sofasurfers

A new psychological syndrome has just been identified - Couchsurf Guilt Complex (CGC). Here are the symptoms:

- nagging sense of indebtedness to host for agreeing to mother us for three days for free with no contracted returning of favour

- vain and costly attempts to compensate for host’s troubles. This entails repeated purchases for each of her Random Acts of Kindness (book for her initially agreement, a meal for tolerating our two-hour imbecilic behaviour trying to buy our train tickets, flowers for electricity, and <insert suitably lovely gift here for having hosted us> - we depart for couches new tomorrow)

- near-starvation caused by our own martyr-ish refusal to help ourselves to host’s larder, despite her kind invitation. (On concluding that this behaviour was unnecessary and over-sensitive, a quick lesson was learnt when I helped myself to some liquid yoghurt only to find my body spontaneously propelling itself to the sink, in order to dispense of said, dead drink - ie fizzy and fermented)

Prescription: we’re thinking that perhaps some discreet diving down the back of hosts’ couches might be able to fund our guilt habit (FB)