Hey guys!
I'm Clo, I come from France but study in Göttingen, Germany since 2012.

Right now I'm studying Cultural/Social Anthropology & Religion studies (Bachelor of Arts).
In my free time, I work voluntarily as a member of AIESEC, a student organization which organizes internships abroad for students to increase intercultural exchange. This organization helps me to develop myself and to get a lot of experience, I'm really thankful for this. Plus, I know that my work have a positive impact on the world, that motivates me to continue.

I am an open-minded, curious person. I like challenging myself to learn something new or to experience things. Besides, I rejoice in relaxing and in the simple things of life: good talks with interesting people, laughing, smiling faces, good food, beautiful landscapes, riding my bike... I can be quite determined, if I really want something I'll work hard for it. Some people say I smile a lot, so I would say I'm rather a happy, positive person (I can sometimes even be very crazy, silly and absurd in a funny way, my humor is kinda special), although not that much extroverted - depends on my mood. Honesty is very important to me. I try to be always honest and direct, I don't like faking something or playing games.

During 3 years, except the week ends, I lived in a residential school, and shared my room with from 1 to 4 people. I also shared rooms in hostels during school or private trips. Besides, I live in a shared flat since 2012. So I think I can say I am experienced living with other people.

It may be important to know this haha: I'm a vegetarian, I'm afraid of heights and I dislike (big) spiders very much.

Living in a shared flat without living room, I unfortunately cannot host anybody. But I would be glad to meet up with people travelling to my city!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Since years, my dream is to travel around the world. Sure, I want to see the countries and the cities, but I also wish to understand the locals and to experiment their way of life. I don't want to do only what my travel guide book advises, because I may miss interesting locations, moments and people.

Besides, I just like meeting new people as well as helping people, so I would be happy to show my city to travelers.

Interests

As I am quite curious and open, my interests can vary. If something interests me and I want to learn more about it, I often Google it and can lose myself surfing on Wikipedia, reading about various topics.

As a student, I am interested in the different societies, their way of living and thinking, their beliefs, etc. That's also why I'm interested in travelling. I hope it can help me to understand the world better.

I love listening to music (so important to me! It can even help motivating me to get up and clean the flat haha), watching movies or series, reading (but I don't read that much in my free time anymore 'cause I already have to read a lot of texts for my studies). On occasion I also go to art museums or exhibitions, to concerts, to the theater and other cultural stuff. I'm not that sporty but I enjoy exercise: walking, riding my bike, yoga, dancing, swimming... I go to the gym regularly, it helps me letting the too-much-stress/energy out. When I have the time, I love to cook.

• arts
• culture
• books
• theater
• concerts
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• vegetarian
• exercise
• yoga
• walking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• swimming
• anthropology
• languages
• religion
• tourism
• volunteering
• veganism
• sustainable development
• sustainable living
• zero waste

Music, Movies, and Books

I hear many genres of music: indie, electro, pop, rock, classical and opera, jazz, folk, country, reggae, dubstep, R'n'B... What I (almost) do not listen to is rap, hardcore and metal or hard rock. I'm a bit of a nostalgic person, so I love listening to "old" songs (old jazz, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's...). At the moment, my favorite band is Alt-J.

I may enjoy some blockbusters, but I would say I'm a fan of indie films. I also like historic movies, science-fiction (Star Wars, for instance) and fantasy movies. I also enjoy documentary movies. Currently, my favorite movie is "Frances Ha".

I like reading novels: "normal" stories (like dramas), but also historic or fantasy novels (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, ...). I'm a big fan of Jane Austen for her ironic and comic writing style. I also enjoy reading books about actual, real topics or persons (for my studies I have to read quite a lot). On occasion I may read comics. "Eat, pray, love" was for a long time my favorite, and it inspired me much, although now I changed my mind a bit.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Right now, I can't tell what is "THE one amazing thing that I've done". But I know the most amazing things I've done were always the things I decided to do even if they were risky, challenging, scary.
For example, going to Germany for my studies, travelling and living for the first time outside of Europe, teaching English and French to Cambodian children, travelling alone in Cambodia, becoming a team leader within AIESEC. Being alone and confronted to an unknown situation brought me so much, I learned quite a few things about the world and myself, and I met inspiring people. Also telling this one guy I have feelings for him haha. Those experiences vary between "good" and "bad", and every of them are valuable. All this helped me to grow as a person.

Teach, Learn, Share

I think teaching has a lot to do with sharing, and that through sharing experiences and stories with people, everyone has the possibility of learning many things. Sometimes, one discussion can open plenty of new doors, new perspectives, new opportunities. That's why I'm interested in meeting new people, why I'm curious about them, and why I'm eager to learn, especially because I'm young and didn't experience as much as others.
I'm also very interested in alternative and sustainable ways of living. I plan on becoming a vegan, and I also would like to become zero waste and make more things myself, so I would be very happy about any advices.

I guess I could teach some things like the languages I can speak or how to cook typical dishes from where I come from or cambodian-style curries. And what I can share are my experiences (of different cultures, of volunteering, ...) and my vision of the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I would be glad to get to know my hosts, as well as their experience, their culture and their country; as I would be happy to share about mine. I would be really thankful if my hosts could lead me through the city, bringing me to places and showing me things they think I shouldn't miss - but it's okay if you don't have time for this.
I also would be glad to help them in their house/appartment, for instance cooking for them, cleaning up, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Scotland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, France, Germany