One HELL of an Act of God April 19, 2010 5:43 PM   Subscribe

Because I'm currently sheltering a refugee, I got to wondering - is any MeFite currently stranded by the volcano? Would a "needs shelter/has shelter" matchup thread be useful right now?

Unfortunately, I can't offer something now (we're already sheltering my roommate's guest from Germany who's now stuck here instead of at a conference in Norway), but -- it got me wondering whether there may be various MeFites stranded in various airports, or other Mefites with a spare bed nearby various airports. So -- here you go.

Or, if people got into hotels and such, maybe a big commisseration thread would let people vent too.

(My roommate and I have already discussed that when his guest goes, if the airports are still jammed, we may wanna take someone else in for a few days.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos to MetaFilter Gatherings at 5:43 PM (33 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite

already done
posted by The Whelk at 5:56 PM on April 19, 2010


I just like wandering into meetup threads and saying "Sorry I can't make it, I'm stuck in Europe" and people will be all "Oh, that sucks, hope you get home soon" and I just say "It's not so bad, I live here."
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:56 PM on April 19, 2010 [7 favorites]


Er, sorry for the lulz, hope this helps people out and everyone really does get where they ought to be soon
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:58 PM on April 19, 2010


Whelk, that link looks like it goes to a more universal group -- I was suggesting something a bit more Mefi-Centric (in case anyone had reservations about shacking up with a COMPLETE stranger).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:29 PM on April 19, 2010


Costas's somewhere between Paris, Barcelona and home right now. Various creative attempts to route him home From London to Greece in less than a week in this ask question.

I have printouts for a couple projects shipped with UPS to Bilbao and stuck in Cologne since friday. Other shipments for London and Brussels should be leaving this morning... presumably to get stuck somewhere, too. Upside: if packages are not flying, business people heading to conferences, reading reports in said packages, aren't either.
(this is my € .02 for the 'vent' thread)
posted by _dario at 9:46 PM on April 19, 2010


I'm currently stranded after a business trip in San Francisco, but don't need help so far. Enjoying it up to now, but work wants to get us home to London in stages, so things could get complicated.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 10:25 PM on April 19, 2010


Any mefites stuck in the south of France, I'm now back in Grenoble for a couple of weeks with a spare room. Guess I should update my couchsurfing profile!
posted by handee at 12:27 AM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


If you're stuck in Northern Ireland I might be able to do something...
posted by knapah at 4:19 AM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm in the south of Paris, at the moment. Orsay, more particularly. Near the end of that one really long RER line. And I'm not particularly 'trapped,' so much as 'in the middle of a three-month math research visit.'

Regardless, my French is shite and I'll be here a while, so if anyone wants to hang to (stranded or not), drop me a line.
posted by kaibutsu at 4:24 AM on April 20, 2010


Everybody's looking for something.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:41 AM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


Good for you!
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:09 AM on April 20, 2010


I'm in NYC (the UES to be exact) if someone not allergic to cats needs to couchsurf. While my apartment is a studio, it's pretty big, and if you don't mind piles of english professor-y stuff, feel free to memail me.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:03 AM on April 20, 2010


work wants to get us home to London in stages, so things could get complicated.

...especially if the container of torsos shows up before the limbs and heads.
posted by hippybear at 9:02 AM on April 20, 2010


Do we need to hold "stranded by the volcano" meetups?
posted by Karmakaze at 9:02 AM on April 20, 2010


I'm currently hosting a strandee in Madrid right now, and actually kind of worried about getting back to the states when my semester abroad ends in three weeks, if Big Sister Volcano erupts. If anyone else stuck in the area wants a tour guide or to get together for a drink or whatever, i'm way in. My couch is already taken, though.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 9:41 AM on April 20, 2010


I'm already in HEL, now waiting for Himself to act
posted by infini at 9:45 AM on April 20, 2010


perhaps we should wait until this affects americans before we bother putting anything on mefi.
posted by sgt.serenity at 10:18 AM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


sgt.serenity, what result are you trying to achieve?
posted by mimo at 10:38 AM on April 20, 2010


I'm hosting some friends from Spain, I'm an hour south of London near Gatwick, we have room for a few more. The Spaniards are cooking, the Irish are providing the drink, the German in the house is keeping an eye on the organisational issues (and as the clinically active medic is watching out for all our livers!!!) :-what more do you want???

