towns like Corvallis, it's beautiful and there are many others beautiful small towns in Oregon.. Portland is the ugliest place in Oregon.

Couch Surfing in Los Angeles... Welcome To The Jungle

2011-02-14T14:57:00.000-08:00

When singer Axl Rose from Guns N' Roses sang the song "welcome to the jungle" he was talking about Los Angeles. Once you get there, you'll understand why.

OK let's start with the requests to couchsurf in L.A. In New York you get a lot of rejections, but people will answer your requests. They will tell you that they are busy that day or that they have another couchsurfer staying there. A lot of couchsurfers in Los Angeles will not even reply to your requests, and it's actually most of them. They don't even bother. Try it right now. I sent more than one hundred requests and out of all those you know how many people were willing to host me? ONE. That's it. The other ones did not even reply. Yes I know I had told you before that couchsurfing in New York would be tough. Well, a lot of people don't know this, but Los Angeles is a tougher city than New York. That's because a lot of southern Californians just let life pass them by...they really don't give a fuck. In California, people are perfectly willing to wait for a traffic light to change so they can cross the street...as a pedestrian,even if there are no cars visible. New York has no tolerance for bullshit like this.

OK one thing you will want in Los Angeles once you arrive is for your host to pick you up, DO NOT use public transportation in Los Angeles. Yes, they do have it,but driving in Los Angeles is a nightmare, it takes a long time to get anywhere, and if you take the bus it gets even worse. Yes I took the bus in Los Angeles and it was the longest bus ride ever. It takes hours. I'm not kidding. There is a subway but it won't really take you where you need to go, it's not nearly as efficient as New York's subway system.A taxi..well..did I mention it takes a long time to get anywhere...riding in a taxi must cost a fortune.If you are not driving,you want to stay with a host who will pick you up and drive you around, seriously.

You want to have money if you go to Los Angeles, if your host kicks you out or backs up at the last moment, and you don't have several hundred dollars or the option to leave Los Angeles right then and there, you are in trouble, big trouble. The last place you want to end up on the streets is southern California,and especially Los Angeles, the homeless capital of the United States. Homeless shelters are not really an option. They are crowded and the conditions are not fit for a human being.

So you need a car or someone to drive you around while you are there.You need to take some money for back up. Do this and you will be OK and you will most likely enjoy the experience: Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Venice Beach (my favorite) and lots of other places to see. All the couchsurfing requests and plans should be done before you get to Los Angeles. Everything should be well planned.

If you do happen to end up on the streets or you get stranded, try to immediately take a bus to Santa Monica, it's very close. They will help you. They will even buy you a ticket back home. Do not seek help in Los Angeles. If you are ever on the streets in Los Angeles, no one cares.

But if you prepared well, and you find a good compatible host, enjoy Los Angeles.

Seattle,Washington: A Couch Surfer's Utopia

2011-02-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

If you are considering couch surfing in Seattle, then you've probably already done your homework.It's a beautiful,clean city where you can have tons of fun,especially in the summer. That's when I was in Seattle.

Now that I'm done with my couch surfing. I enjoy telling all. Although a lot of the experiences were highly enjoyable, the likelihood that I would couch surf again are slim to none. I met a lot of amazing people but I really don't want to spend any night wondering where I will sleep next and if they are going to make my experience enjoyable or not. Besides, over the last couple of years I have been doing very well financially, so it's most likely the case that if I travel I will pay for the place I stay at. I would consider,however, hosting, and I think I'd be one of the hosts that I was happier with during my travels. I would also feel it's a way to give back.Couch surfers have ways of finding out about each other, outside the website. I mean a lot of them go to couch surfing meetings and host plenty of people, or stay with a lot of different hosts, word gets around. I would not be surprised in the least if more than a couple of couch surfers I've actually met have read this blog and know exactly who I am. Some couch surfers I don't have nice things to say about, some I do. The ones I don't say nice things about will be upset and tell other couch surfers that I am a bad guest.Good. Frankly, I don't give a fuck, I don't intend to couch surf as a guest again.

