How Couch Surfing Changed One Woman’s Entire Life
An afternoon on the streets of Zitsa. (Photo: Anna Ellis)
American-born Anna Ellis visited Zitsa, a small village in the region of Epirus in Greece, for the first time in 2009 while couch surfing with her sister.
She spent just 24 hours there, but that visit changed her life forever. She fell in love with Kostas, their couchsurfing host and owner of the only bakery of the village and one year later she moved permanently to Zitsa.
Finding her place in the new community, she has recently opened The Bookgarden, the first and only bookshop in the village that aims to be a cultural hub hosting workshops, seminars and readings.
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Nighttime in the village. (Photo: Anna Ellis)
The Road to Zitsa
In December 2009 Anna was traveling within Greece with her sister and used couch surfing for accommodation.
Finding hosts near Ioannina, a city on the northwest part of the country, proved to be a difficult task but Kostas Karamichos, the baker from Zitsa, offered them a place to stay. “We did not know anything about Zitsa except that there were wine grapes. We stayed for 24 hours only and we had such a fun time: helping in the bakery, having lunch with his family and tasting their homemade wine while talking and laughing all night long,” Anna said.
Anna fell in love with the Zitsa sunsets and with Kostas. (Photo: Anna Ellis)
Anna and Kostas kept in touch via text, skype and phone calls. “Eight months later I came back to Greece. We both wanted to see if what we felt was real or just an online romance. As soon as we saw each other, we knew without a doubt that we were meant to be together,” Anna said.
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In December 2010, she moved permanently to Zitsa. They got married the following August.
“I never, ever expected to end up living in a small Greek village,” Anna admitted.
Moving to a new country and adapting to a whole new society is challenging. “My life since moving here has changed in every possible way. There have been many physical, emotional, professional, familial, intellectual and psychological challenges, and there have been many ups and downs for me.
Now it is their couch. (Photo: Anna Ellis)
Some things are so much easier than I anticipated, like how the village has welcomed me with open arms and how Kostas’ family has completely embraced me. Other things are way, way harder than I could have ever imagined, such as learning the Greek language, which is unlike any other language I have ever encountered,” she said.
The two of them continue to host couch surfers from all over the world in Zitsa: families, couples or solo travelers from Italy, Germany, Poland, China, Japan and Korea.
Opening a Bookgarden
Anna always dreamt of opening a bookstore.
She won an EU grant program for unemployed female entrepreneurs and also raised $9.634 in order to buy books through an Indiegogo campaign.
All of the villagers have helped build the Bookgarden. (Photo: Anna Ellis)
“Most of the money we raised came from abroad. People from every corner of the country have been sending us books to help fill our selves. We now have 4.000 books, most of which have been donations and we still receive more”, exclaims Anna.
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Centrally located, the Bookgarden is a cozy corner offering new and used books for sale and for rent. It’s also a cultural hub away from the city. During the past year there have been author talks, book presentations, arts and crafts, events for kids and adults, cultural exchanges and holiday parties.
The locals believe that the bookshop is a great addition to the village while the kids are always asking for more events.
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