If any cloud ever had a silver lining, this one does! We're all working from home via our laptops, not losing out on anything and having a ball!!!
posted by Wilder at 11:37 AM on April 20, 2010


I was vacationing in Italy.

Getting back to London was impossible. So we drove down to Rome, caught a flight to Madrid (where I am now) and am hopping to Lisbon tomorrow where I can camp out at my in-laws until I figure out a way home!
posted by vacapinta at 12:16 PM on April 20, 2010


I was thinking of posting something like this just this morning.

I'm in Brooklyn, but close to Manhattan. I have a small studio that contains a fold-out bed. I'd be happy to put up a MeFite who isn't allergic to dogs. For a couple days. :)
posted by functionequalsform at 12:33 PM on April 20, 2010


oops! I posted the above in the wrong thread! I´m stranded myself but luckily have family in Southern Europe that will put me up/put up with me.
posted by vacapinta at 12:55 PM on April 20, 2010


Another New Yorker with some room to spare here. Washington Heights so you'd better like Dominican food.
posted by JaredSeth at 1:36 PM on April 20, 2010


Mefite Essexjan stranded in NYC at the moment. I see from her Facebook she's extended her hotel but knowing how many friends she has I'm sure she won't be stranded for long!
posted by Wilder at 3:02 PM on April 20, 2010


perhaps we should wait until this affects americans before we bother putting anything on mefi.

I'm currently in the US on business (not stranded yet, unless the eruption continues for another week) and if the very limited amount of US TV news I've seen were my only news source, I'd believe it was ONLY affecting Americans.
posted by Electric Dragon at 3:47 PM on April 20, 2010 [1 favorite]


perhaps we should wait until this affects americans before we bother putting anything on mefi.

*looks at self, sees self is American*

*looks at message currently on MeFi*

Uh....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:51 PM on April 20, 2010



*looks at self, sees self is American*

In that case, mefi should sidebar this issue with the utmost haste.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:01 PM on April 20, 2010


Yeah dude, I'm not really getting this "affects americans" line you pulled. If you're saying people from the U.S. haven't been affected, 40,000 people from the U.S. are stranded in Britain. If you're saying this topic didn't show up on Metafilter until people in U.S. were affected, you're wrong.
posted by gman at 6:57 PM on April 20, 2010


Yeah, I'm....not sure what you're getting at, there, sarge.

But I'll leave you to it, while I maybe go see if someone who's stuck at JFK needs a place to stay.

If I end up hosting someone from Edinburgh, I'll have them bring you our regards. Maybe a bundt cake.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:11 PM on April 20, 2010


40,000 people from the U.S. are stranded in Britain

Won't somebody help them, if only for the sake of their teeth!

On a more serious note: if anyone is stranded and now bedding down under Waterloo Bridge, I may be able to help.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:00 AM on April 21, 2010


40,000 people from the U.S. are stranded in Britain

Damn. To put that in perspective, I heard at work that 100,000 French people were stuck in total, worldwide...
posted by whatzit at 11:02 AM on April 21, 2010


ouch!
posted by infini at 11:05 AM on April 21, 2010


I think it is a bit much to call people affected by this event 'refugees', unless you mean Icelanders living in the areas currently inundated by ash, mud, water or lava. All the rest are merely people stranded on the way from one place where they belong to somewhere else where they belong.
Perhaps 'stranded' is a better word.
Grar grar outrage and so forth.
posted by Catfry at 12:01 PM on April 22, 2010


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