By Arthur Asseraf

A while back I caught a news report on something called “couch surfing1” and the network of unbelievably trusting souls who make this phenomenon possible. They offer to put up travelers， free of charge， for one or two nights to give them a place to lay their heads and help them on their ways. At first blush， it sounded dubious.2 I mean， inviting strangers into ones home？ For a sleepover？ Gimme a break.3

However， I was intrigued4. I decided to investigate. I read profile upon profile of members of the couch-surfing community， and then my curiosity went into overdrive and I decided that the only way to truly learn about this phenomenon was to dive in.5 And so I planned a trip to Finland， a country Ive always wanted to explore. I would travel the length and breadth6 of the place by train， and I would couch surf at every stop.

If ever any anxiety existed—and there is always an element of anxiety when stepping into the unknown—it evaporated when my first host met me at the train station in Helsinki.7 Ari looked like my idea of a typical Finn： tall， blond， and blue-eyed. However， Finns were also supposed to be famously reserved. Ari was anything but.8 He was a live wire， giving me an effusive welcome and hiking with me to his apartment， where he showed me the sleeper sofa， served me tea， and then engaged me in animated conversation.9 He also handed me a key with a directive to come and go as I pleased.

If this was what couch surfing was all about—trust and welcome—then I had gotten off to a spectacular start.

I quickly discovered one of the bittersweet10 aspects of couch surfing： having to say goodbye so soon after getting to know somebody. But to paraphrase Robert Frosts famous words， I had miles to go before I slept， and so， after two days， I headed to my train and the coastal city of Turku，11 where my next host， Juri， met me.

Lean and wild-haired， Juri was the anti-Ari， but no less generous. He wanted to hang out and dedicated a big chunk of his day to showing me around his city and teaching me how to use the bus system for the forays I would make under my own steam.12

As I boarded my next train for the north of the country， I began to dwell upon13 this couch-surfing idea. What impelled14 these people to open their homes to strangers？ To hand over their keys？ To want to spend time with these travelers？ I concluded that there was an element of curiosity， but also a desire to reach out and lend a hand to like-minded folks who might， at some level， enrich their own lives.15 This came home to me in spades when my next host drove 30 kilometers16—nearly 20 miles—to pick me up at the train station and take me to her familys home in a rural area of central Finland.

The family of five received me like a long-lost relative， showed me around， shared their food， and chatted with me into the night. The day before I was an unknown quantity， but now they were asking when I would be back.

The journey continued—to another Ari in Kokkola， to Jamppa in Oulu， and Ville in Kuopio， where my host took me to a traditional Finnish smoke sauna on the banks of a mist-shrouded lake in the woods.17 As we cooled off by the lake after one of our rounds in the saunas inferno18， I spoke up. “Ville， this， as we say in English， is the icing on the cake19.”

Seven cities in 14 days. Seven hosts. Seven new friends. Before I left for my Finland odyssey20 an acquaintance back home remarked， “Arent you afraid？” I wasnt sure of an appropriate response then， but I am now： Of what？ If couch surfing taught me anything its this： Most people are good. Most people are generous. And there is a basic human impulse21 to connect.

Where will couch surfing take me next？ Who knows？ But I cant wait to find out.

1. couch-surfing： 沙發(fā)沖浪，沙發(fā)客。最初是一個由美國人發(fā)起的交換住宿信息的平臺，逐漸也指代這種現(xiàn)象，即在旅行過程中住別人家的沙發(fā)，并在主人的引領下對當地的美景美食有更全面的了解?！吧嘲l(fā)客”既可以節(jié)省旅行費用，也可以結交到更多朋友，為旅途增添更多奇妙感。同時“沙發(fā)客”的概念里也包括愿意提供自家的沙發(fā)給他人。

2. at first blush： 乍看之下；dubious： 不可靠的，可疑的。

3. 饒了我吧！

4. intrigue： 激起……的興趣。

5. 我查閱了大量關于沙發(fā)沖浪團體成員的資料，好奇心也變得愈發(fā)強烈。我決定采取那個唯一能夠真正了解這一現(xiàn)象的方法——親自去試一試。overdrive： 超速，過度；dive in： 跳水，這里指沉浸其中，參與其中。

6. length and breadth： 四面八方。

7. evaporate： 蒸發(fā)，消失不見；Helsinki：赫爾辛基，芬蘭首都。

8. 雖然芬蘭人以高冷著稱，但是阿里恰恰不是這樣的。reserved： 高冷的，緘默的；anything but： 恰恰不，根本不。

9. live wire： 火線，帶電的電線，這里指生龍活虎的人；effusive： 熱情洋溢的；animated： 興致勃勃的，活躍的。

10. bittersweet： 苦樂參半的。

11. paraphrase： 用……的話來說，引述；Robert Frost： 羅伯特·弗羅斯特（1874—1963），美國詩人，其詩歌多從農村生活中取材，曾獲得四次普利策獎，被稱為“美國文學中的桂冠詩人”，本句引用了“miles to go before I sleep”，出自其《雪夜林邊小駐》；Turku： 圖爾庫，位于芬蘭西南部的港口城市。

12. a big chunk of： 大量；foray： 短途旅行；on ones own steam： 獨自一人。

13. dwell upon： 仔細回想，深思。

14. impel： 驅使，激勵。

15. 我的結論是，這一方面因為好奇心，但也出于向志同道合的人施以援手的渴望。這些旅行者在一定程度上也豐富了當地人自己的生活。like-minded： 志趣相投的。

16. come home to： 被完全領會，使認識到；in spades： 肯定地。

17. Kokkola： 科科拉，位于芬蘭西部的港口城市；Oulu： 奧盧，芬蘭北部最大的城市；Kuopio：庫奧皮奧，芬蘭中南部城市；smoke sauna： 煙熏桑拿；mist-shrouded： 霧氣彌漫的。

18. inferno： 煉獄，這里比喻桑拿房里的高溫。

19. the icing on the cake： 英語諺語，蛋糕上的糖霜，指錦上添花。

20. odyssey： // 原指《奧德賽》，是古希臘最重要的兩部史詩之一（另一部是《伊利亞特》），相傳為荷馬所著。全詩描述了俄底修斯（Ulysses）10年驚心動魄的奇幻海上歷險。現(xiàn)引申為對艱難人生有教益的長時間旅程或經歷。

21. impulse： 沖動。