If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. -Vincent Van Gogh

Twitter: @annasolafs
Instagram: @anna_olafs

ABOUT ME

At the moment I'm not able to host due to family circumstances, but I really enjoyed it for the time I did before i had my son and have gained very dear friends for life, in the process.

I'm a 34 year old, divorced mother of one, living in Reykjavík Iceland. I was born and raised in the countryside of Northern Iceland and have lived both there and in the capital, as well as in USA for a few months years ago.

I am vaccinated for covid-19.

I have had a dream of traveling to Italy for years, especially after I was forced to cancel an Au'pair job in Northern Italy 10 years ago for a payed job in Iceland, I was a student at the time and felt like I couldn't make it without the job - that decision has haunted me ever since! And now as I am on a crossroad in my life I have booked a ticked in August on my own (my son will be staying with his father) to meet new people, explore the land and culture and learn some Italian (and cook some Italian food!).

I also have a very secret dream of moving to Italy one day... shhuuuss.

I intend on sightseeing a little during my stay but mostly just live in the moment, meet people and share experiences and cultural knowledge. I have a musical background as well as performance and have different kinds of work and life experiences that I wold love to share.

I hope to meet hosts that are respectful of women, warm and empathetic . I would love to cook a meal for you if you like and you like vegan food, I consider myself a decent home cook. However I would not say no to learning some Italian cooking as well! :)

I was recently in a program with a life coach where one "homework" was to get a group of my friends and family to write and send me what they thought were my strengths. The red thread in those letters was that they saw me as adventurous, persistent, prejudice free, funny and a good listener.

I consider myself to be very hardworking, but have learned with time (and mistakes) that hard work has also to be met with enjoyment and relaxation, and that is how I intend to live my life - work hard, play hard :)

I look forward to meet you and give value to your life!

Some "fun" facts :

I am learning about investments at the moment and about possibilities of working from another country. At this point in my life, my work is at least partly possible to work from anywhere in the world and I am seriously looking into things. I am an avid, endless learner that never gets tired of honing more skills and learning more things.

Some fun facts:

I can touch my nose with my tongue (in Iceland that is connected to being a poet)
I competed in fitness competition years ago (One time was enough...)
I have finished a half Iron Man. (One time might not have been enough...)
I lived in Los Angeles and New York city in the fall semester of 2008, during the great financial crisis and watched the currency rate of the Icelandic Krona drop in a way that everything got 50% more expensive in the states for me in one week... crazy times!
I made a documentary about my grandmother that has written a diary for 60 years!
I sing and play basic guitar, keyboard, drums, ukulele and bass.
I manage a successful non profit that focuses on closing the gender gap in Iceland in music (it's still vast, believe me) by hosting rock summer camps for girls, transgender and non binary youth -it's crazy fun!
And finally one random: I have won a pitch competition in Cannes Film Festival! ;) :) :Þ

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Before my son I had couchsurfers over here in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was such a wonderful experience and I have already and will make friends through Couchsurfing!

I'm really looking forward to coming experiences as I'm hoping to get to know a lot of awesome, likeminded people all over the world.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Had couchsurfers in summer 2011 and it was a very pleasant experience. After the birth of my son I have not had any over and my situation is unfortunately in the way of not being able to share my space at the moment.

Interests

My main interests are films, travel, music, social matters, leadership, art, health and fitness (triathlon, yoga, hiking, weightlifting, dancing.. whatever brings me happiness in that moment), cooking and meeting new people.

I both play and write some music occasionally and am so lucky to be working in connection to many of my interests through my work. I rotate between doing triathlon, yoga and bodyweight workouts, sometimes dancing, exercise is a great part of my life now and I try to make space for it most days of the week. I can share a lot of exercise strategies and knowledge, as well as nutrition.

I love sharing experience and learning new things!

• culture
• writing
• singing
• film making
• acting
• festivals
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• fitness
• movies
• tv
• traveling
• painting
• music
• outdoor activities
• entrepreneurship
• health

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many and too diverse films to ever trying to get it into something that would make sense, but specific sound world and score usually hit it, stories that are unique and get go you in a way you cannot understand. Colours that scream at you and make you remember the scene forever (American Beauty nails all of those for me for example).

I read a lot about personal development, science, leadership, filmmaking and arts, investments, finances and more (when I say read I also count in audio books and podcasts :Þ). I sometimes read stories but should do much more of it...

Recently I've started to read more about traveling and the world, which I actually did a lot more of when I was a child when I strived to learn all the capital cities of the world!

My taste of music is extremely diverse but tunes with lyrics that get remembered and melodies that hit your heart are my kinds of songs that end up on repeat!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Wish I'd seen more but living in New York city was one of the greatest experiences of my life and be able to walk the Brooklyn bridge everyday for free was amazing.

I guess one of the most amazing things I have done in the past few years is finishing a half Iron man last summer, It was very empowering and I gained a belief in myself I didn't have in the few years before. I was coming out of a rehabilitation program after a serious burnout earlier, looking for work, when covid hit, so last year was particularly tough on top of covid, as well as going through a very ugly divorce and settlements.

Teach, Learn, Share

If all of my plans for life will ultimately fail, I have one objective that will never fail -I will always be learning everyday -always be teaching and somehow make the world better.

I can teach you a lot and I'm willing to learn a lot.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Everything above + everything you have ever wanted to know about Iceland! ;)
I can also teach both Icelandic and English language.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Togo, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Iceland, United States