I stayed with three hosts in Seattle. I don't give any names, but if they were reading this, they would know exactly who they are. The first was a woman in her 30's, the second was a woman in her 20's with two roommates, and the third was a woman in her 20's living alone.

All my hostesses in Seattle were really kind. The first woman I stayed with had a great sense of humor. When I first got to her place she asked me if I minded if she smoked pot because she was a pothead. I thought to myself " wow a couch surfer is a pothead, how unusual" of course I am being sarcastic. She was attractive, in her 30's like I mentioned, and she asked me if I wanted to smoke some pot. I said yes I will smoke some pot with her. I smoke some pot and we talked and she was so nice. I mean she laughed at every bad joke I told her, and she did not take things too seriously. She was a happy person who liked to have fun. I stayed with her for three or four nights, we watched movies, drank alcohol, and smoked weed while joking around. No nothing else happened, she was not attracted to me, she was honest with me and told me she prayed on young boys, younger than her. Maybe 18 to 26. I'm not that young anymore. It was a pleasure and she even asked me if I was going to stay another night but I told her I had already made a commitment to another hostess.

Second hostess was not home much, but when she was home she was very polite and she also had a great sense of humor. She let me have lots of personal space.She had two roommates. I remember one her roommates was an artist who always seemed to be high. He was pleasant though, but I wonder what he was on because sometimes he was way too pleasant and his voice sounded too weird, maybe ecstasy,I suspect.I never really asked him because I thought it would be rude.

Third hostess was a lovely person, with very pretty green eyes. She lived in the basement of a house, and the first night I stayed there, we went out and bought some food and wine.I bought one bottle of wine and she bought another one. Once we got back to her place, we started drinking and at one point she told me her shoulders hurt, I asked her if she needed a massage and she said yes, which led to kissing,which led to sex. I stayed at her place for six days.

Seattle is good to couch surfers.

Seattle is just a good place,even to homeless people. One of the first things you will see when you get to Seattle is homeless people. Sure, you will see a lot of nice things to, but there are lots of homeless people, because Seattle is good to them, and Seattle is expensive so it's not to difficult for someone to lose their apartment and end up on the streets, but there are still plenty of services and places to stay for the homeless.

It's not a huge city, but there are a lot of things to do and it's beautiful. Even the library was the nicest library I have ever seen. Not as big as the one in Los Angeles or New York, but more aesthetically pleasing.

So if you want to couch surf in Seattle, go without fear...

Tough Couch Surfing in New York City

2011-01-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm originally from New York. People in New York are stressed. There are many different reasons. Life is fast paced and people are living in a place they can't really afford. That might translate into a stressful couch surfing experience. The possibilities that you will be couchsurfing in Manhattan are slim to none. These hosts get too many requests, but you can stay in Brooklyn or other surrounding areas, I would just avoid Staten Island. I couch surfed in New York City for 6 weeks, I also stayed at hostels and hotels in Manhattan. Out of all the hosts I stayed with in New York City,there was only one good one. It was a lady in Brooklyn who had her own apartment complex and she let me stay in one of the vacant apartments and we would spend time every evening. That is how a host should be. They should really have resources to host,and not just any loser with a couch.She was also very polite and gave me my personal space. Instead of just putting me on a couch and walking by everytime she had to walk to the kitchen, like a lot of other hosts, who think that you don't need privacy unless you are in the bathroom. I had a great time staying there.

