candor

shestrugglestohelpvictims,copewithher

ownloss,andtomakenofthe

nless,shefindsthatthowhohadlostall

hadthemosttoteachher.

NosuchdramaticsufferingexistsinJulie

Klinger’saccountofhertimeinLittleLina,a

hamletintheChineHimalayanmountains,

butthesufferinginLittleLinacaudbythe

Chinegovernment’conomicpoliciesis,

nonetheless,widespreadandheartrending.

Klingerfindsnoquickfixes.

Klinger’sviewofpoliticsdovetailswiththe

perspectiveLeslieMcAbeeoffersinher

accountofherworkasaPeaceCorps

volunteerinTsihombe,

ontheedgesasanoutsider,shefinds

acceptanceonlywhenshecanopenherlfto

theridiculetheTsihombenwomenface

duringtheannualWomen’sDaysoccergame.

Optimists

Theapproachtotravelabroadtakenbytho

whostoriesappearhereisconsistentwith

theviewthatsomanyMillennialshaveof

themlvesaspartofagenerationdetermined

totheInternet,

mostMillennialshavelivedwithaglobal

perspectivesincechildhood,andwhile

growingup,theyhaveoftendonevolunteer

workathomeandabroad.

Itistooearlytotellif,likethetravelersof

previouscenturies,theMillennialswillcreate

alastingliteratureabouttheirtimeabroad,

relyingontheMillennialstotelltheirown

story,wehave,asinearlierinstallmentsof

“PartyoftheFuture,”udasourmodelStuds

Terkel,whoinsuchoral-historyanthologies

asWorkingandHardTimesputthevoicesofhis

subjects,ratherthanhimlf,frontandcenter.

WethinktheMillennialsarefarbetterat

tellingthestoryofwhotheyarethantheir

lennialgeneration—nowesti-

matedatventy-venmillion—will

dominateAmericanlifeinthecomingyears.

Wewillbehearingmorefromthem.

NicolausMillsisco-editorwithMichaelWalzerofGetting

Out:HistoricalPerspectivesonLeavingIraq(A

Disnt/UniversityofPennsylvaniaPressBook).

PARTYOFTHEFUTURE

50DISSENTSUMMER2011

CouchSurfing

SARAHLEONARD

Whenwetooktotheopenroadthatleadsfrom

collegetoanywhere,myfriendKateandI

eof

everyrioustraveleristobecomeentangledin

newsurroundings,

readplaques,youvisitbazaars,yougotothat

placewheretheguidebooksayslocalsdrinktea.

w

citytendstobeallshinysurfaces,difficultto

crack.

OurplanwastotravelfromIstanbulto

BucharesttoBudapest,takingtrains,andto

avoidthetourismtrap,weturnedtoasocial

networkingwebsite,CouchSurfing.

CouchSurfingismadeupofurprofiles

(thinkFacebook),sortablebylocation,

languagesspoken,musicpreferences,gender,

urfingisdesignedtofacilitate

travelonthereal,ratherthaninformation,

highwaybyconnectingtravelerswithhosts.

Nomoneyixchanged.

Theonlyquidproquoistoleavea

favorablereportonagoodhost’sorguest’s

tsthusaddup,

formingachainofrecommendations(or

warnings)thatcomewitheachprofilepage.

Thepracticebuildsreputationswithinthe

networkandmakeshostsandguests

permanentpartsofeachother’xistence

anhavetheir

addressverifiedbythesite,andtherearea

DisntSummer2011:Disnt,5/31/20113:39PMPage50

wide-

opensystemdependsongenerosityandthe

afreecouchin

Istanbul,soonsomeitinerantwillenjoymy

’samoderngift

economy.

Itmayemoddtoputyourlifeinthe

handsofatotalstrangerinaforeigncountry.

Mymothercertainlythinksso,butlonguof

Facebook,AIM,MySpace,andLinkedInhas

shapedmyconfidenceinInternetinteractions.

I,likemanyothers,actasifsometruthdoes

neverhitchhike,butI’llsleepinastranger’s

?

