Hi! My name is Ellen and I'm half Colombian half American. I grew up in Europe in Belgium, Italy, and Germany but now work and live in NYC. Moving around all the time meant I also had the opportunity to travel growing up. Nowadays, I'm in part-time graduate school in NYC and working part-time as well, but I try to travel when I can.
I'm down to earth 🌎, calm, a little hippie dippie at times 🌻🌳🌼, and sometimes a bit too bookish 📚. I like laidback traveling where I prefer to get to know the locals and hear their stories rather than hit up every tourist spot. When I'm not traveling, I love reading non-fiction, splitting a bottle of wine with friends, and going on walks in the park.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love meeting people who love to share why they love their city/country! Some of my favourite couchsurfing memories include:
1) Glendalough, Ireland where I stayed with a man and my two friends. We stayed up all night talking about what it means to be European until the sun came up over the Wicklow Way.
2) Stockholm, Sweden where my friends and I helped our CS host and his roommates cook a traditional (but vegan!) dinner over quality conversation. My Swedish friend (who wasn't CS'ing, but joined us for dinner) said he wanted to join CS just to meet more people like our hosts even in his own city!

It's sharing moments like that with people from totally different cultures that really make me love couchsurfing over staying in an Airbnb, hostel, or hotel.

Music, Movies, and Books

Currently, I can't stop talking about Through the Language Glass. It is a book about how the world looks different to different people depending on their language. Ex: in some languages, left/right don't exist! Only north/south/east/west are used for directions. So, if you are standing in front of a mirror, you have to know if the mirror is N/S/E/W of you in order to talk about it!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm always happy to help with cooking! Lately, I've been eating mostly vegan and have picked up a few good recipes.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Germany, Italy, United States