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Overview

  • 133 references 118 Confirmed & Positive
  • Ambassador
  • Fluent in Czech, English, German, Hungarian, Russian, Spanish; learning Arabic, Creole, French, Nepali, Slovak
  • 97, Other
  • Member since 2009
  • human rights and humanitarian work
  • human rights
  • From New York City, NY, USA
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

Please read also the section about 'OUR HOME'!

If we are not able to host you, we can at least share a "Tipp list" for travelers to Moldova upon request, indicating some of the highlights (both touristic, as well as hidden treasures, such as lost places) :)

ABOUT ME

We are a nomadic family living and working around the world since 2005. Now in Moldova, we previously lived in Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Mexico, Nepal, Cambodia, South America (Chile, Peru) and Western Africa.

Jan: After travelling extensively before and during my studies, I made a job of my passion...

Bea: All I wanted to do after finishing high school was to work in the human rights field. So I studied law, focused on human rights and took the first opportunity I had to go abroad to work ... West-Africa (Guinea, Sierra Leone).

We were very lucky to meet in Austria, just after returning from South-America/West-Africa and have since continued with our passions together!

PHILOSOPHY

Don´t intend to "save the world", rather work on changing your environment - small steps are those that make the difference, and many small steps of many others are those that in common will change the world!

Get to know the real thing behind the surface, or at least try it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Well, hosting and surfing couches as well as participating in groups
:-)

Since ever we have been hosting friends and friends of friends and we ourselves have been surfing couches of friends and friends of friends in the world.

Jan: My first fantastic experience as a surfer was during my trip in Albania, since then we have been hosting and surfing all over, which is all reflected in the references.
Bea: I actually had my first experience as a surfer only in Mexico and it was fantastic!

Interests

Engaging with local people from countries we visit to better understand them and their country. Otherwise: nature, camping, campfire, hiking mountains, biking, diving, but also crazy (rock)-concerts, festivals, exhibitions, parties and - of course (!) - meeting interesting people.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: "Into the Wild", "Baraka", "Children of Heaven", "Amores Perros", "Babel", "21 grams", "The lovely bones", etc. etc. etc.

Books:
Unfortunately I (Jan) am not really reading books, which is a shame, but well. Anyway, lately I read and loved "Perfume"... what a fascinating bizarre story :-> ...
Bea: I, on the contrary, looove to read books and can drive Jan crazy when I spend hours reading instead of getting ready :-)

Music: Oh, depending much on the mood - but the range is from (Alternative) Rock, Reggae, Ska, Lounge-music, Salsa, to classical music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jan: Stayed with villagers in their homes in the most remote places of the Himalayas.
Hitchhiked 1800km in Chile in just 2 days.
Realized a dream of a bigger cycle tour by cycling from Geneva to Vienna.
Bea: Saw incredible happiness in people, who had nothing else but 1,5 m² of space on the floor of a tent in refugee camps in Guinea.
The view from Gokyo Ri (Everest region), Nepal, after having climbed up to the pass at over 5600m for maany hours.

Teach, Learn, Share

We can share a "Tipp list" for travelers to Moldova, indicating some of the highlights (both touristic, as well as hidden treasures such as lost places) :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

A nice chat over dinner/lunch/breakfast/a cup of tea
Positive energy and good vibes
Share adventures and a lot of Tipps for travelling in all those places we lived in or travelled to

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Croatia, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Cambodia, Chile, Czech Republic, Guinea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Moldova, Nepal, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Spain

Old School Badges

  • 29 Vouches

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