The next four hosts were far from perfect. I stayed with one girl in her 20's who did not have any money and she would mention it often. I bought some food from the neighborhood market and I asked if I could put it in the fridge. Since she was a vegan, I thought i would not make her feel uncomfortable so I did not buy meat and I bought some of the stuff she already had, so that she could have some if she wanted. Well she started getting my food confused with hers and everytime I would open the fridge,she thought I was eating her food! She started saying "that shit has to last me for two weeks, because I don't make a lot of money at the grocery store where I work" very, very pathetic and it was stressful for me. She was also a slut who slept with a different guys. So the second night I stayed she slept with a different guy than she did on the first one. She'd walk around in her underwear a lot of the time...and the last day I stayed she woke me up at 5 in the morning so I could leave with her.
I stayed with another woman in her late 40s in Harlem, and she would not let me stay another night at her place because she got a roommate while I was there and it was just inconvenient.
New York is a no bullshit tolerated kind of place. If you rub someone the wrong way, if they don't like something about your personality, they will not hesitate to throw you out in the street. New York is tough. People are miserable and they will not hesitate to make you miserable as well.
New York City is awesome. It's the place where I was born, but I would not recommend couchsurfing there. You want to see New York and have a good time, you want to enjoy yourself without some bitter New Yorker ruining it for you because they could hardly make their rent this month. The only ones who are not miserable are the wealthy ones who live in Manhattan, which is where you won't be able to get a couch. There are good hostels in Manhattan though, where I would recommend staying.Some are like $35 a night. You should always be prepared to stay in a hostel anyway,and in the case that you find your self kicked out of your host's place, New York may be a tough place, but it has the best homeless shelters in the country. It is open 24 hours and they will take you and feed you, without telling you that you have to replace the peanut butter sandwhich or orange juice. No guilt. No hassle. And it is as good as a hostel with clean sheets and they even give you a locker where you can put your belongings. The shelter is located in Manhattan.
Do not stay in Staten Island, I had the worst experience there. Take out all the fun and excitement of New York city and leave the bitterness,and you got Staten Island. There is nothing to do there. It might be close to Manhattan but it's not worth it to even spend nights there. There was a guy trying to pick a fight with me because I did not give him directions to get somewhere, he finally backed off when I told him I was not from there,because apparently the suitcases and bags did not give the moron any clues.
Yes, maybe not what you want to hear, but I would couch surf somewhere else. Any other city is better to couchsurf than New York. In New York, have enough money to at least pay for a hostel. Have fun.

Couch Surfing in Pittsburgh,PA...I wouldn't do it again...really

2011-01-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

After having an incredibly pleasant couch surfing experience in Ohio, Pittsburgh showed me that I still had some things to learn about mistreatment and degradation when staying at someone else's place.
First person I stayed with was a girl in her early 20's living alone. She called herself an anarchist. For a young woman she seemed very confident and sure of everything she talked about. She showed me where the anarchists gathered in Pittsburgh and I even went to one of their meetings to plant trees. Anyway, when I first got there, her apartment was modest but pleasant, and she told me I could eat anything out of whatever she had, which she didn't have much, mostly rice,she also had some cheap wine and whiskey. There was a porn movie with the cover facing up laying on the floor (not something you want a guest to see,male or female).
That was it, over the next couple of days during a four night stay, she was not home at all during the day, and when she came home, she just asked me what I did that day, as if I had been doing homework and I had to report to her.She seemed disappointed at my day's activities.
We went to a nightclub the second night, her idea, paid for her cover and her first beer, then she took off to find some friends. I was left by myself to drink, bored, I must have had about five or eight beers and then I went out to the dance floor to find her. She was dancing with two other women. I placed my hand on her shoulder and said I'd like to stay but I'd probably needed to go since she did not have transportation and neither did I but she was going to go somewhere else after the club closed.
Last day,she gave me a hug after giving me a lecture about how you NEVER put your hand around your host's shoulder,ever. I apologized and said I understood.She gave me a good review on the couch surfing website, but everything would change in two days.
I was still in Pittsburgh staying with another hostess, when she texted and said she found out some of the rice and whiskey were gone. She said I had been very disrespectful and I pointed out that she had told me to help myself to anything, then she said that she had said it but she didn't think I was going to eat so much rice and drink half of the $5 dollar whiskey bottle, she said she was sorry but she was going to change the reference on the website because she said she had to do it for the couch surfing community.
So she changed the reference she gave me from positive to neutral. Then I just changed hers to negative because she just kept texting me that I took advantage and ate all her rice and this and that,so guess what she did? she changed it to Negative too ha ha what a surprise.All for the sake of fairness for the couch surfing community, right?
Then she messaged me to say that if I ever gave her a hard time, she would go to the authorities. Can I tell you the last thing I wanted to do was give her a hard time? I was DONE with her.I did not want any type of contact with her in any way. What was really funny though, is that when I came back to Denver I heard her fucking bullshit stories about me from another couch surfer. This Pittsburgh girl was immature. Like I said, she gave me a positive review right after I left,and according to her, when she found out her rice was gone, she changed the reference,and then for some reason, the arm I put around her started to bother her for the following weeks and she even said to others I touched her leg.I got tons of rice and food in my fridge,and can I tell you the last thing that I would give anybody shit about is eating all the rice? How ridiculous!
I looked at her profile recently and she says if you want to stay with her then you will be staying on the floor in the living room and warns you to not take showers that are too long . She also has a roommate now because apparently she cannot pay her rent buy herself anymore.Immature broke ass loser. If you stay in Pittsburgh. I recommend you stay with someone who is not that uptight and who has resources to host you, not someone who says you have to replace all the food they offer you. Better yet, save your money and go to New York if you are going to go to the Northeast, instead of visiting lame cities like Pittsburgh or any other shit cities in the Northeast. After you go to New York, Pittsburgh will seem like a farm in Kentucky in comparison.

