Traveling on Friendship: Experience Culture First Hand

⊙ By Tsira Gamisonia翻译：思苇

Traveling on Friendship: Experience Culture First Hand

出门靠朋友——亲身感受第一手文化

⊙ By Tsira Gamisonia翻译：思苇

你听说过“沙主”“沙子”和“沙旅”吗？自从美国人范特在2003年推出互助自由行网络平台“沙发客”（https://www. couchsurfng.com/）以来，这种到异国旅行时在别人家的沙发上过夜，并在主人的引领下体验当地文化的新型旅游方式一直深受全球潮人欢迎，注册会员人数如今已达四百万，遍布全球245个国家和地区。俗话说“出门靠朋友”，一段令人难忘的“沙旅”，靠的正是“沙子”与“沙主”之间纯粹的友谊、互助、信任和感恩，一起来听听沙发客齐拉的故事！

My name is Tsira Gamisonia. I’m Georgian, but I have been living in St. Petersburg, Russia, since eight years old.

I can’t say I’m a very1)social person, though I like to communicate with different people. But, usually, in everyday life, I find it difficult to do, and often I’ll feel some distance with real life around me. Sometimes Internet helps me to communicate with people because there is [sic] no psychological barriers, fears, distance and so on.

I was very happy when I found Couchsurfing because there I could meet different people in reality and have a real talk. And just recently, I decided to go as couchsurfer to Mongolia.

Begz (Host): Hey, Tsira! Hello, how are you?

Tsira: I’m fine. I’m very sorry for being late.

Begz: No, no, no, it’s OK. You found my library easily?

Tsira: Not so very easily…

Begz: And welcome to my home and my library. Come in please.

Tsira: Thank you very much.

Begz: I work in the Ulaanbaatar Public

1) social ['səʊʃ(ə)l] adj. 社交的，友善的，好交际的Library. My profession is software engineer [sic], but I work in this public library as a computer specialist. And then I met with my wife in the library. Now we have four children. I’m a family ambassador on the Couchsurfing Network. Three hundred people visited to [sic] my family. I’m very happy to be [sic] ambassador.

2)

Gers don’t have much room inside. It’s a kitchen and bedroom at the same time, but even then you do not feel3)cramped in a small room. There was little space there indeed, but as people were talking to me, we did not feel the space between us, and it made the ger much bigger.

I liked the children very much. They go to school on their own, even though the girl is only in first grade and it takes about an hour to get there. They bring me to the center, and then I walk by myself and look around the city. But if I did not have the map that Begz drew for me, it would be next to impossible to visit the places I wanted to see.

Begz: Couchsurfing is changing my children. I asked, “My son, why do you want to learn this music, this instrument?” He said to me, “I want to make my own trip around the world using couchsurfing, with my music.”

It is interesting doing things that you have never done before. This is a challenge, a challenge to your own self. These are new emotions and new experiences, and probably a new attitude towards life.

Begz: Laura, I want to introduce you [sic] my couchsurfing friend, Tsira.

Laura (Couchsurfer): Hi.

Begz: She visited to [to] my family last Tuesday.

Laura: Oh!

Begz: And then, now you are my new friend.

Tsira: From Canada, you say? And it’s your first visit here?

Laura & Begz: Yes.

Tsira: And why do you want to visit Mongolia?

Laura: Oh, because I want to see all the countries in the world.

Tsira: Oh wow.

Begz: Wow, and then one wish comes true—Mongolia!

Laura: That’s right.

It was my first couchsurfing experience to stay with Begz’s family in Mongolia, and I will never forget it. Thank you, Begz, for helping me, for discovering Mongolia for me.

Begz: Couchsurfing—this system is giving [sic] us to find new friends. With no friendship, I can’t imagine my life…I think that couchsurfing will change the world, because it’s not for profit—not for profit, and it’s very important.

