CURRENT MISSION
Currently living in Arctic Norway, land of the Sámi, to study a Master in Indigenous studies (interdisciplinary). Meanwhile I am working as an Arctic Explorers tourguide and photographer for the Northern Lights tours. After this I will go on exchange and do my research somewhere abroad, trying to figure out where!

ABOUT ME
Where to start... I am a traveller. I am full of curiosity and love having all kinds of conversations with people to broaden my horizon, I love getting to know new cultures and ideas and I am always searching for new adventures... ! I am really passionate about nature, and love learning about (medicinal) uses of plants, and permaculture farming, for example; but generally am into hiking and otherwise spending time with nature. I get happy over small things, especially when I'm on the road. To me beauty is a poetic thing that lingers everywhere, if only one takes the time to notice. I am passionate about arts and exploring slowly new materials and ways of expressing myself. I do photography, write poetry, sing, play some instruments (amateur), am into sculpturing and painting though still a novice, and would LOVE to start doing ceramics/pottery. I have made some jewellry as well, and am currently also exploring vilting (with wool) and natural dyes. Recently I tried out blacksmithing for the first time. I also make my own medicinal balms from oil and flowers and herbs that I handpicked. I love (live) music, dancing at concerts, jamsessions,..the ocean, lightning, the sun, the moon, fog and dew, mystery.. perhaps I am romantic in that way, but meanwhile I like having fiery discussions about politics and anything else, and join and organise activist interventions as well ;)
In my studies I seek to decolonise my own, and society's thinking, and I orientate towards Indigenous ecological knowledges, and generally the diversity of knowledges existing worldwide.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

I think couchsurfing is a wonderful platform of exchange. I am into meeting people and sharing, in terms of ideas, knowledge, food, drinks, music, stories and experiences, and of course couches! :) I love this economy of abundance, where we can all help each other out. And it's just so much more wonderful to experience a place through the eyes of locals!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

- hitchhiked and couch surfed from Riga, Latvia, to Budapest, Hungary, to Middelburg, the Netherlands, with a lot of stops in between, and it was awesome!
- did couchsurfing in Israel and Jordan and had an amazing time! Met lots of different interesting people and learned a lot. Among this was a crazy and amazing experience of couch surfing with Bedouins in the Wadi Rum desert, Jordan, one of the most magic and beautiful places I've ever been; what an experience!
- hitchhiked to & couch surfed in Berlin
- couchsurfing in Spain, France, and Portugal, but not through this website - rather through random (hitchhike) encounters :)
- couchsurfing/roottrusting in Norway on my most recent hitchhike trip.
- I've hosted a few people in my student room in Middelburg; it has been nice to exchange stories, ideas and food :)

Intereses

Travelling, Nature, Arts (Music, Photography, Ceramics, Crafts, Poetry etc..) Anthropology, Education, Community living, Activism, Permaculture Farming, Human Rights, Development Studies, International Relations, Alternative lifestyles, building with natural materials, self-sufficiency, philosophy, mythology, sciences...
&Anything new!

• animals
• arts
• culture
• writing
• poetry
• singing
• photography
• festivals
• dancing
• education
• human rights
• recipes
• yoga
• gardening
• traveling
• pottery
• painting
• drawing
• music
• live music
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• martial arts
• anthropology
• teaching
• languages
• social science
• hitchhiking
• road trips
• permaculture
• handcraft
• herbal medicine
• alternative lifestyles
• alternative education
• indigenous cultures

Música, películas y libros

Movies: Amelie, Into the wild, Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling limited, Monty Python, Lord of the Rings, Song of the Sea, Spirited Away (all Miyazaki), Paris Texas, a Midnight in Paris, Chocolate, The Triplets of Bellevile, The Shining, Italian classics, A Scanner Darkly, Before Midnight series, Down by Law, Samsara,..

Music... where to start?: Generally rock, blues, but also "world music", jazz, folk/traditional, and getting into some electronic stuff also, goa/ psytrance/folktronica.. & live music generally! some (sorry, can't keep it short) big names are: The Doors, J.J. Cale, Manu Chao, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Buena Vista Social Club, Jefferson Airplane, Pentangle, Pink Floyd, Dr. John, Queens of the Stone Age, The White Stripes, The Kinks, Lhasa, King Crimson, Beck, Eddie Vedder, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, , Ravi Shankar, Miles Davis, The Beatles, Lou Reed, The Cure, Gong, Robbie Basho, The Black Keys, Doe Maar, Gorillaz, Ry Cooder, Ali Farka Toure, Fela Kuti, Tinariwen, Mali Blues, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Muddy Waters, Nirvana, Max Romeo, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Talking Heads, Them Crooked Vultures, Van Morrison, Peia, Rokia Traore, Rising Appalachia, Johnny Cash, John Lee Hooker, Popul Vuh, James Brown, Syd Barret, John Fahey, Camaron de la Isla, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Nick Drake, Cuby and the Blizzards, Bob Marley, Black Sabbath, Neil Young, Peggy Lee, The Prodigy, Portishead, Simon & Garfunkel, Erik Satie, Yann Tiersen, Madeleine Peyroux... anddd probably much more :)

Books: 1984, The Prophet, On the Road, Narcissus & Goldmund, Island, Siddharta, The Alchemist, Brida, The Animal Farm, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Walden, ... so many books left to read!

