Sometimes the best way of getting to know somewhere new is not just the things you see or do, but to experience the place through people you meet. One way of doing this is by using ouchsurfing, like I did the last days in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Marlit, who hosted me was a young and active Honduran girl, who had been out protesting in the streets the last days, due to the claimed unfair result of the December election. She explained to me all about the political situation and the reason for all the unrest in the country the last couple of weeks which had resulted in travel warnings and people deciding to skip the country on their backpacking trips through Central America.
I am really glad I stopped by, even just for a couple of days. Marlit took me to a couchsurfing party where we cooked small dishes from our own countries, had some beers and went out dancing in the nightclub which was in the same building as the couchsurfing party- all safe and fun, but if I would have come here and just stayed in a hostel, I might have had a whole different experience and perception of the country.