This is not about my trip in Latin America, but I just felt like telling you about a great TV series we did in Finland on Strangerless travel and couchsurfing a couple of years ago. It’s called Sohvasurffaajat and it’s about…surprise, surpise: getting to know cultures through people!! The series is in Finnish, but the first season has been subtitled into English.

What is Sohvasurffaajat?

In this TV series, Finnish actress Lotta Kaihua and director/cameraman Pia Asikainen went on a quest to discover 12 different countries in Europe and Middle East through the lives of locals. During their journeys around the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, they stayed with the most wonderful, hospitable and interesting people while couchsurfing in bizarre surroundings.

1st season: Romania, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldavia, Ukraine, Georgia Turkey
2nd season: Italy, Albania, Greece, Lebanon, Jordania, Egypt

The concept for the program was developed for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE by myself and producer Erkko Lyytinen and scripted by myself and Pia Asikainen. I’m still utterly happy and proud for this series, which received the KOURA prize for weekly non-fictional programs in 2012. It was also nominated for Prix Europa in the TV Marketplace of Innovation category. Hope you enjoy it as much as many others have!

Team: Pia Asikainen, Sissi Korhonen, Lotta Kaihua, Joona Pettersson, Maria Santto, Nina Varis, Juho Virolainen and Erkko Lyytinen.

What is Couchsurfing?

Unless you already know what Couchsurfing is, here’s a short introduction for you: Couchsurfing is a social network for hospitality. On the website, you can create your own profile and start hosting people traveling to your country. Another option is being hosted when traveling yourself. Couchsurfing is not about free accommodation, but about getting to know cultures through locals. I love it and use it as often as I can, especially in bigger cities.

Photo: Joona Pettersson