When I was a Peace Corps
volunteer, I always enjoyed the aspect of living with a host family. I
lived with a single Costa Rican woman in a remote village. I found my
experience was very rich because everyday we would talk about the simplest
things in life such as the weather, nature, people, and culture. I
wouldn't get the local experience, if I didn't live with a host family. This
was a great way to emerge into a culture. Few years later, who knew that
this concept became wide spread virus as they calls it, Airbnb!
When my husband and I
travel, we would either camp out along the coast or stay with friends and
family. We are not the hotel kind of people, not yet. I think one,
because we enjoy spending time with our friends and family when we travel, and
two, we enjoy the local experience. However, as we get older and our
friends and family got bigger, we thought it would be nice to maybe give them
some space when we visit…
Although I enjoy staying
at a hotel, don't get me wrong, I sometime find it a bit pricey, especially for
someone that is on a budget such as myself. As we were planning our trip
to San Francisco few months ago, we noticed the prices for lodging were
expensive! Meanwhile, my husband loves to research about stuff before he makes
decision. So he did some research and found Airbnb from an article! We signed up,
became a member, and booked our first Airbnb trip!
I got to say, even
though it was a bit pricy in San Francisco; it was a bit cheaper than any hotel
in the area! We found a very cute, simple, and small room. It was interesting
that someone would rent out their space to a stranger that they don't even know
and/or have met! The person that we rented from gave us great instructions on
how to access the key, and left us a list of places to go to eat out. Overall,
it was a great experience, and we were hook since then!
Recently, we used Airbnb
again! This time was in Los Angeles, CA! We stayed in Boyle Heights area
to get the local experience of the city. The person we stayed with had a
private room that she rents out of her house. She was so sweet and
provided us some dinner, which was BBQ and breakfast! She also gave us
information regarding the neighborhood's history and culture. Right then,
I felt as though I was back in Costa Rica with my Tica’s host mother sharing
her story and experience with me.
Hands down, Airbnb has
been treating us well and we have been very fortunate to gain rich experiences
with the places we stayed and the people we have met along the way. It is true
Airbnb motto said, "Be anywhere and welcoming people into your home."
We are excited and look forward to traveling via Airbnb again.
As I overlooked the beautiful Pacific Ocean from Mexico, my
mother-in-law told me that I’m a “Foodie” kind of person. When I asked what does that word mean,
she told me that she enjoys eating food and curious of their taste. According to my mother-in-law, “Foodie”
means that I am passion about food and curious of them. Before I took it as a compliment and to
make sure that it describes me towards food, I Googled it. Google states, “a person with a
particular interest in food.” Well, I guess my mother-in-law is right! I’ll add “Foodie” on to my list of
self-discovery about myself. 
