Hello, goedendag & bonjour

As you've probably seen higher up, my name is Antoine and I'm from Belgium.
Born from parents of different language zones, me and my 3 younger sisters have been raised to speak French and Dutch natively. At first this was just an advantage at school, and on vacations. But at the end of high school I decided to go on year on exchange in California. An example that has been followed by my sisters: they went to Ecuador, Japan & Brazil!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I mentioned this international exchange because to this day this is still the most enriching experience I've ever had. You might think "hey that sounds like Couchsurfing" but wait, it gets closer. With the Rotary Youth Exchange you traditionally get 3 host families - one trimester each. It can vary from person to person, but that was my case. I enjoyed all 3 of my host families, they were all very welcoming, open-hearted and just awesome. I always felt at home with them. Aside from that, during some excursions during the year and at the end-of-year trip, we frequently stayed for a couple days at host families to see the town and do some activities. Not only did we see them as some angels giving us food, shelter and a washing machine, but they were genuinely happy to have us there and talk about our experiences. I thought it was definitely the best way to travel and I decided that as soon as I'm capable of hosting travellers at my own place I will do so. (I still don't have my own place, but I keep the dream alive)

Interests

I practice or use to practice many sports in my life: Swimming, judo, volleyball, cross-country, chess... though not all at the same time.
All sports that I've done somewhat seriously but always as a hobby. Training multiple times a week and participating in competitions. I've had a low period before but nowadays I'm feeling good about my progress in swimming and in chess. Slowly climbing up the ladder, it's rewarding and it's a good way to keep an active life.

• dining
• chess
• traveling
• sports
• rock climbing
• volleyball
• swimming

Music, Movies, and Books

I can basically enjoy anything.

I think there are many great american TV-series, japanese mangas and great musical artists in every genre. Mentioning a few would just be unfair for the others.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm polite, respectful, clean and a good listener.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, United States