Back in Denver...and Couch Surfing...

2011-01-17T09:48:00.001-08:00

I really wanted to know what's it like to couch surf in the city where I live most of the time. Besides, I needed time to find a place after traveling and couch surfing for months. Denver...and I just came here at the right time...during a blizzard on November 2009. My first host...he wasn't too bad but I was not too happy with him either.. but it all went a lot better after that. Do you want to know the problem with my first host? here it is...
After I got back I wanted to relax a bit and rest. One thing that gets on my nerves is when a host will ask you what you are going to do...give me some time to sit down!! and during a blizzard that was not considerate. Now he had two roommates...and wow the girl..I don't know how she was even on couchsurfing.com! She never smiled and she was a bitch. My host had already accepted that I stay at his place and she decided that I was not going to stay while I was on my way there! I was probably in Nevada when I received a text from her. I told the host who had accepted my request,who is her roommate, that I was already on my way. So he talked to her and she changed her mind. Then when I got there, we just started a conversation that did not really go anywhere.I told her I admired the guy that the movie "Into The Wild" was based on. She said he was just a spoiled brat. The guy died in the wild, what has this bitch ever done that gives her a right to say harsh things about him? and not to mention not having any respect for people who have passed away.
The male host started acting like a dick the second day I got there. He took me to a couchsurfing meeting, got real drunk and he had the bright idea that since there was so much snow around, it would be fun to speed, so he started speeding! with me in the fucking car! what is worse, after about 10 minutes of stupid speeding his piece of shit car broke down and we had to walk for an hour to get home.It was around 10 or 11 PM and it was very cold, like 10 degrees or even colder than that. All because the bright guy decided to speed. Oh we would have been home sooner, but the guy decided it would be fun to play in the snow on the way home. All I could thing during the walk home was "fuck!", but anyway, as much as this guy goes to couch surfing meetings,maybe he will learn something someday about treating PEOPLE, not just couch surfers, with some respect, and get this" I wore tennis shoes to Denver, and during the walk home, my feet were freezing from walking in the snow, I mentioned this to the guy and he said "yeah wearing tennis shoes in this weather is not very smart" well neither is speeding a piece of shit car when the snow is up to your knees!!
Anyway the host decided on the second day, and I suspect it was her influence,that I was not going to stay home during the day because they were all going to be gone, and to top it all off, she took me to a restaurant where shrimp and expensive meals were served, expecting me to get myself something from there. I really wondered the entire time...which was two nights...how did this fat, unpleasant bitch ever decided to get an account on couchsurfing? so she can torture people? Anyway, fuck her...

After that, my other three hosts I had in Denver were wonderful...I stayed with a single girl who let me borrow keys to her apartment...I stayed in a nice house for two weeks without my host even being there because he was in Argentina. That was great...it was more like house sitting but it was still great and it felt amazing that someone could treat me with respect and so much trust even without knowing much about me. I watered this guy's plants, got his mail for him and even replaced anything I had taken as far as food (which he offered).

