CouchSurfing Game Night

The CS meet and greet was a relaxing night of board games and beer (Big surprise!) at a pub in Hove, actually. I met many wonderful people, but didn’t really sink into the conversation of the evening until I sat down with Michael and Lamia to talk. Michael is from Düsseldorf, Germany but moved to Brighton because he loves speaking English and wants to live in a beach community. Lamia relocated from Casablanca, Morocco and is pursuing an artistic lifestyle, very fitting in Brighton. Afterward, Alex and I met an anthropology student from Toulouse, France, Laure, who was looking for interviewees for an upcoming research project on ethno-graphics related to CouchSurfing. She is now my inspiration for hitch-hiking in difficult situations and dealing (You don’t want to know…). The last person I met was Chloe; only the second Brightonian I had met during my stay. She is very outgoing and extremely excited to travel but will need to overcome some of her anxieties about language barriers. Like I did, she is having difficulty deciding where to go first.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to stay in touch with all of them, but after only one evening of conversation, who knows what will happen.

After a wonderful pancake breakfast from Alex, it was time for me to gather my things and head west to Cornwall. I am now sitting on a train heading to Southampton and I definitely will not be making it to Cornwall this evening. I walked for about 4 hours today trying to hitch a ride in considerably wet conditions. Of all the days I have been in England, I picked this one, the wettest, to try and hitch my way across the country. I think the English find the idea of hitching to be humorous. No one seemed to have the generosity to stop and pick me up; yet, many had the audacity to wave and honk as they zoomed by smiling. No worries though! I’m not going to let bad weather, and the lack of a ride, stop my good spirit. As I was walking, I came upon a forced exit for pedestrians. Since I was no longer allowed to hike the main highway, I followed it and found a market to stop for a bite to fuel my journey. After I dried off and warmed up a bit, I continued on my way and almost immediately walked up to a sign that said, “Portslade Station.” I’d like to think that I go with the flow when it comes to traveling and realize when things are going in a direction I should follow. With my shoes soaking wet and my hands numbing again, I booked a single to Southampton. Though this is only half-way to my destination, it should provide me with the means to find a warm place to sleep. At the very least, a proper station to sleep overnight inside and stay dry.