If you've never heard of CouchSurfing.com, well it's a website where you search for (people's) couches/beds/floors to stay the night, instead of staying at a hostel or dorm or hotel. You sign up, and basically do the standard social networking site thing, except you also put up a description of what you have to offer--beds, sleeping bags, floor, couch, etc. I found out about this website when I was in Austin, Texas with Danial. Signing in at the Muséo Americano Smithsonian, we had quite a long talk with the guard manning the desk. He's a Vietnam vet, and had a peculiar interest in Muslims. Or "Moslems" as he says it. Anyway, from suicide bombers to malaria, the conversation somehow got to CouchSurfing and I checked it out as soon as I got back to Pittsburgh.
Three months later I got my first CouchSurf request. Three guys from Kansas City, Missouri are up for a drive, just because. His profile had some pretty good ratings, housemate gives the okay, so I thought "why not?". They drove to two other cities before Pittsburgh, CouchSurfing in each too. They had a red '91 Chevy Cavalier which they bought for $800. One of 'em said it made sense because they always travel together and the car only has three working doors. "Little Red", as they called it, proved an able vehicle.
When they arrived in Pittsburgh, I was pretty surprised (and a tad bit worried). At first glance, one guy looked pretty decent but had tattooed arms, another guy looked like the Big Show, the other guy looked like a stereotypical redneck. But they were all pretty nice people (if you can tell from all but a handshake and greeting). I brought them to Primanti Bros. for a sandwich they won't forget in quite a while. Big Show got excited. Despite being in a tiny car for hours, he was enthusiastic about it, and was telling us how he saw it on TV once. I don't think I've ever seen anyone unimpressed by a Primanti Bros. sandwich, and these three really enjoyed theirs. They told me about Arthur Bryants in St. Loius; apparently, that barbecue house just throws everything on a paper in a basket, and just roll it up and serve you. That does sound enticing.
They asked me what was great to do at night so I brought them up Mt. Washington. We couldn't take the incline because Big Show was afraid of heights (hahaha). This is the umpteenth time I take people on this guided tour of my adopted city and I just like how people are awe-struck by the view up there. We then drove to the North Shore to see the stadiums and get a look at the submarine USS Requin by the Carnegie Science Center. They kinda liked the South Side which we passed by earlier, so we headed there to bar hop. We settled at a place interestingly named 'The Bar' and they had a few drinks before we headed back. At my apartment, there was only one space available to park and the idiot in front wasted so much space so we had to go in and out nine times. It was amazing, really. Once snug inside the space, the car was actually half an inch from the car in front and less than three from the car behind. Respect.
They weren't exactly minimalist. Each had huge backpacks, one had Dell's version of the Toughbook with a Verizon 3G internet thingy, one was the official photographer. The laptop weighed what felt like ten pounds; it's "designed for an eight foot drop".
The next morning I had class, so I gave them directions to Pamela's for breakfast. As I finished class, they just got off the Just Ducky Tours just to see the city in the day, and were on their way to the Andy Warhol Museum. They wanted to meet up just to say thanks and grab a bite before they left for Cleveland. We drove to Squirrel Hill to get something akin to fried chicken and once we parked one of them smelled "something deep fried and delicious". We walked around trying to follow the smell, sniffing down one street after another, but then it started raining so we just went to Mineo's for pizza and cannoli.
What I guess I could take some good things from their short stay. Don't judge the book by the cover. You can never really tell this to yourself enough--people will always prove you wrong. Never assume anything. You never know what you'll end up doing, and with whom. Bar hopping, eighteen-point parallel parking, sniffing streets for the smell of something "deep fried and delicious". Sometimes it's nice having an injection of the unknown in your life. Things tend to be boring after you've settled into a rhythm or a routine, so rediscovering places with accompanying virgin eyes is really fun.
Already looking forward to my next Surfer.
Three months later I got my first CouchSurf request. Three guys from Kansas City, Missouri are up for a drive, just because. His profile had some pretty good ratings, housemate gives the okay, so I thought "why not?". They drove to two other cities before Pittsburgh, CouchSurfing in each too. They had a red '91 Chevy Cavalier which they bought for $800. One of 'em said it made sense because they always travel together and the car only has three working doors. "Little Red", as they called it, proved an able vehicle.
When they arrived in Pittsburgh, I was pretty surprised (and a tad bit worried). At first glance, one guy looked pretty decent but had tattooed arms, another guy looked like the Big Show, the other guy looked like a stereotypical redneck. But they were all pretty nice people (if you can tell from all but a handshake and greeting). I brought them to Primanti Bros. for a sandwich they won't forget in quite a while. Big Show got excited. Despite being in a tiny car for hours, he was enthusiastic about it, and was telling us how he saw it on TV once. I don't think I've ever seen anyone unimpressed by a Primanti Bros. sandwich, and these three really enjoyed theirs. They told me about Arthur Bryants in St. Loius; apparently, that barbecue house just throws everything on a paper in a basket, and just roll it up and serve you. That does sound enticing.
They asked me what was great to do at night so I brought them up Mt. Washington. We couldn't take the incline because Big Show was afraid of heights (hahaha). This is the umpteenth time I take people on this guided tour of my adopted city and I just like how people are awe-struck by the view up there. We then drove to the North Shore to see the stadiums and get a look at the submarine USS Requin by the Carnegie Science Center. They kinda liked the South Side which we passed by earlier, so we headed there to bar hop. We settled at a place interestingly named 'The Bar' and they had a few drinks before we headed back. At my apartment, there was only one space available to park and the idiot in front wasted so much space so we had to go in and out nine times. It was amazing, really. Once snug inside the space, the car was actually half an inch from the car in front and less than three from the car behind. Respect.
They weren't exactly minimalist. Each had huge backpacks, one had Dell's version of the Toughbook with a Verizon 3G internet thingy, one was the official photographer. The laptop weighed what felt like ten pounds; it's "designed for an eight foot drop".
The next morning I had class, so I gave them directions to Pamela's for breakfast. As I finished class, they just got off the Just Ducky Tours just to see the city in the day, and were on their way to the Andy Warhol Museum. They wanted to meet up just to say thanks and grab a bite before they left for Cleveland. We drove to Squirrel Hill to get something akin to fried chicken and once we parked one of them smelled "something deep fried and delicious". We walked around trying to follow the smell, sniffing down one street after another, but then it started raining so we just went to Mineo's for pizza and cannoli.
What I guess I could take some good things from their short stay. Don't judge the book by the cover. You can never really tell this to yourself enough--people will always prove you wrong. Never assume anything. You never know what you'll end up doing, and with whom. Bar hopping, eighteen-point parallel parking, sniffing streets for the smell of something "deep fried and delicious". Sometimes it's nice having an injection of the unknown in your life. Things tend to be boring after you've settled into a rhythm or a routine, so rediscovering places with accompanying virgin eyes is really fun.
Already looking forward to my next Surfer.
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