Hello couchsurfers! I am Aliki, 25 years old, Greek. I'm fluent in Greek and English, but I understand spoken German, Russian and Bulgarian at a good level. I enjoy gardening, training, travelling, stargazing.

I used to host in Varna since I was studying there but now it is time for the next CS chapter, back in my homecountry Greece and specifically the capital, Athens!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

"When I am not traveling the world, the world is travelling to me"

Interests

A: Guitarist, plant mother, cooking enthusiast, animal guardian and occasional nerd.

• cats
• gardening
• guitar
• backpacking
• swimming
• ecology
• sightseeing
• museums
• marine life

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: literally anything that sounds catchy to my ears, but with a special preference to rock music.
Movies: literally anything that is well-directed and well-acted, but with a special preference to dramas.
Books: Irvin D. Yalom FTW

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most I am proud of is being able to relocate and move to another country out of the blue and at a very short notice, which is something I do mainly because of the nature of my job, but also because I just enjoy doing it (have lived permanently in 3 countries so far and I would do it all over again)

Teach, Learn, Share

Hold fast, long paragraphs are going to follow however you will understand a bit more about me and my experience on CS. Let's start with the basics:

➤ Things to read if you plan to send me a couch request:
Hosting people shouldn't come at a cost to the bank account. As a traveler, staying at a hostel here would cost you at least 20 euros per night. Don't cheap out just because you're using this platform. If you disagree, this is not the right profile for you. You should be the guest that you would love to host. And that’s how the CS philosophy goes on. If you consider yourself a good aspiring guest, you can skip this paragraph. It has become tiring declining bad requests and repeatedly explaining the basics of courtesy. Therefore, I felt the need to clarify what a bad request is from my perspective:

1) Lack of information in your bio, which is less of an issue if you have enough details on your couch request.
2) Lack of information in your request (1 and 2 combined is a definite no-go).
3) Bringing friends who don't use CS without giving any information about them.
4) Sending copy-pasted spam requests to the whole city and hoping for the best. Your chances are better with one well-written request than with ten poorly-written ones.
5) Treating CS like a free Airbnb platform.
6) Writing just 2 lines. Put in some effort!

Here’s an example of a bad request I have received that includes most of the above dont's (except No. 3 - it was a single request): "Hello Aliki! I'll arrive at Vantaa airport at 9pm. Therefore, I can't pick up my flat key. Can you please host me? Thank you!" Honestly, I didn’t even know what that meant. Why couldn’t she pick up her flat key? Was she a resident in Varna? So many questions that I never figured out.

➤ The host’s side:
Many of my previous surfers had no prior references, yet they were some of the best guests I have had. This is because I trully believe in the spirit of CS and it is always my honour to be the first experience of a new surfer. Everyone needs to start somewhere after all. I am really glad I left my comfort zone and just trusted my gut with them. It's the vibe each person gives you. I also had requests from profiles with 0 references that my instinct told me to not go ahead. Maybe I missed some chances of great future friends. Trust your instincts when choosing guests; CS helps train that instinct.

➤ The surfer's side:
I truly admire the surfers, much more than the hosts like myself. I understand the host's perspective, it is challenging to host strangers. But honestly, it's a total different thing to open YOUR home in YOUR city to a stranger, from going to a STRANGER'S place in an UNKNOWN house, likely with NO people to back you up if something happens and NO familiarity with the city itself.

For this reason, I will wholeheartedly do my best to minimize your stress and assure you that there’s nothing to worry about. This is what I would expect from my host as well. As I said before, be the guest you would love to host. This isn't a criticism of surfers, it also serves as a reminder for hosts to do better and not exploit the "my house, my rules" mentality. Yes, it's your house, but don't misuse that power. The world won’t end if you let your guest sleep 30 minutes after arriving and continue the conversation the next day. However, you are taking advantage of your position if you keep them up for hours despite their fatigue.

What I Can Share with Hosts

💥I am the chocolate Soufflé (aka lava cake) master.
💥Greek-Mediterranean cooking skills.
💥Always bringing souvenirs to add on your fridge magnets-collection.
💥My life on board if you are into sea-stories.

And of course, it goes without saying that I will be more than happy to return the hospitality each host will show me when they visit my country by hosting them back.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bulgaria, Germany, Greece