And so life ordained that our stay in the inhospitable city of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea would be associated (and spiced up) by a host without peer: Rob Sajko.

Bianca informed me we’d be hosting a pair of Israeli men and I immediately turned to my most hardened stereotypes about that country. As usual, they turned out to be entirely true.

They came to our home on January 1 as we were nursing a killer New Year’s Eve hangover. Tomer, a native of Ukraine, had flags of Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil stitched on his backpack. “I speak Portuguese,” he said, in a straining, unmistakably Semitic attempt at Portuguese.

“I speak some Hebrew,” I replied, and fired off three words that would win any schoolboy a swift reprimand. They both chortled and proceeded to teach me more complex obscenities.

Consider the following perks a well-connected traveler might enjoy: Receive free lodging, and thus eliminate one of the biggest travel expenses. Meet interesting, open-minded, well-traveled people who are interested in you. Get in on insider tips that only the locals know. Get invited to a house party or to a club that is the complete opposite of touristy. And, in the end, regain faith in humankind.