28 year-old Cliff Williams is on the trip of his life. The day after Labor Day, with nothing to lose, he set off to see the world, starting from his home in Boston. His first destination-Ireland.
One down- 30 more to go.
For the next year Williams will travel to over 30 countries and 70 cities. While most people go on extensive travels to "find themselves," Williams is going to find other people. He will be trekking the world, couch by couch. His itinerary is full of reserved couches, which he will crash on while visiting the owners' country. But it won't be the same as visiting your cousin abroad. Williams has never met any of these people before.
It's called Couch Surfing and it comes with a very hang loose mentality, taking traveling by the cuff to a whole new level. Couch Surfers such as Williams find their hosts online on the Couch Surfing website, www.couchsurfing.com, a community of people who offer their couches to travelers in return for an open couch when they decided to get up and go themselves.
For Williams, this trip will be his first venture outside North America and he's hoping to learn a thing or two. "I'm really sick of America. We (Americans) are just so unaware of what's out there," he said. "People just don't really care about what's out there. It pisses me off. We are such a huge influence in the world and are trapped in our own lives and self absorbance."
At home, Williams worked in the engineering science field, which he says is all about money. "I became very disenchanted at my last company which degraded their workers. There was a lot of back stabbing and I couldn't handle it anymore." He was also engaged but things between him and his fiancé didn't work out. "Since then I've been kind of lost," he said. So he was ecstatic when his company terminated his employment because of company downsizing. It was just the extra push he needed to pursue the adventure he had always dreamed of.
"I don't have any kids. If I don't do it now, I might not have the opportunity to do it again," said Williams.
When he originally started planning his itinerary, he started to plot his destinations based on events and holidays that were happening around the world. But booking hotels during high travel seasons turned out to be pretty expensive and he'd be traveling alone.
"I hope couch surfers can open my eyes to the locals and their culture. If I stayed in hotels and hostels I wouldn't be experiencing the culture as much," said Williams. He hopes his trip will help him gain a better perspective of the world from the strangers he meets along the way, as well as from some distant relatives who live Finland. Only his 91-year old grandfather has communication with their family in Finland and before Williams left, he rummaged through family records to find any information he could to track down and figure out how to connect with his family members.
After his journey, Williams said he plans to either get his PHD or join the peace corps. But who knows. He also wouldn't mind writing a few books or screenplays and fulfilling another dream of his, becoming a writer, which might not be so far fetched. After this journey, it's a sure bet he won't be at a loss of words.
One down- 30 more to go.
For the next year Williams will travel to over 30 countries and 70 cities. While most people go on extensive travels to "find themselves," Williams is going to find other people. He will be trekking the world, couch by couch. His itinerary is full of reserved couches, which he will crash on while visiting the owners' country. But it won't be the same as visiting your cousin abroad. Williams has never met any of these people before.
It's called Couch Surfing and it comes with a very hang loose mentality, taking traveling by the cuff to a whole new level. Couch Surfers such as Williams find their hosts online on the Couch Surfing website, www.couchsurfing.com, a community of people who offer their couches to travelers in return for an open couch when they decided to get up and go themselves.
For Williams, this trip will be his first venture outside North America and he's hoping to learn a thing or two. "I'm really sick of America. We (Americans) are just so unaware of what's out there," he said. "People just don't really care about what's out there. It pisses me off. We are such a huge influence in the world and are trapped in our own lives and self absorbance."
At home, Williams worked in the engineering science field, which he says is all about money. "I became very disenchanted at my last company which degraded their workers. There was a lot of back stabbing and I couldn't handle it anymore." He was also engaged but things between him and his fiancé didn't work out. "Since then I've been kind of lost," he said. So he was ecstatic when his company terminated his employment because of company downsizing. It was just the extra push he needed to pursue the adventure he had always dreamed of.
"I don't have any kids. If I don't do it now, I might not have the opportunity to do it again," said Williams.
When he originally started planning his itinerary, he started to plot his destinations based on events and holidays that were happening around the world. But booking hotels during high travel seasons turned out to be pretty expensive and he'd be traveling alone.
"I hope couch surfers can open my eyes to the locals and their culture. If I stayed in hotels and hostels I wouldn't be experiencing the culture as much," said Williams. He hopes his trip will help him gain a better perspective of the world from the strangers he meets along the way, as well as from some distant relatives who live Finland. Only his 91-year old grandfather has communication with their family in Finland and before Williams left, he rummaged through family records to find any information he could to track down and figure out how to connect with his family members.
After his journey, Williams said he plans to either get his PHD or join the peace corps. But who knows. He also wouldn't mind writing a few books or screenplays and fulfilling another dream of his, becoming a writer, which might not be so far fetched. After this journey, it's a sure bet he won't be at a loss of words.
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