Hi Couchsurfers!

My name is Chaleena :) I was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand and moved to Los Angeles, California, USA when I was 10 years old. I recently just moved back to LA after living in Brussels, Belgium for a year as an au-pair (basically living with a host family and taking care of their children--in my case an adorable 2 year-old baby boy!) I love traveling and taking photos; to see where I've been, check out my instagram @chaleena (https://www.instagram.com/chaleena/)!

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

After the year of stepping out of my comfort zone and lived in a completely new place and traveled (often time alone) I must say... I'm addicted! I've visited many cities and met so many new people and it has been such an incredible experience that I wonder why I didn't do this sooner.

兴趣

I LOVE food! Because I am just a lowly au-pair, I always have to keep budget in mind while traveling but if there is one thing I will allow myself to spend on, it's food! I always make sure that I try local food wherever I travel to, even if it the ingredients don't entices me (I'm looking at you, escagots). In addition to eating, I also absolutely love cooking. And yes, I photograph my food. No regrets.

• photography
• cooking
• beer
• fitness
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• languages
• good food
• whiskey
• meeting new people
• good conversation

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

Quitting my job.

Basically, I had a very good and glamorous career in the fashion/new media (think Youtube) back in Los Angeles. My life was really coming together nicely in a conventional sense: moving into my own apartment, owning a car, having a stable job, sticking to a daily routine of work and going to the gym, etc.

Although I was happy with what I had, I was never really content. I never had a chance to travel and see the world like I wanted to. My job was taking over my life (and sometimes my dreams)... I realized that I wanted something more than just trying to make people spend the money they don't have on things they don't need. I wanted to create experiences for myself to learn from and to look back at.

I stumbled upon the idea of being an au-pair from just researching about extensive backpacking through Europe. I set up a profile on an au-pair matching website just out of curiosity. I got a messaged from a family, started talking to them, did a Skype meeting, and after two weeks I accepted their invitation to come live in Belgium. I told my job I was leaving. And just a month after that fateful day I set up my profile, I was already on the plane to a place I've never been to, to live with a family I've never met, in a country that I've no contacts or friends whatsoever. And it was the best decision I've ever made in my life :)

我游览过的国家

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

我居住过的国家

Belgium, Thailand, United States