I'm a 21-year-old student currently living in Champaign, IL.
I study Interpreting and Translation (English, Spanish and Portuguese), as I've always been deeply fascinated by foreign cultures and languages.

I'm curious and open-minded, I try to see the other side of the coin and I'm always up for trying something new and discovering new things. I also like to know other people's views and listen to their stories. That's why I love traveling, and I believe there is nothing as thrilling as taking your first steps in an unknown place, with the desire to explore and "understand" it all.

I'm sociable, friendly, extrovert and I'm always up for good conversations and sharing great moments, but I respect other people's privacy and I never want to come across as invasive. I like to be spontaneous and straightforward, but there are few other things I appreciate as much as politeness and good manners.

Besides foreign languages, my passions are cinema, literature, photography, cooking/eating, art, trekking, soccer and (maybe one step above the others) music.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As you can see, I'm a newbie over here. I signed up because I really dig the idea of "cultural exchange" and sharing behind it, and the fact that it allows you to experience the places you're visiting to the fullest and catch their real essence.
What's more, I think life is the art of encounter. When I look back on the memories of my travels, I take more pleasure in remembering the people I've met than the places themselves. Travel is more about the relationships than the places themselves. The places are simply a beautiful canvas around which relationships occur. But then again, there is also a relationship to be had with the places themselves. Better not to get too intellectual about being in the moment with life.

Interests

What about yours?

• arts
• books
• literature
• documentaries
• dining
• cooking
• movies
• traveling
• music
• electronic music
• hiking
• backpacking
• soccer
• tennis
• table tennis
• history
• languages
• philosophy
• study abroad
• solo travel
• translation

Music, Movies, and Books

Music
Big music nerd here. I like to buy CDs, cassettes and records too.
I try to listen to everything: dub/reggae, techno, downtempo, ambient and all kinds of electronic music in general, hip-hop, hardcore punk, alternative rock, songwriters etc.
Here's a few names I like:
Fugazi, Aphex Twin, Lee Scratch Perry, Boards of Canada, Nick Drake, Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, Minutemen, Pink Floyd, Tom Waits, The Flaming Lips, Solar Fields, Tim Hecker, Burial, Massive Attack, J Dilla, Mark McGuire, Autechre, My Bloody Valentine, Black Flag, DeepChord, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Minor Threat, Codeine, Ricky Eat Acid, Jamie xx, Tosca, Gas, Rhythm & Sound, Wire

Movies
Taxi Driver, The Big Leboswki, Fargo. The Deer Hunter,
Basically every movie by Terrence Malick, Quentin Tarantino and Clint Eastwood

Books
Siddharta by Herman Hesse
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome
The Blue Flowers by Raymond Queneau
Emotional Awareness - A conversation between the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Going on Erasmus in Málaga, Spain. Living in another country for 6 months really changed my life and my outlook.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach:
- My language
- Italian culture
- How to cook some Italian dishes

Learn:
- Your language
- Whatever you can teach me!

Share:
- My friends
- Music!
- Food and drinks
- Parties

What I Can Share with Hosts

Let me cook for you!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Spain, United States