My couchsurfing experience in Denver started out as a bad experience, but I've had worse, and anyway, it ended in a very nice way, with a great host.

The Uptight Stoner Couchsurfer

2009-08-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

I requested her couch in the morning,and she accepted my request. I got to the city (Sacramento,CA) at night. I had hitchhiked all the way to the city,and I called her as soon as I arrived and she picked me up.
She was stoned when she picked me up. She was talking gibberish and crossing a couple of red lights, until we got to her place. When we got to her place,the smell of marijuana was very strong but there was no other evidence of drug use. She asked me to go outside and we talked a bit outside about her couchsurfing experiences and her job overseas as an ESL teacher. She was attractive. Her smile reminded me of my beautiful exgirlfriend. A blond with blue eyes and a nice body.
The following night, she invited me for drinks,but the bar nearby was closed. I told her I did not have much money,and she said that would not be a problem,but since the bar was closed we decided to just stop at a grocery store to buy some cheap wine. I told her I smoke pot every now and then and "she said,oh my god,i did not know,I was trying to hide the fact that I smoke pot,but when you got to my place,I knew I you could smell it" yeah big deal, so she told me that we could smoke a joint once we got back to her place.
When we got to her place,she took out a bag of pot and put it on the table with the wine.She asked me what type of music I like. I said to create a station in Pandora with the band Combichrist.I told her it was electronic music. She sat back down on the couch across from the table,and then we started hitting the pipe,and drinking wine. After a while,she said that the music was making her feel weird. I asked her how. She said that it reminded her of being attacked or raped or something to that effect. I laughed and I told her it was just music. I casually mentioned to her that I had read a psychology book about rape. She started talking about rough sex and then interrupted herself and asked me "wait,so what is your stance on rape?,because I live alone,and you better tell me if you want to countinue staying here" her face changed and she looked very aggressive and told her that i thought rape was wrong but that I believed she was getting too uptight and asked her if we could change the subject.
She said "so what do you want to talk about?" I told her it did not matter and i could not really come up with anything because I was too stoned and a little uncomfortable about she had just said.she got up and was gone for about 15 minutes, and then asked me if I wanted to watch a video with her,it was about this kid called David and how he acted under the influence of thedrugs the dentist had given him.So I was laughing very hard, because the video was awfully funny, but she was not laughing nearly as hard as I was, then I asked her to play it again, and she said "ok but after this I have to go to bed" I told her she could go to bed anytime she wanted to, I just wanted to watch the video again.
So she went to her bedroom and I crashed on the living room couch.
She had let me borrow a backpack that was in really bad shape, I returned it before I left. She sent me a text message saying that her backpack was totally destroyed and that she thought I should replace it but whatever. I told her I would send her a check and she said "I don't want a check,just forget it" and then she went on to say that she felt taken advantage of because hosting had cost her money, no kidding! Hosting does cost money. I don't know if she wanted to be financially compensated or if she just wanted to complain.
One thing I'm sure of,is that this girl had serious emotional problems,on top of that, she was unemployed,so she should not have been hosting,but I bet in her mind she was so great just to let me crash on the couch and did not pay attention of how uncomfortable she made me feel.

What you should know before you couchsurf

2009-05-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Are you considering couchsurfing? I have been a couchsurfer for years now,and I will talk about my couchsurfing experience as well as some things to avoid.

Let's start with the most popular site: couchsurfing.com It sounds like a wonderful thing at first: free accommodation, you get to meet new people, new places. However, couchsurfing.com is really not as great as it sounds. Granted, I have had fabulous couchsurfing experiences, but a lot of them have been less than satisfactory.Of course all the hippie, idealistic vegan couchsurfers will tell you it's one of the greatest experiences of their life.No it's not. It may seem that way if you are overly idealistic or smoking pot and eating lettuce all day. I am a realistic couch surfer. I see good and bad in people. I expect good and bad in people. The experience is less than perfect or ideal the more you do it. Let's start with my experience with the website itself. If you are going to a place that is very touristic, where a lot of people like to go, beware, you will need to do the couchsurfing requests maybe a month or two in advance. A lot of the hosts in these places can be rude and indifferent to your requests, but most of them will wish you "good luck" as if that made a difference. If you are going to a place where tourists are not all over, then a request two to three weeks in advance is fine.

