The best things in life are free

I live in London, England- a city of millions. But sometimes, even when surrounded by dozens of people, this city can make you feel kind of alone. This is a major problem in major cities. Everyone is in a hurry, people have become cynical and skeptical, everyone keeps their head down, the iPodders are tuned in and turned off to the rest of the world. There is a complete disconnect.

But! there are lots of incredible people out there that are trying to make the world a closer place and thousands of them can be found on www.couchsurfing.com. I joined the CouchSurfing community last fall and I've already met lots of incredible people and surfed a couple of couches. But, as it says in the mission statement, "CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world- it's about participating in creating a better world. We strive to make a better world by opening our homes, our hearts and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!"

When I arrived in London I started checking out the CS Events page so I could meet some like-minded people here in The Big Smoke. Last week I came across a listing for a "Free Hugs" event. I had read a little about the Free Hugs Campaign in the newspaper over the years and always wanted to get out there and do it myself. This was the perfect opportunity, so, I made my FREE HUGS placard, complete with peace sign, heart and two maple leafs, and headed for the South Bank of the river Thames.

When I arrived, the first person I saw was Gilad, a CouchSurfer from Israel whom I had met a couple of weeks earlier at a CS karaoke event. Gilad was holding his sign (which offered FREE HUGS in English, Hebrew and Japanese) high above his head. I went straight over and wrapped my arms around him- my afternoon of Free Huggin' had begun.

The next two hours of my life were absolutely incredible. As the general public raced by I held my sign up and shouted things like, "Free Hugs!", "Hugs are awesome and I can prove it!", "Have you hugged a Canadian today?". It started off slowly. Many people tried to ignore us as they passed. Some stopped to take photos of the "crazy people" but kept a safe distance. But then I saw a woman standing just a few feet away, watching us with a smile on her face. I walked over to her and said, "Would you like a hug?" and without a word she put her arms around me. People started to clap and cheer and it was like an invisible barrier had been broken because more onlookers started coming over and hugging other CSers.

We gave out hundreds of Free Hugs and thousands of photos were taken! I hugged men, women, children... I even hugged a dog! There were no boundaries. No discrimination. No segregation. People of every age, gender and race were coming together. People who didn't speak the same language were hugging each other. The gesture of the hug said everything that needed to be said. It was a beautiful thing to behold.

Sure, there were still a lot of people that ignored us. A lot of people went to great lengths to avoid us. Some people would ask questions like, "What are you selling?" or "Is this a cult?", revealing their cynicism- which is too bad, because it is those people that really need to let their guard down and open up the most- but, the cynics and the skeptics were massively outnumbered by the ones who walked away smiling; feeling a little happier; that their day was a little brighter.

Sometimes, all we need is a hug.

Glasgow With the Flow

Although it was in 2008 that I left Canada with vagabonding dreams, 2009 will see my wandering lifestyle really begin to take shape. This year I will visit many more countries and start to really prepare for 2010 by getting rid of the things I don't need and acquiring the things that I do.

My first trip of the year was a brief one to Scotland in January. My American friend Mike had been living in Ireland for 4 months but was returning home at the end of January. We really wanted to meet up while we were both in this part of the world and decided that Scotland would be the place. I landed at Glasgow International Airport on 18 January, 2009.

I took a bus from the airport to Glasgow's central bus station. It is there that I met my friend Dave and his new girlfriend Yasemin. The first thing on the agenda was, of course, a pint! They took me to this really cool rock 'n roll bar where we did some catching up over a few glasses of delicious lager. Soon, Yasemin had to be going so we walked her to her train and then found ourselves a new bar while we waited for Mike's arrival.

A little back-story about Mike and I: We met on January 1st, 2006 in Mesquite, Nevada- a relative ghost-town in the middle of the dessert outside of Las Vegas. Amongst the tumbleweeds and coyotes, something special was about to take place. 160 young Americans and 4 Canadians had all arrived here with the same goal; to win $10,000 playing beer pong. This was the first-ever World Series of Beer Pong.

Mike Sherwood and his brother Joe came down from Montana. I was there with my beer pong partner Shaun, an old Disney friend, and two teammates from my university rugby team; Ciaran and Andrew. We met the Sherwood Bros. on day-one and bonded quickly over some warm-up games and playful mockery of each other's country. We all stayed in touch after the tournament and the following year I traveled to Montana and roadtripped down to Vegas with Mike and Joe for the WSOBP II. That was the last time I had seen little Mikey Sherwood... but in a few hours we were to be reunited again!

Mike took a bus in from the airport. Dave and I met him there and then- yep, you guessed it- found ourselves a pub. The stories and the beer flowed like... beer from a tap (I am a master of simile). All I can remember about the end of the night is enjoying three 6-piece McNuggets and a whole lotta' sweet and sour sauce.

The next day, once Mike and I got our shit together, we headed for the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. First opened in 1901, Kelvingrove is Scotland's "must-see museum", housing collections of art, armour, weapons, objects of ancient Egypt, flora and fauna from the four corners of the world (including Canadian beavers! See below), dinosaurs, antique aircraft, and all sorts of other random stuff. One of the highlights for me was viewing Rembrandt's mysterious "man in armour" painting. It's an absolutely masterful piece of work, but what's extremely interesting about it is that no one knows who the subject is suppose to be. Theories range from Mars, the God of War, to Achilles to Alexander the Great to simply Rembrandt's son in costume. There is an interactive touch-screen at the museum that allows the viewer to review the supporting evidence of each theory and then form their own conclusion. I believe it is meant to be a painting of Alexander the Great, but I urge anyone visiting Glasgow to check it out and decide for yourself.

What happened next was the greatest thing to happen to me since being in the United Kingdom. As we left the Kelvingrove Museum and walked down the steps, the clear night sky began to change and something very familiar started to fall from above. IT WAS SNOWING! Wonderful, beautiful snow! Oh, how I missed it! For months I had been wishing for snow, jealous of the incredible winter my friends in Canada were enjoying. And the way that it started to snow just as I walked out into the open made it feel as though this snowfall was just for me. As hoards of Scotsmen and Scotswomen ran for cover I stood there with my head tilted back and my arms open wide, loving every flaking minute.


That night, Mike and I met up with three really nice girls and did what we do best... no, not an orgy... we played beer pong! We taught Daniela, Lucy and Emily the rules and then proceeded to dominate them... again, NOT an orgy. Mike and I also played a few games head-to-head. It was just like the good old days! (Meaning, I kicked his ass!)

It was a hell of a night... and our last in the fair city of Glasgow. The next day we were on to the capital city of Edinburgh!