LewisHyde,inhiswonderfulbookTheGift,

suggeststhat“giftexchangetendstobean

economyofsmallgroups,ofextendedfami-

lies,smallvillages,clo-knitcommunities,

brotherhoods,andofcour,oftribes.”This

makesCouchSurfingremarkableinitxpan-

siveness,afunctionof—dareIsayit?—theIn-

arityhasbeenglobalized,

andtrustcrystallizesoverenormousdistances.

OnFacebookIeabbreviatedversionsofmy

friends,buthereIudabbreviatedportraits

ofstrangerstojudgeiftheymightbecome

nsitionisn’tsohard.

Afterahopefullectionprocessandafter

exchangingdozensofmessageswithdenizens

offarawaycities,KateandIbeganourtripin

earlyAugust,

arrivedfromSanFranciscoviaaneleven-hour

flightandsix-hourlayoverinGermany,

lookingasifshehadbeenhitbyatruck.I

arrivedequallyfatiguedfromIsrael,whereI

hadparticipatedinaBirthrightprogramand

beenpumpedsofullofJewishheritagethatI

fanciedtheprogramwascontinuingwith

some“wanderingJew”component.

TheyoungTurkishcouplewithwhomwe

hadarrangedtostaythatfirstnightopened

theirdoortothissorry,

firstreactionwastoofferusshowers,andthen

toleadusintothediningroomwherethey

hadprepareddinner,andgatheredfriendsto

meetthenewguests(hostingwas,quite

clearly,awayoflifeforthem).Theirfriend

climbedtoahiddenrooftopthatshowedus

theden,hotcitycrowdinguptothebright

ookalocal’s

prideinthesweepingvistas,theminaret-

studdedskyline,butalsothedetailsthat

sweetenandpersonalizethehistoricgrandeur:

aNargileloungervingadelicioushazelnut

drink,entedusfrom

orderingfoodjustasthewaiterswereaboutto

breaktheirRamadanfast.

AsweexploredIstanbulonfootandby

publictransit,absorbinghisjudgments,

opinions,andcolloquialhistory,wethoughta

littlelessaboutspecificlandmarks,though

thowereglorious(theexquisitetilingofthe

BlueMosquecreatesakindoftranscendence

asyoureyesfollowitupthedome)andmore

dehowthe

slightlyyuppieneighborhoodwherewe

stayedconnectedaasilytothenightlife

districtinTaksimasitstooddistantfromthe

’swayof

trekkingthroughthewholecityonfootletus

glimphowaresidentmightethecityasa

connectedwhole,insteadofacollectionof

destinationspots.

Becauwewerelivingwithresidentsof

thecity,therewasnoventuringoutintoanew

world,onlytowithdrawtoasterileand

anonymoushotelroomthatcouldbeany-

fthesweltering

evenings,wearrivedhometoabirthdayparty,

ourhostsandtheirfriendsdrinkingMalibuin

thebreezylivingroomandsingingfolksongs

edin,weredulywel-

comed,andeventuallytheguitarwaspresd

onKate,andwewereobligedtosingthem

BobDylan’s“YouAin’tGoingNowhere.”

WehadacondhostinIstanbul,andthis

youngbankerremindedusthatCouchSurfing

isnottypicallyextravagant:wewerethereto

crash,,however,

teachusbackgammon,agiftthatwouldhelp

andIboughtacheapboard,andwesatinthe

heatinthepark,takinginstructionfromold

menwhostoppedtheirstrollstoraian

eyebrowatourgameandmoveourpieces.

Whenourtranscontinentalexpressdropped

usinBucharestnext,wewerefacedwiththe

former“People’sHou”ofNicolaeCeauscu,

ahideouslymetastasizedneoclassical

PARTYOFTHEFUTURE

SUMMER2011DISSENT51

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nightmarewhereBucharest’shistoricaldistrict

earnedmoreabout

communism’slegacyfromournewhost,a

redstoriesofpresssuppression

sinceCeauscu’sfallandherowndesperate

disappointmentinthecynicismofRomania’s

mblingbuildings

marringthecommercialdowntownhad

storiestoo—herehadbeenaschool,herea

herstories,thebuildingsfelt

lesslikehistoricalmarkersandmorelike

portentousfeaturesofapoliticsandeconomy

thatwerefailingdisastrously,hereandnow.