If you don't have any references, at first it will be very difficult to get someone to host you, most of the hosts want to know that some other hosts have had positive experiences with you, they don't want to take risks, which is understandable, if there are any couchsurfing meeting in your town,you might want to attend them so you can get to meet some hosts and couchsurfers,then you can send them a friend request or ask for a reference on the site, this will be of some help,but don't worry, there will always be some adventurous couchsurfer willing to host you even without references.

Send at least 10 couchsurfing requests a day to different people . This may sound like a lot but after you start sending requests, you will understand, because a lot of these people will reply with rejections. Some will tell you that they will be busy that week you are in town, some will not even find your request until after a month or two because they will stop logging into their account, some forgot to update their profile and will tell you that they are actually in another country, but obviously were too lazy and selfish to update it before they left,some will reject you if you are a man because they think you might stick your dick out at the wrong time, etc etc.
About half of the hosts on couchsurfing.com are really just experimenting and their heart is not really where it's supposed to be,and a lot of them are genuine hosts with real desire to help and meet other people from other places and cultures, but a lot of them are either just experimenting or want to feel like good samaritans. Some of them don't even have a couch and either they have not updated their profile or they created the account for fun and never log in again, some of them say they have a couch and then they respond with"oh sorry, I'm in Ireland, but good luck" you might want to check on their profile where it was they logged in from the last time they logged in.
Once you get someone willing to host you,don't get too excited. Some of the hosts want you to leave in the morning when they leave for work or whatever they might be doing. I had this guy having me leave at 6 or 7 in the morning and the guy came back around 12 midnight, but the guy thought he was being really kind for hosting me, actually, when i found my self in that situation, I thought to myself a hostel would have been much, much better,it would have been worth the money instead of going through that.I don't mind leaving when a host is leaving for work sometimes, but if they are out all day, c'mon that is just not very thoughtful. I prefer the hosts who actually let me have the keys for the length of my stay(but you should never ask for keys,you should let them do this on their own), because really, if you are going to do something, do it right,go all the way, don't do things half-ass! and that is my opinion. I am a good guest and I will usually wash dishes,take out the trash and even be willing to work a bit if my host would request me to do so. Getting back to these hosts that leave for the day and don't leave you keys, my recommendation is, don't do it. These hosts are dicks that want to feel like they are doing something good.You will usually notice that these types of hosts are only willing to host you for a night or two. Not only will you not get enough sleep, but leaving their place and getting back to it will usually be awkward. Now if they leave at nine AM and they return at 4 or 5 that is not so bad and you may be able to see the city and do what you want to do and still have the option to come back early if you wish to do so to rest.
Another thing that you might want to ask about before you stay with your host, is how many people live in the place you will be staying at. Some hosts will live with 5 or 6 other people and you will not find out until you get to their place. Yes, it happened to me, and the hosts somehow did not think that it was important to mention. It is important. Especially when the roommates are obnoxious and loud.
Let's talk about your host's food,if you don't have to take your host's food, I suggest you don't. Some hosts will immediately panic and assume you are trying to take advantage of them if you take their food. I would suggest not to do it, even if they offer.I once had a host tell me I could help myself to anything in the fridge,and then when I actually did, she was indignant and complained about it,saying that I was trying to freeload and a lot of condescending things. Learn from my mistake. Don't do it.Unless you are traveling on very limited resources and your host offers you food, but I suggest telling your host your situation or they will just come to the conclusion you are taking advantage, if you have the option, don't touch their food or their fridge. I had another host, I was buying my own food and putting it in her fridge,what happened is she got my food confused with hers and somehow came to the conclusion I was taking her food!! She started making comments like" that food has to last me for two weeks" when I was not even taking her food! I was just using her fridge! which she had said it was ok in the first place! so I really suggest not only not taking any of your host's food, but avoiding the kitchen area if you can, you can either eat out or dumpster dive for your food, there are also places where you can get free food, which is where the homeless people go, if you do some investigating. Some are listed on the internet.And do not stay with any host who even vaguely mentions someone who ate their food, etc. If these people are so broke that someone drinking some orange juice will affect them financially, they should not be hosting. Hosts should have resources to host. Would you ever host a party without booze,drinks or food? No. So don't stay with someone who considers themselves great hosts because they got a fucking couch and nothing else.
Now if you are a male and your host is a female, or viceversa. No touching! Do not touch your female host! There are cultural differences but a many of the hosts will automatically assume you are trying to go to bed with them. Don't do it! If you are attracted to your host, don't make any move unless your host gives you a clear indication that he/she is attracted to you. Hosts,especially female hosts, do not think of couchsurfing as a context for romantic or sexual encounters. Keep this in mind, things can get really awkward and uncomfortable if you come from a culture or country where is no big deal to touch women or to flirt with them,and then you try to do the same with your host! Some hosts don't understand some cultural differences or the fact that some attraction may be normal. They automatically feel unconfortable if you flirt or try to make a move on them, I would suggest trying to get laid somewhere else in the city, really.Besides, if you are a man couch surfing with a female host, it's as if you did not have a gender all of a sudden. "Oh sleep with a couch surfer?that's unthinkable" your desirability as a male drops below that of the kid working the cash register at McDonald's. A lot of women should not even host men.
A lot of the hosts have not done much couchsurfing or none at all, so they don't undertand that when the couchsurfer gets to their place they will most likely be tired,hungry,and cold. Some inconsiderate hosts will tell you there is a restaurant downtown or two blocks from there. I consider that very thoughtless, but as I said, you don't really want to eat their food anyway, the only exception to this would be when you first get to their place, some thoughtful hosts will understand that you are hungry and tired and some will cook you a meal! I suggest you always carry some snack or grab a bite before you get to your host's place.After they cook you a meal though,stay away from the kitchen and their food.I had some host reply to this blog upset because I describe the couchsurfing experience as less than perfect. Some say if I got a free bed, I shouldn't complain. These are exactly the type of hosts you want to avoid, people who think that since you are getting a bed you are getting a good deal no matter what type of other degradation they put you through. If you are a couchsurfer without dignity who is just happy to get a free bed, this blog is not for you.

