Casa Robino

- 'Meow, have you heard the news yet?'
- 'Purrrrrrrrr, yeah, isn't it great? And so unexpected!'
- 'Huh? What do you mean "great"? I think it is rather sad, isn't it?'
- 'Ah, you're talking about that! Meow. You are so right, it is kind of sad. But it was bound to happen one day and at the same time it is good I guess.'
- 'Yes, we all need space once in a while. I just hope people will come back again one day. I miss them already. I am just new here!'

Hey,

I'm arriving in Amsterdam tomorrow afternoon (25th July) and was wondering if there's any chance I can stay for a few days while I'm in Amsterdam as I'd love to be introduced to the lifestyle that the Casa seems to support.

I am absolutely stunned. There are moments I stimply can't believe that I have been “doing” this Casa experience for more than three years now. Where is this leading to, I ask myself regularly. Are we "there" already, or what are the other directions that haven't been followed yet? Is this going to close one day or are we simply moving further?

dear casa

i found this mural at a lovely hostel in granada. it make me think of you and gave me a warm ticklish feeling allover: crazy monkeys sharing a single bike :-)

may the love be with you

eva

Dear Casa Community:

I've been dreaming for the last few years about igniting some casa-style magic in the western hemisphere. I have a sense that much of of the S.H.E. / shared hospitality / post-CouchSurfing / nomadbase energy has been concentrated in Europe. There are reasons for this, to be sure. But I've got what Curious George calls "the casa mind-virus", and it makes me wonder what else is possible.

Taking my break last winter I had quite some free time to float around and recap. So I also used my time to write for shareable.net the article Every Guest a Host on what this casa is all about: What is it that makes me wanna do this, why do people like it so much, and what are the little things that make it a challenge to live here?

But more important, how do I find the right words to actually describe something that is so fluid, so creative and so dynamic? Is it possible? Well, let's say I got pretty far with this article and that for a large part it sums up at least how it feels.

This week, a lot has happened to me, both in real life and through the internet--- and via [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio|amateur radio - also known as ham radio - communities]].

I think the world of [[http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-history|ham radio]] is something of interest to Casa people, even and especially, as nomads. It could also be helpful for the Danube raft project, for example, when for vast stretches of time there may be no access to internet.

Accompanied by sun, I enjoyed great days in Den Haag this week. I am involved in a project about reinventing space which focuses around dumpster diving and community (kind of our speciality). Somewhat related but independent I will also give a talk about 'dropping out' (another speciality) next week in Amstedam, and I am writing lots of words that somehow are turned into sentences but sometimes they don't - and they still make sense!

Casa Robino is a dynamic, ever-changing place where things happen on the go. It has been a home for many people in the past three years, an experiment to overcome boundaries between guest and host: together we try to host each-other while being hosted. Here we all live together and share what we can!

If you think you ought to be part of this experience, there is something for us to learn from each-other, or you feel like scrubbing the toilet with Robino's nose (when he's there), contact him, or even better leave a host-request that is visible on the website for those signed-in.

"Casa is my home and so it is yours. Our home. Post-revolutionary, for travelers, nomads, hippies, punks, cyclists, pilgrims, peaceniks, kitten-lovers and anti-heroes. To share, to learn and to give. Give care, give hugs, to be honest and truthful to oneself and eachother. To cook, to eat, to dive, to clean. To live together. Unique in its kind, as everything else.

Late afternoon, Friday and the doorbel rings. It is the mailman, "Hi, is this Casa Robino, I have a package for you". I feel surprised and wonder what it would be as I walk down to the front-door. The amazement grows tremendously as soon as I open the door and see the mailman with a GIANT package in his arms.

While walking back up, my excitement increases too. What could it be? What would be in it? While I slowly walk the stairs I check the box but there is nothing really on the square thing that reveals its contents; I can hardly wait to know and the curiosity grows even more.