Ourpoliticalinclinations,usuallysoalive

intheUnitedStates,butsubduedbythe

strangenessofanothercountry,cameoutin

theformofnewquestionsaboutthecausfor

idthe

economystandnow?Whowasinpowerin

citygovernment?Wereyoungpeopleleaving

orstayinginBucharest?Ourhostsighedand

launchedintothetragictaleofpostcommunist

Romanianpolitics,alamentthatdidnotend

untilourdeparture.

Weweremorenervousaboutourhostin

Budapest—amanofthirty-five,livingby

’

computerprogrammer,andalthoughvery

nice,certainlynoteagertogooutatnightor

mystifiedbythe

sheernumberofpeopleinandoutofhis

apartment—hesaidhehadjoined

CouchSurfingamonthagoandhadbooked

asa

Japanewomanleavingwhenwearrived,

andaFrenchcouplewouldlaterarriveaswe

tturnedouttobekindand

generous,andhecouldn’him

ghtouthis

homemadepálinka—afruitliquor—andwe

satintotheevening,drinkingandcomparing

thefewdayswe

wereinBudapest,whilehewenttowork,we

traveledtotheoldcastleinBudaorthe

communist-erastatuegardeninthesuburbs.

“Getup,drinkcoffee,workforthestate!”

kitsch—howdelightful!Therewasalittle

pizzaplacecalledMarximnearthecastle,all

decoratedwithmilitaryuniforms,rvingpiz-

zaswhonamesreferencedvariousdespots

ewe

wouldnormallyhavefeltincommiecoffee

cupswastemperedbyreturninghomeinthe

eveningtoaflatbelongingtosomeoneinti-

matelyfamiliarwithHungariancommunism.

Comingbacktohisplacewithakitschymug

wouldhavefeltlikewearingoneoftho

trendyCheGuevaraT-shirtstoBolivia.

Onourlastday,Ipresdourhostabit—

whysomanypeople?Hehadasimpleexpla-

lfriendhadmovedoutalittle

whileago,and“It’snotgoodtogetupinthe

morningandnoone’sthere,andcomehomeat

nightandnoone’sthere.”

-

wherewewentwehadtojustifyourprence

explicitly,notjusttoafaux-enthusiastictour

guide,buttosomeonewhomighttreatyoulikea

friend,rhost’shomemade

pálinkaorhisbackgammont,wehadtobe

ietiesaboutbeingprivileged

touristsbecamepartofadialoguewiththepeo-

pletowardwhomourguiltyfeelingswereulti-

matelydirected—thelongtimeresidentsofthe

citieswewerevisiting.

Theexperienceofthetrip,sorichinhuman

interaction,wasalsoinmanywaysafunction

ernethere

wasatooltofacilitatelifeandnottoprovidea

redawidelyacces-

sibleroutearoundthatconsumeristorgy,the

urfingmadeusmore

enjoyedhospitality

withoutpayingforit,weinstinctivelytriedto

payinotherways—cooking,littlegifts,

spendingtimewiththehost—thatofcour

necessitatedamoreinvolvedrelationshipthan

thepeoplewestayedwithhasnowbecomea

partofourvisible,ve

lefttheirrecommendationsonourprofile

pages,andwehaveleftoursontheirs.

Alreadyourhosts’votesofconfidencehave

broughtveralfellowCouchSurfersto

inquireaboutmyBrooklynfuton.

SarahLeonardwasbornin1988inAnnArbor,Michigan.

ShegraduatedfromColumbiaUniversityin2010.

PARTYOFTHEFUTURE

52DISSENTSUMMER2011

DisntSummer2011:Disnt,5/31/20113:39PMPage52

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