Algo increíble que he hecho

One? there's so many.. cannot choose! :
- biking through Amsterdam :)
- caving/canyoning in south france & diving in croatia when I was younger!
- swam in the ocean with lightning right in front of me
- Amazing travel in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama: seeing a Puma in the wild at 20 meters distance, tapirs, Quetzals, ara's, snakes, monkeys..! Besides that I volunteered in organic farms, worked alongside indigenous inhabitants on the islands of bocas del toro in panama and in an Animal Rescue Center in Costa Rica where I took care of baby howlermonkeys and cuddled sloths and took part in turtle patrolling. Also taught some English in Spanish to a few kids in a small village in Costa Rica. & fell in love with the Ticos!
- incredible hitch hike & couchsurf journey through Europe from latvia, to estonia, to latvia, to lithuania, to poland, to slovakia, to hungary, to slovakia, to austria, to germany, to the Netherlands with a friend :). (with lots of crazy adventures on the way; sleeping in a homeless shelter! )
-50 day trip that felt like 3 months, through Israel, Palestina and Jordan with a lot of wonderful and otherwise valuable (insightful) experiences. The trip in Jordan included an amazing adventure of 3 days and 3 nights of road tripping through and sleeping in the Wadi Rum desert under the milkyway by couchsurfing with bedouins! Even got to celebrate the end of ramadan with their families in their nomadic camp, really beautiful sharing.
- Found 3 walls, a bucket full of pottery and... a marble leg of a roman statue of 2000 YEARS OLD!! in a 3 day random visit as volunteers to an archeological excavation in Israel, without any previous archeological experience :) :) (Got published in the Jerusalem post and several Archeological magazines)
- (without planning on doing so) I walked to Spain from France, through the highest Pyrenees with a huge backpack and a huge guitar, up to 2800 meters high, through snow, without hiking boots, walking sticks or a map, for that matter... it was amazing.
- roadtripping in old citroen car and later in a caravan of hippie vans towards a waterfall oasis with a group of 28 unknown people from a self-growth festival at an alternative permaculture community in Portugal; ended up camping there for 5 days and becoming family :) sharing love!!
- Did a 9 month hitchhike trip, starting solo, but mostly travelling with one great travelpartner, unlimited time, no clear direction but 'South': went from NLs, to belgium, france, switzerland, france, italy, spain, morocco, spain, france and back. Spent 3 months 'trainhitching' in italy (without ticket) and living in a community for a month, and spent 3 months in morocco, and 1 month living in a cave in sacromonte, Granada, spain! So many incredible meetings and people and wild experiences and places... Such a journey into the unknown and letting the way be the way! Really rich exploration!
- living a year in the countryside of south Italy, reading, learning about plants, hiking mountains, drinking wine, making a garden, harvesting olives, having jam sessions with friends, wildharvesting herbs, flowers, asparagus and mushrooms, and raising a little black cat called Zorro!
- Moved to Tromsø, photographed the Northern lights, and lived through the polar night and into the midnight sun! Swimming in freezing waters, 8 months of snow, Indigenous Studies, Extinction Rebellion, and hikes! What a journey. Travelling north to Pasvik & Varanger this july and hitchhiking from Copenhagen to Tromsø by the west coast this August (2020) has also been full of amazing encounters and experiences, like befriending the fisher community in Vardø, sea kayaking to the oldest viking church in Urnes, and visiting a glacier (svartisen).

Enseña, aprende, comparte

I am basically up for learning anything! I especially want to learn about your culture/ideas/views on life, keep on learning how to play the guitar and other instruments, learn more/ share knowledge on the medicinal uses of plants and permaculture, dance, martial arts, yoga, massage, learn new languages, learn recipes, learn macrame and other handicrafts and arts, tricks with a stick/hoolahoop, random facts, languages... you name it :)

I'm always up for new things and ideas!

I could teach you some Dutch (or English or some Spanish maybe?), and I could talk about anthropology or other social sciences with you, especially relating to modernity/development/education, decolonisation, indigenous peoples (rights). Some photography skills (or pictures), and I'd love to share with you about medicinal uses of plants/ herbs which I'm passionate about (not an expert, but learning!). I like going around for a hike, watching good movies, and having discussions about life, the universe and everything. ;)

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

Good conversations, maybe a little jam session or just listening to nice music, adventurous walks through whichever place we're at, and many smiles and stories. :)

Países que he visitado

Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Nicaragua, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Países en los que he vivido

Italy, Netherlands, Norway