Traveling on Friendship: Experience Culture First Hand

⊙ By Tsira Gamisonia翻譯：思葦

Traveling on Friendship: Experience Culture First Hand

出門靠朋友——親身感受第一手文化

⊙ By Tsira Gamisonia翻譯：思葦

你聽說過“沙主”“沙子”和“沙旅”嗎？自從美國人范特在2003年推出互助自由行網絡平臺“沙發客”（https://www. couchsurfng.com/）以來，這種到異國旅行時在別人家的沙發上過夜，并在主人的引領下體驗當地文化的新型旅游方式一直深受全球潮人歡迎，注冊會員人數如今已達四百萬，遍布全球245個國家和地區。俗話說“出門靠朋友”，一段令人難忘的“沙旅”，靠的正是“沙子”與“沙主”之間純粹的友誼、互助、信任和感恩，一起來聽聽沙發客齊拉的故事！

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 ['s???(?)l] adj. 社交的，友善的，好交際的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 [d?з?] n. 蒙古包，圓頂帳篷

3) cramped [kr?mpt] adj. 狹窄的，擁擠的，受限制的

◆ Mongolia 蒙古國：位于中國和俄羅斯之間，國土面積達156萬平方公里，是僅次于哈薩克斯坦的世界第二大內陸國家。蒙古人口約為300萬，是世界上人口密度最低的國家之一。首都烏蘭巴托（Ulaanbaatar）是全國最大城市及政治、文化、科技、教育中心。該國大部分國土被草原覆蓋，北部和西部多山脈，南部則為戈壁沙漠，自然環境惡劣，可耕地較少，30%的蒙古人至今仍然從事游牧或半游牧工作。

我叫齊拉·加米索尼亞，是格魯吉亞人，不過我從八歲開始就一直住在俄羅斯的圣彼得堡了。

我可不敢說自己是個很愛交際的人。盡管我確實喜歡和各種各樣的人聊天，但是在日常生活中，我發現自己一般很難與人自然交流，經常覺得自己與周圍的現實生活有一種隔閡。有時候，要和他人交流還是得靠互聯網，因為網上交流不會產生什么心理障礙、畏懼感、距離感，等等。

找到沙發客這個平臺讓我特別高興，因為我可以通過網站在現實中認識不同的人，能夠和他們真正地聊上天。就在最近，我決定去蒙古當一回沙發客。

貝格茲（主人家）：嘿，齊拉！你好，還好吧？

齊拉：我很好，對不起，我遲到了。

貝格茲：不不不，沒關系。我的圖書館很容易找吧？

齊拉：不算太容易……

貝格茲：歡迎來到我家，這就是我的圖書館，請進。

齊拉：謝謝。

貝格茲：我在烏蘭巴托公共圖書館工作，是一名軟件工程師，也是圖書館的電腦專家。我就是在這里認識了我太太，我們現在已經有四個孩子了。我是沙發客“家庭大使”，我們家已經接待過三百位客人了。能成為大使，我特別高興。

蒙古包并不大，它既是人們做飯的地方，也是大伙兒睡覺的地方——不過即便是這樣，你也不會有一種擠在小房間的局促感。雖然帳篷里面確實沒有太多地方，但是，人們和我聊天的時候，我們感覺不到彼此之間的距離，這讓蒙古包顯得更加寬敞了。

我很喜歡這家里的幾個孩子。盡管小姑娘才讀一年級，而從他們家到學校需要花上一小時，但他們每天都會自己上學。他們將我帶到市中心，我就在城里到處走走看看。不過，要不是貝格茲給我畫好了地圖，我簡直沒辦法找到自己想去的那些景點。

貝格茲：沙發客改變了我的孩子。我曾經問兒子：“兒子啊，你為什么想學音樂，要學這種樂器呢？”他說：“我以后也想環游世界，我要當個沙發客，帶著音樂去旅行。”

做一些你從未做過的事情真是太有趣了。這是一種挑戰——對自己的挑戰。在這個過程中會產生許多嶄新的情感，得到許多嶄新的體驗，也許還會帶來一種嶄新的人生態度。

貝格茲：勞拉，讓我給你介紹我的沙發客朋友——齊拉。

勞拉（沙發客）：你好。

貝格茲：她是上周二來到我家做客的。

勞拉：這樣啊！

貝格茲：現在你就是我的新朋友啦。

齊拉：你是說你從加拿大來的？這是你第一次來蒙古嗎？

勞拉和貝格茲：是啊。

齊拉：為什么想來蒙古玩呢？

勞拉：哦，因為我想到世界各國去看看。

齊拉：哇！

貝格茲：噢，這就實現了一個目標——蒙古！

勞拉：沒錯。

在蒙古的貝格茲家里留宿是我的第一次沙發客體驗，這次經歷讓我終生難忘。謝謝你，貝格茲，謝謝你帶著我發現蒙古。

貝格茲：透過沙發客這個平臺，我們可以交到很多新朋友。我無法想象沒有友誼的人生……我相信沙發客這種做法可以改變世界，因為它不為謀利——不為謀利，這一點相當重要。