2) ger [dʒзː] n. 蒙古包，圆顶帐篷

3) cramped [kræmpt] adj. 狭窄的，拥挤的，受限制的

◆ Mongolia 蒙古国：位于中国和俄罗斯之间，国土面积达156万平方公里，是仅次于哈萨克斯坦的世界第二大内陆国家。蒙古人口约为300万，是世界上人口密度最低的国家之一。首都乌兰巴托（Ulaanbaatar）是全国最大城市及政治、文化、科技、教育中心。该国大部分国土被草原覆盖，北部和西部多山脉，南部则为戈壁沙漠，自然环境恶劣，可耕地较少，30%的蒙古人至今仍然从事游牧或半游牧工作。

我叫齐拉·加米索尼亚，是格鲁吉亚人，不过我从八岁开始就一直住在俄罗斯的圣彼得堡了。

我可不敢说自己是个很爱交际的人。尽管我确实喜欢和各种各样的人聊天，但是在日常生活中，我发现自己一般很难与人自然交流，经常觉得自己与周围的现实生活有一种隔阂。有时候，要和他人交流还是得靠互联网，因为网上交流不会产生什么心理障碍、畏惧感、距离感，等等。

找到沙发客这个平台让我特别高兴，因为我可以通过网站在现实中认识不同的人，能够和他们真正地聊上天。就在最近，我决定去蒙古当一回沙发客。

贝格兹（主人家）：嘿，齐拉！你好，还好吧？

齐拉：我很好，对不起，我迟到了。

贝格兹：不不不，没关系。我的图书馆很容易找吧？

齐拉：不算太容易……

贝格兹：欢迎来到我家，这就是我的图书馆，请进。

齐拉：谢谢。

贝格兹：我在乌兰巴托公共图书馆工作，是一名软件工程师，也是图书馆的电脑专家。我就是在这里认识了我太太，我们现在已经有四个孩子了。我是沙发客“家庭大使”，我们家已经接待过三百位客人了。能成为大使，我特别高兴。

蒙古包并不大，它既是人们做饭的地方，也是大伙儿睡觉的地方——不过即便是这样，你也不会有一种挤在小房间的局促感。虽然帐篷里面确实没有太多地方，但是，人们和我聊天的时候，我们感觉不到彼此之间的距离，这让蒙古包显得更加宽敞了。

我很喜欢这家里的几个孩子。尽管小姑娘才读一年级，而从他们家到学校需要花上一小时，但他们每天都会自己上学。他们将我带到市中心，我就在城里到处走走看看。不过，要不是贝格兹给我画好了地图，我简直没办法找到自己想去的那些景点。

贝格兹：沙发客改变了我的孩子。我曾经问儿子：“儿子啊，你为什么想学音乐，要学这种乐器呢？”他说：“我以后也想环游世界，我要当个沙发客，带着音乐去旅行。”

做一些你从未做过的事情真是太有趣了。这是一种挑战——对自己的挑战。在这个过程中会产生许多崭新的情感，得到许多崭新的体验，也许还会带来一种崭新的人生态度。

贝格兹：劳拉，让我给你介绍我的沙发客朋友——齐拉。

劳拉（沙发客）：你好。

贝格兹：她是上周二来到我家做客的。

劳拉：这样啊！

贝格兹：现在你就是我的新朋友啦。

齐拉：你是说你从加拿大来的？这是你第一次来蒙古吗？

劳拉和贝格兹：是啊。

齐拉：为什么想来蒙古玩呢？

劳拉：哦，因为我想到世界各国去看看。

齐拉：哇！

贝格兹：噢，这就实现了一个目标——蒙古！

劳拉：没错。

在蒙古的贝格兹家里留宿是我的第一次沙发客体验，这次经历让我终生难忘。谢谢你，贝格兹，谢谢你带着我发现蒙古。

贝格兹：透过沙发客这个平台，我们可以交到很多新朋友。我无法想象没有友谊的人生……我相信沙发客这种做法可以改变世界，因为它不为谋利——不为谋利，这一点相当重要。