THE DITAS

We are, in fact, a family of 5.

Iulian, IT engineer, 42.

Gianina, industrial engineer, 47. Raising kids, volunteering, learning German, and looking forward to going back to a full-time job after a MA in International Management. Until then, living life on low cost. Talkative, likes to laugh, joke, meet people.

Alexandru, student, 15. He likes computer games and his family. He likes to spend time at home, but he loves to be a Pfadfinder. He dreams to become a Pfadfinder Leither.
And he wants to become a robotics engineer or a game developer.

Ilinca, student, 14. She likes to draw and dream. She likes to travel and learn about new things. She likes animals and kids and she can not decide if she wants to be a teacher, a children's doctor, or a veterinarian.

Cati, student, 10. She likes to do things by herself and in her own way. She likes to be independent and to take her own decisions. She is kindhearted and loving. She speaks fluent English, and she learned it by herself. She wants to become a kindergarten teacher.

We have had this account for 16 years. A long time ago, before having the kids, we hosted many people from all over the world in our little apartment in Sibiu, Romania and we traveled a little bit. When the kids were little and later because we changed countries (We live in the south of Munchen) and we were busy, we were not able to Couchsurf anymore.
Years passed, kids grew and now we can start again to travel, together with the kids. Unfortunately, we can not host for the moment as we are renting. Probably in a few years.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because crashing on someone's couch and life is the best way to know a place. A place has buildings, museums, rivers, and squares, but all this is soulless without people. And the best way to feel the soul of a place is to meet its people.

Interests

Iulian:
I am a computer geek and an RPG nerd. I can talk about Linux and Dungeons & Dragons for hours. Also, if you know Rimworld and Zomboid, you are my new best friend :)
I am a hobbyist photographer, and I have been trying to learn to play the guitar since I was 15.

Gianina:
I am an industrial engineer and for the moment I work and volunteer for BRK (Bayerisches Rotes Kreuz) and raise kids.
I like nature, life, and people. I like to feel alive, to feel my body (to do sports, jogging, cycling, hiking, work in the garden or build things), to feel my brain (to read, learn, research, think, find solutions, and debate), and to feel my soul (to make friends, to help people, to watch movies).
I am a dynamic person with a lot of ideas, but not enough time for everything.

• photography
• movies
• traveling
• music
• jazz
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• volunteering
• people

Music, Movies, and Books

Iulian:
When it comes to music, I love metal, but I enjoy a bit of jazz, alternative, or even trip hop, depending on the mood. Some of my favorite bands are My Dying Bride, Septicflesh, Pink Floyd, Tool, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead.
I don't have much time for movies, but from the top of my head: Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction, 2001: A Space Odyssey. I enjoy pretty much anything Sci-Fi. Also, Black Mirror, The Walking Dead, The Expanse (the books more than the series though).
When it comes to books, I prefer sci-fi and thriller/mystery/horror. I recently went through a bit of Andy Weir (The Martian, Artemis), Cline Ernest (Ready Player One, Armada), and James Corey (The Expanse).
I have a soft spot for Orwell's 1984 and for Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and pretty much anything by Stephen King.

Gianina: Music? I listen to whatever my husband chooses. Movies? SF, action, romantic, historical, anthropological, docu, etc. Only not horror or with explicit violence. Books? Latest on top: Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. But everything from Psychology to SF.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Iulian: One? No, three. Three kids :)
Gianina: Same as above!

Teach, Learn, Share

Iulian:
I can teach about Linux, infrastructure as code and automation in a cloud-native or hybrid environment.
Or how to re-install your laptop, sure, I can teach you how to do that too :)

We want to learn about the place we are visiting. History, cool things to see and do off the beaten path.
Our kids are really curious about everything, really. We sometimes have these long conversations about history, geography, the universe, life in general. One of our last sessions was about the food the ancient Romans used to eat. Most importantly, did they have lemons?

Gianina: How to remain alive after raising 3 kids. And black humor. :D

What I Can Share with Hosts

Life experiences.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Romania

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