CURRENT MISSION

To be here now, no matter what.

ABOUT ME

I'm from Romania, but I have lived in the Czech Republic for almost decade, where I first arrived as an Erasmus exchange student. I simply fell in love with the Czech country and culture - in some ways similar and in other ways different from Romania.

After seven years of working in front of a screen, I finally decided to pack up my stuff and step out of the comfort zone. Travelling and volunteering is the way for me right now. Hence, I have been active on workaway.info and currently trying to bring back to life my old Couchsurfing profile, which I haven't been using in years.

PHILOSOPHY

Something has to give and that's ok.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

It was winter, Budapest was too cold. Found someone to take us in. Would have gladly returned the favor if given the chance.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Though it's been a while since my last couch surf, I remember all the experiences as very positive (even mesmerizing at times).

Interests

For someone who has been sedentary for most of her life, it's quite surprising how much I enjoy Pilates, I'm trying to do it daily, my dosage of mental wellness. So if you see me carrying a mat, you should know that it's not for Yoga, but for Pilates. :P

Having lived in Czechia for almost a decade - a country known not only for its beer, but also for the best trail marking system in Europe - I learned to enjoy hikes and one day trips. Next thing, I'd like to learn Nordic walking.

I like trying new cooking recipes and testing different meditation apps (I even joined a meditation retreat last year). Sometimes I check out flee markets and vintage shops. or go to swap events. While, at the same time, ironically or not, I am curious to learn more about minimalism and ways to organize my living space (though at the moment it is more about how to efficiently backpack).

Also, I enjoy going to music festivals and concerts. And I really like cats, I can read their minds.

Music, Movies, and Books

It seems that I am going back to listening to the music I enjoyed as a teenager, which is mostly heavy metal. But I also enjoy the classics, such as The Doors, Deep Purple and so on.

In terms of movies, I've been lagging behind lately, unaware of what is trending in cinemas these days. Perhaps this is in part due to the fact that I now prefer TV series (big fan of The Office, Golden Girls).

As about books, I've been mostly busy with a collection of classic books, basically a summary of Robinson Crusoe, Jane Austen etc. - with the mentioning that I was reading these in Czech, to learn the language. But I did enjoy them, even if the main purpose was language learning.
However, a dear book to me lately has been ''Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home'' by
Turner Toko-Pa. In truth, I would at this point read any book related to the topic of belonging, as this topic has been a core one for me in the past few years - belonging and the idea of community.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I feel small while trying to answer to this. But I've done a few nice things, such as finding good boyfriends for 3 lady friends of mine. Or buying a non-alcoholic beer on a hot day for a homeless guy. Or regularly taking our the trash for my elderly neighbor. And other more or less random acts of kindness.

I'm actually at that point in my life where I am trying to be aware of how attempting to ''save'' others might be an indication about the ways in which I fail to ''save'' myself.

Still, let me brag about how I've learned to swim at the age of 29. Or how I once got up the stage during an open mic and managed to get some laughs. Ok, I will stop here with examples of personal best.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Romania, United States