The CouchSurfing Project providesan innovative method of travel tothose looking to broaden their horizons,make new friends and save a fewbucks. Outside the realm of hotels andtourist traps, CouchSurfing gives travelersa unique opportunity to absorb the authenticculture of a city by pairing themwith someone who lives there.How does it work?Much like MySpace and Facebook, userscreate personal profiles on the CouchSurfingWeb site (www.couchsurfing.com) tofind people to host them in the city theywould like to visit. Users list anything fromthe languages they speak to their hobbiesor “current mission” in life.Profiles can be viewed by any memberof the project, and all communicationthrough the Web site is recorded. From theinformation listed on a surfer’s profile, userscan gather if that person would be theirideal host.The only cost to surfers and hosts is thewillingness to open their homes and heartsto other travelers.Is it safe?Sleeping on a stranger’s couch in a foreigncity has been an unnerving concept forsome. Crystal Murphy, an ambassador forCouchSurfing who is based in Birmingham,Ala., said she has hosted more than70 people and has “surfed” more than 20times without having any problems.The CouchSurfing project is a nonprofitorganization so no money goes into advertising,Murphy said. Most users learn aboutthe project through positive referrals fromothers, she said. It’s those referrals that havehelped more than 475,000 users worldwidebecome involved in the project.Of those users, there have been more than720,000 positive experiences reported tothe Web site.”I think people think [CouchSurfing] isdangerous,” said Anna Wilhelm, a seniormath and Spanish major at TCU.She said a trust mentality has to exist betweenusers similar to the idea behind eBay.If someone receives a bad reference, no onewill shop with them again, she said.Of about 80 CouchSurfers in Fort Worth,a few are TCU students.Past SurfersName: Jennifer PippinMajor: International communication with a global advertising/public relationsemphasisCurrent Mission: “To finish my senioryear and figure out my life”For Pippin, CouchSurfing in Ibiza, Spain,last summer was more than an alternativemethod of travel 8212; it was necessary. In Ibiza,one of the world’s renowned vacation destinations,hotels and nightclubs are expensive.Her vacation could’ve cost more than$1,500, Pippin said, but she spent about$300. She said her host put her name onVIP guest lists at nightclubs, drove heraround the island and introduced her tohis friends.”I felt like I was in paradise,” Pippin said.Most people unfamiliar with the goals ofthe CouchSurfing Project think Couch-Surfing is a dating service, she said, andit’s not. The project is about opening yourhome to experience a different culturewithout judging it first, she said.Name: Mary BaumanMajor: Graduate student, speech-languagepathologyCurrent Mission: “To do it all”Although she’s a trusting person, Baumansaid, she had her fair share of concernsbefore embarking on her first CouchSurfingexperience in Barcelona. Bauman hassurfed eight different times and her firstexperience remains her most memorablemostly because of the excitement, she said.Her host’s mother cooked for her and shealso had her own room, she said. Her hostwas very involved with CouchSurfing and lliked to take others around to show themthe city, Bauman said.CouchSurfing is not just a Web site to findfree places to stay 8212; that’s not the point,she said. It’s a tool to help travelers meetothers and form connections to peoplearound the world, she said.Name: Matt BuongiornoMajor: Political scienceCurrent Mission: “Be silly. Be honest. Bekind.”Buongiorno said he joined the CouchSurfingProject because he wanted to immersehimself in a city’s culture.”I wanted to step out of the conventionalframe of travel,” he said.His first CouchSurfing experience startedone weekend when he couldn’t fight theurge to climb a mountain 8212; literally. Heflew to Salt Lake City and hitchhiked tothe base of a mountain.Before his flight he had contacted a Couch-Surfer, a student at the University of Utah,and arranged to stay with her. He remainsin contact with her and the other four peoplehe has surfed with.Buongiorno said he hosted a CouchSurferfrom England, while living in a residencehall. A meal at The Main and a shower inthe community bathrooms gave the surfera true-life view of life at TCU.A student in Flagstaff, Ariz., hosted Buongiornoand his friend so they could hike inthe Grand Canyon. He said an entire wallof her apartment was covered in artworkother surfers had made for her.The CouchSurfing Project brings togetherlike-minded people to travel uniquely, hesaid. It brings people outside the travel industryto form global connections.A small worldThe U.S. is the most popular country forCouchSurfers, and Europe follows closebehind. CouchSurfers span the globe fromSan Francisco to Istanbul, Turkey, and anywherein between.Alex Allin, a senior social work major, saidshe stayed with a young woman in Franceand then hosted her when she visited Dallas.She said the idea of “giving back” is themost interesting and important part of theproject.With more than 345,000 couches worldwide,it’s just a matter of figuring outwhere to visit.