For couch request, read my profile !!!

CURRENT MISSION
Enjoy Paris and see the city with the traveler's eye, as if it was the first time everyday!

ABOUT ME

Easy going traveller! I lived in France, Spain, the Netherlands and England. I have two sisters, a loving family, amazing friends all different and unique. I love cycling. I love cooking, and..;eating as well!! Enjoying simple pleasures in life!

I am very passionate about travelling, trekking, and sustainable development (what I do for work). One of the greatest travel I did was In September 2013, I quit a job I loved (development already) to start a long trip throughout Europe and Asia. I took a plane to Latvia, and from there see where I wanted to go. I went through 14 countries in total starting from Latvia and going all the way through Russia, MOngolia, China and South East Asia! I am now back in Paris after 8 years abroad and I am looking forward to keeping the traveling experience alive back home.

PHILOSOPHY

One time seen is better than one hundred times heard about!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

"I ve been to many couch surfing events in London, traveled in India for 3 months meeting wonderful people, couch surfed in Spain and Mexico. While traveling, I have intended to use CS as much as possible. Back in London, I used to live in the greatest shared house in the world and we decided to host people. In practice it was a bit complicated (get 7 people to democratically agree on all the requests!) but we were all very enthusiastic about it!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I heard about CS few years ago when I went in Portugal for a week end with some friends! Some of us decided to use CS network! I was amazed about the concept! When I am traveling, I love going off track, trying something new and different. Doing something that you can't find in your guide book! And above everything, I love the human experience that traveling allows you to do! Meeting new people, learn from them, share points of view and understand better another culture from the inside... what a wonderful experience! I had an amazing experience in India where I traveled for 3 months in Spring 2010. I met amazing people that I hope I will have the opportunity to see again!!

Interests

Traveling, dancing, partying, going to concerts, theatre, practicing yoga, Human rights, politics, meeting new people and keeping in touch with my friends, debating, discussing, laughing, riding my bike, being involved, cooking, eating, working and sleeping sometimes!!

• culture
• books
• concerts
• dancing
• education
• human rights
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• yoga
• partying
• flying
• politics
• traveling
• survival
• cycling
• kayaking
• surfing
• rock climbing
• track and field
• teaching
• history
• languages
• tourism
• mountains

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Below message I wrote about traveling on the last day of my trip (June 2014). It's a bit long but I guess it is the best way I can tell you what seeing the world is for me:
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9 months ago I started the most astonishing journey of my life. I now have been in 13 countries all the way across Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Mongolia, China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

What made this journey so special is the marvellous people I had the chance to see/meet along the way. We might have met on a train, in a guest house in any of the countries mentioned above, couchsurfing, at a yoga class, randomly in the street, grew up together or known each other for years. Together, we have spent months, days or sometimes just a few hours. Old friends and family visiting, to new friends, you all will always have a special place for me. Thank you for making those moments exceptional and teaching me to dare making my dreams happen (I warned about the cheesiness). I can't wait for the moment when we will get to see each other again somewhere or another, let's make it sooner rather than later.

So many memories come to mind, unique moments shared: countless hours on trains, buses, taxis, trucks, boats, songteos, tuk tuks, planes, bikes, e bikes, buggies, fins, roller skates, climbing gear, feet, kayak, horse, camel...

Seeing the wonders of the world including the Kremlin, Siberia, Kazan mosque, Baikal lake, the biggest Lenine head of the world (o yeah!) the forbidden city, Xi'an terracotta army, Leshan Buddha, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Tibetan provinces, Yunnan rice terraces, Luang Prabang, Angkor Wat, Shewdaggong pagoda, Shin state, the Mekong, Ho chi minh, Ko Lanta, Bagan, Singapore Marina bay, Rijiani volcano, Gili island, Bali water temple, mosques/churches/synogogues/ and more temples... this list is evidently non exhaustive and please don't ask me for the top 5!

In a year I giggled like a 5 years old when horse riding in Mongolia before heading back to our ger and counting stars, cried watching la Bayadere at the Mariinski in St Petersburg, learned the Cyrillic alphabet and a few words in too many languages/dealt with too many currencies, celebrated my 30th with officially the greatest day one could dream of with la creme de la creme feeling loved, saw my parents smiling as if it was a Chrismas morning in the late 50's in front of Angkor Wat, ate and ate more and more of the finest food of the world, slept in the crappiest 12 bed dorms to top end 5 stars resorts (more of the former than of the latter for sure!), got lost, camped, felt alive on Okhlon island on Baikal lake, trekked in lush and wet jungle/gorge/countryside/mountains/volcano/rice fields, slept at the back of a pick up van crossing sunflower fields, snorkelled with sea turtles, saw dead Mao and dead Lenine, practiced yoga with world yogis/acroyoga with unicorns, did nothing in Pai, felt connected, hunted for coffee, rocked climbed, saw the most ingenious ideas including clock cafe in Nizhny Novgorod/solar powered showers/electric blankets/tanhaka in Myanmar, celebrated Christmas with my sis (as the best present I could get, missing the other one and the rest of my family) for the first time outside France, experienced the Russian Banya as the locals do, kayaked, sneaked in a very expensive resort hotel just to see how it was, went to Sunday mass and felt discussed by missionaries, went to gigs, crossed many many land borders, got back into shape and put my back problems behind me, experienced ecstatic dance, felt that exhilarating thrill booking my flight to Myanmar by making another dream come true, witnessed utterly revolting behaviours from tourists, got offered vodka at 7 in the morning, volunteered, got sick, discovered new sounds, lost my credit card twice, got stuck in a snow blizzard, celebrated life, got charmed by how people of the world are kind if you let them be, had a dog named Buddha for a few hours, worked hard and played hard, danced the night away, had champagne for New Years Eve on a paradise island, went skinny dipping, soaked in the history of the world and understood the multiple sides a story has, have been assaulted and felt lucky about it, cheered with people from at least 30 different nationalities, went off the beaten tracks for a bit, enjoyed not having internet/a phone, had enlightening conversations about panda survival/transubstantiation/meaning of life/top 5 nuts/small talk about colonics (only in Ubud)/how to save the world, laughed and laughed again, had the full range of emotions in a few minutes, enjoyed the now, shared my deepest fears/joys, learned how to travel alone/concentrate on the important matters and make things happen...

Today is my last day in Asia. Tomorrow I am flying home... time to put into practice all the lessons learned. Paris or anywhere else will be a new adventure.

Teach, Learn, Share

Update Sept 2016
Still in Paris!

Update June 2014:
Back in Paris after 8 years abroad: bring it on people!!

Update 2013:
I am a full time traveller now!
Until september 2013:
I am a development worker in a local charity in South London. My role is to support other charities. I teach a bit, I learn a lot and I am trying to share all the time!
I also used to work around human rights education. I am sure someone could be interested to learn a little bit more about their rights to help us building a culture of human rights: dignity, equality, fairness, respect, accountability!

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom

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