Today is World CouchSurfing Day 2008
An online network that aims to connect travellers and help them better connect with the people and places they visit is celebrating its success.
Today is World CouchSurfing Day 2008.
CouchSurfing is a movement involving more than half a million people worldwide, with the idea of helping travellers experience places and cultures by introducing them to the people who can really show them how the locals do it - the locals themselves.
And experiencing the lifestyle in Hawkes Bay is a young German working holidaymaker who has used CouchSurfing to help her make her way around Australia and New Zealand.
S W, from Cologne, decided in 2006 she wanted to spend a year in the Southern Hemisphere.
While researching how best to do this on a minimal budget she came across the CouchSurfing website.
Couchsurfing travellers can go and stay, free of charge, in the homes of people they meet on the website.
Knowing she would be asking strangers for the occasional bed when she set off on her adventures, Sonja started hosting people at her Cologne flat.
She said couchsurfing has made her trip.
"I hosted quite a few people especially during the (soccer) World Cup in 2006, and it was good for me to meet new people.
"It taught me travelling was a normal thing and not strange like my friends said."
Finding places to stay is only one thing couchsurfing offers.
"It's not necessarily about sleeping over.
"That's how it came into life but there are also meetings where people get together and do things, like go to a concert."
S came to Hawkes Bay in early February to work in an orchard, and until her job started was adrift and on her own.
Feeling lonely, she checked out the couchsurfing website and found another member here, contacted them and had a place to stay and some company until the job, which came with accommodation, began.
"My loneliness was over."
S said the couchsurfing community was not a "wonderland" of safety and security, but there were plenty of things in place like vouching and references to help people decide if they would be a good fit.
"Normally it's not a last minute thing, you exchange emails and know if you'll get along.
"If you're not rushing it's okay."
Today is World CouchSurfing Day 2008
Postnote: I read in this month's September 2008 edition of Consumer mag a 2-3 page article about couch surfing. Worth a read if you are thinking about using this service or are just interested. I've already posted the link to the main home page of couchsurfing.com in my right hand column - either under "links" or "my learning folder". :)
New Zealand Photography, a personal web log: tourism, wine country, NZ history and ICT. Click "older posts" at the base of this page to see more fun NZ photos. Best wishes to YOU, Heli. PS. If hard to view click F11 on your keyboard. There is a capacity to accept payments for invoice to Paypal at the base of right hand margin also if required. Copyright © 2007. www.helenaswebpage.com
June 13, 2008
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Blog roll - Getting ready to "shake and bake", RECIPES
- http://www.micrographics.co.nz/news/lianza-2014-team-update
- Radio New Zealand recipes - You can listen online to the National Programme, Concert Programme, International news, book reviews etc. I like listening to the National Radio Lectures, Documentaries and Forums - Brainstorm etc
- Radio stations to listen to in a civil emergency - from Get Through website
- Hbemergency.govt.nz
- Cuisine Magazine, website
- Allrecipes.co.nz
- New-zealand-on-a-plate/nz-plate-recipes
- Annabel Langbein - (new zealander) a dinner for romance, food for eight mates, changing monthly menus
- NZ womans weekly/food
- Frugal Cuisine blog from Pepper in China
- Pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz - weekly budget $100. How to make your own shampoo etc
- Healthy Eating (help for food intolerances)
- Rachaelray (Recipes based usa) southamerican etc
- Cambodian food blog
- How to cook like an Italian
- Nigella.com
- CEO of Twitter, great networking source
- Public domain blog
- Google blog
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- Storiesforspeakers blog
- Storiesforspeakers blog 2
- Storiesforspeakers blog 3
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- AndrewandNuala.wordpress.com
- LucyinAfrica
- TED Blog
- CT - story about recovery from sf
- Createreaders.natlib.govt.nz
- Nat lib blog, nzpoetlaureate
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- nzbookmonth.co.nzblogs/carla
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- Hdlwhatsthestory.blogspot.com
- Publishme/blog
- The Written Nerd
- Thinkingactingregionally
- Kaupapamaori link from core education, dereks blog
- Web Graphics How To Blog/Design-Web 2.0
- Interesting blogger from china, it, keyword rank, comment on current events
- Language courses, fees, victoria uni

JOB SEARCH and SCHOLARSHIPS/FUNDING
- www.enz.org/find-a-job.html
- www.seek.co.nz
- Trademe/jobs
- Indeed
- careerjet
- What leading job site seek has to say about salaries
- Living wage in New Zealand
- Seek/government-jobs
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- NZjoob24.com
- jora
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- careers.govt.nz - sign in for content
- blog.careers.govt.nz
- http://canterbury.careers.govt.nz/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Corp%2Bmail
- Work and Income NZ - search for a job
- Entry Requirements for jobs in New Zealand
- careers.govt.nz/create a cv/resume using CV4U or search cv in search box to get further cv templates you can download in word.
- Careers.govt.nz/who_earns_what_ in _ New Zealand
- Trademe jobs Salary-guide by industry
- careerhub, massey
- msd.govt.nz
- backpackerboard.co.nz
- seasonal work
- Statisphere
- Statisphere - appendices, list of topics
- Statistics New Zealand (Search new free database Infoshare updated daily). Create Tables to see trends over time using Table Builder and Infoshare (Census Data and Key Summary data). Great freephone help. Download tables to excel. You can also upload. See release calandar, Stats in Demand, Technical notes, quick links. Can help with knowing your market.
- allaboutfunding.org.nz
- Studylink
- NZlive.com = funding
- Youthmentoring.org.nz
- New Zealand Universities (8).
- scholarships world.org
- wordpress - start putting your ideas down, use for communicating your value and IT competence
- gov.uk/jobsearch

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