Heyy there, thanks a lot for taking time to read this 💖💖💖 (It's my first time on couchsurfing!)

(PS: I'm an Indian citizen, but have been living in South Africa for most of 2022 and 2023 :))

I love listening, learning and illuminating my surroundings with laughter, joy and mirth. I love the unknown and find happiness in stories and values of people around me. Although I'm 20, my post pandemic years have been the proudest years of growth and spontaneity for me, which I'd be so down to share! u-u

I haven't started my undergrad yet, and have been working in areas of storytelling and observation across the world. Living across different countries, I deeply value the meaning of culture and try to embody it across my love for learning languages, coming up with vegan cooking recipes, exploring dances and sharing folk tales across the world.

I love languages, and designing various approaches to learning it: I can understand and read Afrikaans, Portuguese and Spanish, and I learnt A2-B1 level Indonesian in two weeks to aid my research in Indonesia

I'm quite easy-going and don't need much (though, I really love asking questions!), but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to express my gratitude to the host; I plan to start hosting once I'm out of college and would love to ensure that those I'm hosting get to immerse themselves in my culture and lifestyle u-u

I like expressing emotion through dance, which I have been doing since 2016 and explore mostly folk and traditional dances like Amapiano, Hula, Tarian Java-Bali, Wolobobo, and Garba. I am mildly athletic but have golden retriever energy to get into adventure sports: from frequent sky-diving, to snorkelling ;)

My work----------------------------------------
Passionate about storytelling and averse to fixed settings, I've navigated diverse roles. With a background in nonprofit work and startup advising (focused on Fundraising and Partnerships), my South Africa tenure shaped me. Since a sabbatical in June 2023, I've embraced work-travel, engaging with grassroots startups and Web3 initiatives.

In Indonesia, I collaborated with art collectives and explored the link between Culture and Conservation across Banda Sea islands.

I was the Community Building and Recruitment Manager at Dream DAO, connecting Gen Z to Web3 and Social Impact careers.

I also contribute to Youth Advisory roles with organizations like the Human Impacts Institute, Concourse International, Streetbridge Foundation, Resist Two, and Civics Unplugged.

I like networking and collaborating with people more than coming up with my own initiatives, as I feel confident in evaluating things in different shades :) I thrive in interdisciplinary works, problem solving on grassroots and global operation levels, and am in love with

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like to travel through stories and lives of people, than through souvenirs and selfies!
I have been backpacking for two years and had heard of this gem two months ago, from my mentor Ciluk Handayani from Yogyakarta. She had been an amazing host and traveller herself and her stories motivated me a lot to just go out and about!

I want to live with hosts to understand local cultures, explore the area in linguistic, cultural and political lenses and just be out of my comfort zone. I want to feel like home wherever I go, and be a family wherever I am :)

There's this dictionary of obscure sorrows, which has a word called Sonder, and it's definition is the reason why I am on couchsurfing:

An epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once,

as a ray in the sea of gray,
a flower thriving in nativity,
as a mural on broken walls,
a smile above a tree in antiquity
A lighted window, in day falls.

One day, once I graduate college, I want to be in a position to host travellers and pay it forward :)

Interests

• writing
• photography
• environment
• politics
• movies
• music
• piano
• languages
• dance
• composing
• comedy
• samba
• debate
• traveller
• life in general

Music, Movies, and Books

THIS CAN GO ON AND ON FOR SO LONG

Music Genres: Samba, Afropop, Amapiano, Gamelan, Raï, Bengali Lo-fi, Dangdut, Kroncong, Reggae, Folk and classical music across the world. I assure you the depth of emotions they have!

Movies: I love KDrama recently, and Comedies and Queer movies are my favourite! There is a lot to talk about here, yet again!

Books: I am a non-fiction person, but Trevor Noah's Born a Crime is the highlight of my life AHAHHAAH

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Listening.

To the stories of people,
To the inner voice I call home,
To the world : one moment at a time.

Believing.

In the Unknown.
In the power of stories.
In the power of community.

A few amazing things I have done are performing dances and narrations for local communities, cook a great deal of fusion dishes for a group of 25 people across 13 different countries back in South Africa, and travel on my own in search for belonging, and finding it!

Teach, Learn, Share

I have impostor syndrome, but getting over it, I can share and learn together a lot of things!

Teach- Language learning pedagogy, Mathematics, Fusion Cooking

Learn- I really want to learn everything, and am always eager to try something new and face life head on, but more on Lucid dreaming because of my friends, Crocheting, Philosophy and Politics, (I prefer listening to people over speaking!)

Share (see the next section for this!)- Amazing history and mythological stories from places you probably don't know, and everything you want to know!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Here I will answer what I can share to the ones who host me, for reasons mentioned before haha :)

I can cook (maybe cook together?) great vegan-vegetarian dishes across multiple cuisines (South African, Yoruba, Lebanese, Malay, Javanese, Italian, Indian and Brazilian). And my OCD self loves to help clean and sort things out! If you like getting photostories around, you can count on me!

I can entertain you with my stories, and be a lending ear and a shoulder to you. I like to give my best to create a space for belonging where I go, irrespective of how long I stay with you. I want to offer my time and celebrate the time you are willing to share with me.

Countries I’ve Visited

India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, South Africa, Thailand, United Arab Emirates

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Indonesia, South Africa