When I was growing up, my family hosted Up with People participants on two separate occasions — once in the late 70s in the small town of Bogalusa, Louisiana, and once in the early 80s near Galveston, Texas. My father worked for the Boy Scouts of America, so we were always getting into adventures like that.

It seems that couch surfing is the whole modus operandi of the Up with People organization, all part of the fast-paced cultural immersion they attempt with each tour. Participants live with families for a week, learning about their day-to-day lives and bringing a little sunshine and music into the homes of their host families. Really sweet, right?

The copy writers for the Web site do a great job of selling it:

Not surprisingly, many of the relationships that develop between host families and Up with People participants last for years, even lifetimes. By the end of the week, many host families find they’ve acquired an “adopted” child; participants feel as if they’ve gained a new set of parents.

I’m sure that’s true for some, but for us, it was just an exciting week out of our lives where we got to meet someone nice and interesting, then went back to all the weeks in between. I imagine that these kids do make long-term connections with some of their host families, but I also imagine that the fast pace with a different host family every week could be downright exhausting. You have to be “on” all the time, singing for your supper.

Either way, if your life is mostly spent in one place and you have kids to care for and a hectic schedule, I highly recommend the experience for the whole family. For a week you can host someone from a different country, learn a little bit, talk a little bit, share a little bit, then go back to your life.

Small risk, small return. Perfect for the life spent expecting instant gratification.