Hoping to go surfin’

I am pleased to say that I am writing this from the peace and quiet of our kitchen table on a Saturday morning. I am all by myself… I just read through my last post and I guess it reflects the conditions I was writing under very well…a piece of true authentic writing :). Hopefully this post will feature fewer mistakes and more cohesive thinking…
There is not much going on in our lives at the moment, we’re all bumbling along more or less happily. Lyon is lovely, the weather is so mild, the birds are singing and I am almost lulled into some sort of spring happiness… But I know that this is happiness and the pleasant temperatures of about 12 degrees Celsius and sunshine are not to last. Winter will catch up with us again before long :(.
Rolf is incredibly busy, he has another deadline to meet on Sunday, Linus and Lucy are both busy with school, and I have started working on my project. This is scary, because, as usual, the more I read, the bigger a topic grows and I am totally lost in the woods right now. But I also know from experience that if I carry on and let things work inside my brain, some idea will strike eventually and then suddenly everything will fall into place. Creativity in thinking is a funny thing, because it happens to me only if I put in the hard work and let the information stew. Then, in retrospect, it seems that ideas pop up out of nowhere… But as we are plodding along happily and nothing super-exciting is happening in Lyon, let me tell you about the website I registered with the other week, because this I find exciting…

I am now a member of the couchsurfer community. Have you heard about this? I read about it in the Guardian some years ago, loved the idea and forgot about it. It was Rolf’s cousin who visited some months ago who reminded me of the concept, when she told us about her experiences in couch surfing. It works like this: You register to become a member of this world-wide organisation. Then you can either offer your couch to people who visit your country and town, meet them for a coffee, or, obviously go couch surfing yourself. The website allows you to get in touch with people and see their profiles and rating. Obviously, one has to be careful when choosing a host, but the rating and vouching system seems pretty well thought out to me, so I am more than happy to give it a try. I probably won’t use the network extensively in the near future, because I do not have the time and money to go travelling the planet at this point in my life, but I am inspired by the concept and I will certainly try to surf my way through the university seminars I will be attending this year. Not just to keep the cost down (although this is a big plus!) but mainly because I will be meeting interesting people and hear their stories. And who knows, some years (decades??) down the line, when the kids have grown up and if I am lucky enough to be fit in body and mind with some time on my hands, I might actually be able to go couch surfing with my man? Oh, I AM excited :). I think this is a great idea to facilitate global cultural exchange on a personal level and to get to know places from an insiders’ point of view. It makes such a huge difference if you arrive in a place as a tourist who has to find her bearings (I never travel well prepared…) or if there is someone meeting you who can tell you about the local infrastructure, places to go and show you around a bit. This is perfect for me, I will tell you about my experiences once I get travelling :).