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/)!

Why I’m on 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.

Interests

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

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

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 :)

Countries I’ve Visited

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

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Thailand, United States