Don't stay too much time indoors. Go out and explore. Use the couch as a place to rest and crash and use your computer.

I've never had problems with showers. I take a shower everyday, and none of my host's have objected to that. I have heard however, about some couchsurfers who smell bad, you definitely want to avoid smelling bad if you can, some hosts have a washer and dryer and will welcome you to use it. Definitely use it if you must. You do not want to smell bad, wear deodorant to avoid smelling bad later in the day.

Hosts, ironically, have a consumer mentality. They will always tell you about restaurants and bars like you have all the money in the world. They have jobs and routines they follow everyday, very few of them live adventurous lifestyles or travel a lot. Most of them work a lot. Some claim to be anarchists but they are really not. A lot of them will be vegetarian or enviromentalists, and you can learn a lot about these lifestyles. Do not be offended when they suggest you spend money on this and that place,they live in their own little bubble, which is part of the reason that they want couchsurfers in their place to begin with, they are trying to breakout of their bubble, their routine, the monotony. If you would be just as a hard working and consumer minded as they are, you would be comfortable with the way they view the world. My philosophy is, live more, travel more,work less. Most of my hosts do not share this view. They work a lot and spend a lot, and if they don't have as much money as they would like, they will complain a lot too.

Very few hosts get it 100% right,but then again, they learn as you learn.

The best couchsurfing experience was not even through the website, I did it on my own while I talked to some people in town. They did not even know about the site and had no interest in it. So you might want to socialize or just talk to people when you get to your destination, and you may be surprised how kind and generous people can be, couchsurfing can be a great experience,it can be an opportunity to see the way people live,to see different places with free accomodations, to experience different cultures and ways of life, but if you are not careful, it can be awkward, uncomfortable, and even turn out to be a complete nightmare.