HELLO AND WELCOME TO MY PROFILE! Below I listed a few things that might help you decide whether or not I might be the right host for you :)

* Before placing a request, please read my profile throughout, especially this list. Make sure that you would really like to stay with me and are not just looking for whatever couch you can find to crash on.
* If you do send me a couch request, please make it personal. Introduce yourself at length, describe what makes you special and what brings you to my city. Try to appeal to me directly and write things that are relevant to me (if any - you can find those in and between the lines if you read my profile). Please, don't sent copy-pasted requests, I will ignore and/or decline them. For god's sake, people here even addressed me under a completely different name!
* Make sure you have at least 5 clear pictures of yourself on your profile. If I'm going to host and trust a complete stranger, I need to at least know what they look like.
* I won't accept men who don't have at least five positive references.
* I prefer to host people in their late twenties or older. I think it's mutually advantageous to hang out with people from more or less the same age group.
* Make sure you love cats before placing a request.
* One of my references here says I will respect your privacy. Of course I will. I won't come bursting into your room without knocking or anything like that. I won't be prying or rummaging through your luggage, you can rest assured. BUT I am here for the connection, I am here for the communication and for that intimate exchange of thoughts and emotions and I do want to have nice memories with the people I host. Ask yourself if you are that kind of person. If you value your privacy, as in the leave-me-alone-I-just-wanted-a-place-to-stay kind of privacy, you'd be better off looking for a different host or a hotel.
* Last but not least, we are definitely very LGBT friendly.

AND NOW A FEW THINGS ABOUT ME.

I am a freelance translator (btw, I hate the fact that we always mention our jobs when we introduce ourselves, don't you too?), I work from home, so my schedule can allow for a great deal of flexibility, but this can mean that I may be free on some of the weekdays when everybody else is busy, or it may also happen that I am swamped with too many projects and work for 12 hours day in and day out, irrespective of weekends or national holidays. I am also involved in volunteering in a local foster home for orphaned children or children coming from very poor backgrounds, this is a very enriching experience that I constantly benefit from, which helps me grow and from which I get a lot more than I give.

Later edit (this old rusty CS profile needs some updating :) : I am currently training as and soon to be a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapist, also studying for an MA degree in marriage and family therapy. I am fascinated and utterly passionate about anything mental health and psychotherapy related.

All my life I used to view myself as an introvert, only to discover in my mid thirties that I am a communication junkie and one of the most outspoken and gregarious people I know.

I am fluent in English and I can also speak French pretty decently. My boyfriend is fluent in English, German, and Polish.

Pourquoi je suis sur Couchsurfing

I'll just quote Amanda Palmer's words from her wonderful "Art of Asking". I don't think anybody could have put it better:

"Couchsurfing is about more than saving on hotel costs. It’s a gift exchange between the surfer and the host that offers an intimate gaze into somebody’s home, and the feeling of being held and comforted by their personal space. It’s also a reminder that we’re floating along due to a strong bond of trust, just like when I surf the crowd at a show, safely suspended on a sea of ever-changing hands. It can feel almost holy, looking at somebody else’s broken shower nozzle, smelling the smells of a real kitchen, feeling the fray of a real blanket and hearing the crackle of an old steam radiator.[...]

Things you get when you couchsurf that you don’t get in a hotel:
The rattling sound of pots and silverware in the morning. Bathrooms with ratty, beloved mismatched towels. Leftover birthday cake. Dark hallways humid with the smells of baking. Looking at the weird shit people keep in their medicine cabinets. Cats to pat, who are at first standoffish then decide they love you at four a.m., when you’re finally asleep. [...] Morning coffee in a wineglass for lack of enough cups. Children of all ages and temperaments who draw pictures for you. The ability to make your own toast. [...] The beautiful vision of strangers in their pajamas. Weird teas from around the world. Pinball machines. Pet spiders. Latches that don’t quite work. Glow-in-the-dark things on the ceiling.
Late-night and early-morning stories about love, death, hardship, and heartbreak.
The collision of life.
Art for the blender.
The dots connecting."

Centres d'intérêt

Volunteering.
Reading, literature (Jose Saramago, Milan Kundera, Orhan Pamuk, Ian Mc Ewan, Jonathan Coe, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Safran Foer to name but a few).
Psychology.
Mindfulness.
Yoga.
Traveling.
Mountain trekking.
Gastronomy.

• pets
• cats
• arts
• literature
• coffee
• baking
• yoga
• reading
• traveling
• drawing
• freelancing
• languages
• psychology
• volunteering
• counselling
• psychotherapy

Morceaux de musique, films et livres

Recently finished reading The Museum of Innocence by Pamuk and liked it a lot.

I like alternative rock mostly. A few names in random order: The Black Keys, The Velvet Underground, Jack White and all his side projects, Grizzly Bear, MGMT, Chinawoman, Pulp, The National, Get Well Soon, Devendra Banhart, Nick Cave, Beirut, Sigur Rós, Bat For Lashes, Beirut, Cat Power.

As for movies, I very much prefer arthouse and independent films. My favourite directors are classics like Truffaut, Passolini, Bergman, Agnès Varda, Antonioni, Kieslowski or Buñuel as well as contemporaries like Wong Kar Wai, Lars von Trier (but lately I like Joachim Trier a lot more), Noah Baumbach, Michael Haneke, Kim Ki Duk, Nicolas Refn, the Dardenne brothers, Pawel Pawlikowski, Christian Petzold and the directors assimilated with the New Wave of Romanian Cinema.

Une aventure extraordinaire que j'ai vécue

Managed to maintain a home yoga practice for five years, despite having a natural tendency for laziness and slacking when it comes to workouts.

I once climbed on top of a 2,380 m high rocky mountain equipped with just a pair of sneakers, shorts and a tank top. I do not recommend anyone to emulate such a feat.

Enseignez, apprenez, partagez

I can show you around if you come to my hometown, I can share some tips for healthy living and keeping up with a yoga practice.

Ce que j'aimerais partager avec mes hôtes

The pleasure of my company :). Just joking, I really enjoy conversing on a wide variety of topics, sharing ideas, getting to know people and finding inspiration in one another. And if need be, I believe I can be a pretty good listener, too.

Pays que j'ai visités

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey

Pays dans lesquels j'ai vécu

Romania