Hi there!

I'm Eefje - pronounced sort of like Aaaaafye, an old-fashioned Dutch name that rhymes with teefje, meaning little bitch in Dutch; you can imagine my struggles ;)
I'm born and raised in the Netherlands, spent most of my free time as a child in the antique furniture shop of my parents, tried to skip as many classes as I could when I was a teenager (hence my poor French skills, see below), but improved and went to law school in Rotterdam and Utrecht where I specialised in human rights. Yes, I was one of those people who thought they could single-handedly save the world. After having worked for five years in the field of human rights, and more specifically in the area of racial discrimination, I still (try to) believe that I can contribute to making the world a little bit nicer, even if it is just in my own direct surroundings.

After having lived in Brussels for 1,5 years, last year I moved to London where I was doing my Master's at SOAS (School for Oriental and African Studies) while travelling a lot to Belgium where the human rights organisation called the Open Society Foundations, I was working for as a consultant was based. Oh yeah, and my boyfriend Israel was still living there :) While I also have a wonderful home with my mum and sister in the Netherlands (Zeist, near Utrecht) where I spent a lot of time and would like to receive some couch surfers at some point in time, I am currently sort of homeless. Well, I have a different home every few nights/weeks as my boyfriend and I are currently travelling South America for 6,5 months!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The obvious reason; to get to know new, interesting people who I can share ideas, viewpoints, experiences and dreams with!

Interests

- Travelling and meeting new people (duuh);

- Taking photo's, especially of people when they are living their normal lives;

- Music; anything that has soul in it;

- Sunsets + sunrises (not on the same day though), particularly at the beach, and if possible in a hammock!;

- (drinking) coffee. With milk - unless it's this amazing Colombian bourbon bean, only then I'll have it without. And tea. Usually with milk.

• human rights
• cooking
• coffee
• drinking
• shopping
• trivia
• traveling
• music
• swimming
• law
• language exchange
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

There are too many good books, so I'm going to stick with the books I'm reading at the moment.
Having just been in Colombia I'm reading the material which I should've prepared with: 100 years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And I'm almost ashamed to admit that I'm reading only now the biography of Malcolm X.
And yes, lots of music, as long as it has feeling and soul. Currently I'm listening to Ben Howard, the War on Drugs, Ben l'Oncle, Juan Luis Guerra, Anthony Hamilton, the Black Keys. And I have the Lambada on repeat, don't judge me.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swimming with pink river dolphins in the Bolivian Amazon. The second one brushed against me, I rushed out of the water. They bite, you know!
And another five day trekking to Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City) in Colombia - which was one of the most awesome but also hardest things I've ever done. That was two things, very cheeky.

Teach, Learn, Share

Intercambio's with anyone who want to practice English or perhaps even learn a word of Dutch (Netherlands) would be fun! I like learning stuff I know nothing/little about (which is much) from people I know nothing about.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hum. I can tell you lots about this fun, crazy little country called the Netherlands? Or about the stories I have travelling and working abroad, such as at a big human rights organisation in Indonesia? And about our work in Brussels? And some language exchange (English, Dutch, Spanish and French (despite having studies it for years you'd have to be the one teaching me French ;))

But mainly, I'd share my grate gratitude for people who want to host other people they have never met!

And my boyfriend is a great cook and an award-winning trivia player! ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, England, Indonesia, Netherlands