ABOUT ME

Elisabeth, 21.

Defining my nationality - not as easy as it sounds:
I am Danish on my mother's side, Dutch on my father's and a European by my own choice. I grew up in the country side of Denmark, close to Germany. I also lived a year in Rotterdam. My whole life I have been traveling a lot with my parents, with my friends and on my own. When I travel in Europe I feel at home almost everywhere. My ambition is to be a european cosmopolitan.

I, as many people, are defining myself by what I do. So why Journalism?

I started my education at The Danish School of Journalism half a year ago. People often ask me if it was always my dream to become a journalist. The answer to that is "absolutely no". I have known for a while, and I am very certain about it know, but it's a relatively new dream. When I was younger I had several dreams. And in a lot of ways I dreamt bigger back then. I wanted to be an archaeologist, a teacher or the next prime minister of Denmark. But I realized that getting all dirty at an excavation wasn't really my thing, and I also realized that I didn't identify with any political party at all, which makes it really hard to aim for the most powerful position in the parliament. So I had all these interests: history, politics, democracy, language, spreading knowledge - among many others - and I didn't really know what to do with them, because I didn't want to exclude any of them. So to combine it all I chose journalism. I have always been a loyal user of the media, and especially the Danish Public Broadcasting because the idea of it being for every citizen, with the content that every citizen needs to be a part of a democratic society, appeals to me. And when I listened to the radio or read the paper I thought to myself: "Hey, I could do that too!". And I knew, what I wanted to be.

It comes natural to me to be interested in everyone I meet. Their story, their past, their views on life. I want to know it all. I am social and outgoing and I talk a lot.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

When I was 14 years old I went on a school trip with my class to Berlin. We were in the U-bahn, and as always in an old metro, the ride is really bumpy. At that time we didn't have any metro system in Denmark, and absolutely not in the country side where we were from, so the ride was kind of exotic, and we all grabbed something to hold on to, so that we would't fall. Then my German teacher told me that "real Berliners" could stand in the metro, all still and not holding on to something, without moving a bit. I was so fascinated by Berlin, and I so wanted to be a part of it's atmosphere, that I tried as hard as I could to stand totally still. Now its seven years later, but when I recently went to Vienna I realized that I still do it. Instinctively and without thinking about it. When I step into the metro I take it as a personal defeat, when I have to grab the plastic straps in the ceiling - because maybe someone will know that I am not actually from Vienna - or Krákow, Budapest, Paris or where ever I am at the time.

What I wish to express with this example is not that I want an Austrian or Polish passport. It is more an expression of my wish to understand the place I am visiting so much in depth that I could blend in for a short time. This is essential to me. And that is why I think couchsurfing is great. I want to meet the locals and listen to whatever they want to tell me about their city and about themselves.

Interests

My main interests are described above, but is my ambition, and I consider myself to be, many-sided, so a few of my other interests are: religion and faith, literature, art and yoga.

But of course I am not always at the library or at church. I also spend a lot of weekends in bars, clubs, cafés and just hanging out with my friends.

• arts
• culture
• books
• dancing
• beer
• yoga
• drinking
• clubbing
• traveling
• communications
• history
• journalism
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

My two favorite books are Harry Potter and the Holy Bible.

But I like to read almost everything. Maybe except self-help books.

I am all about the pop music. Hip hop, rap and rnb is cool too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

Denmark, Netherlands