Hi! I'm Claire, a 26 year old traveller from The Netherlands, with roots in Surinam. Last year I finished my university in Social Sciences and International Development Studies and since then I have been traveling throughout South America. I've been on the road for 1,5 year now and I'm still loving it! I want to see as much of the world as I can as I love meeting people from all over the world and I enjoy learning more about other cultures, hearing about different perspectives and experiencing different ways of living. I find it important to try and gain a broad understanding of the society of places and its local context.
I am passionate about nature, and especially the rainforest, and I like sports, good talks, animals, music, and I love food - hence I enjoy trying local foods and cooking!

Currently traveling together with my wonderful girlfriend Awali!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To me, couchsurfing is one of many great ways to gain an understanding and to see a local context of the society of places. For this purpose I think it's very valuable to get to know the people that inhibit a place and as such shape its society. I think that couchsurfing offers a more unique and authentic style of traveling as you get acquainted with more hidden places and you get a peak into the actual local life rather than getting stuck in the tourist bubbles.

Interests

• culture
• writing
• cooking
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• music
• sports
• soccer
• history
• languages
• sociology
• food
• nature

Teach, Learn, Share

Having grown up in a Surinamese household, the importance of food and sharing food is something that I have been raised with. I therefore love to cook for hosts as a means of giving back. I also grew up having pets and am thus always happy to help take care of pets! Besides that, I love exchanging language skills as I am learning Spanish and French and have experience in teaching English to children.

What I Can Share with Hosts

As mentioned before I love cooking for hosts to share good food in a nice social setting. I am also always willing to help cleaning, look after pets, and generally I would say that I'm pretty laid back and easy going, meaning that I am always down to hang out, share some good vibes, but also totally understanding of personal space and happy doing my own thing when preferred!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Curaçao, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Nicaragua, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Suriname, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands