CURRENT MISSION

Providing a sustainable, vegan world for my daughter to grow up in

ABOUT ME

Veerle: I am one of many young people hoping to ‘be the change they want to see in this world’, as Ghandi adviced us to do. You could call me a dreamer, a writer, an activist- artist if you wish.

I live together with my husband and our sweet daughter (2013) in Almere, near Amsterdam. In my younger years I spend a lot of time writing -especially stories and poetry. I have a background in Social Psychology and divide my time between my two passions: my daughter and the vegan organization I founded and work for. It's probably not surprising I really love cooking and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. My friends sometimes call me a workaholic, especially after midnight. I am not a morning person at all.

Pablo: the male part of our little family. He is very active in animal rights and animal politics. Since his graduation as an environmental scientist, he has been working as a policy employee at the animal rights organization Pigs in Peril. He has worked as a parliamentary assistant for the Member of the European Parliament in Brussels. Since 2015 he is my full-time partner in crime at our vegan foundation. He loves to cook delicious, experimental vegan dishes.

PHILOSOPHY

if I would need to express myself in citations of my idols, this would be a good summary:

- Be that change you want to see in this world! (Ghandi)

- Make love, no war!

- It's not about the question of they (animals) can think, but if they can suffer! (Jeremy Bentham)

- If the walls of slaughterhouses would be made of glass, meat-eaters would become a minority.

- Give blood and save a life... then go veg and save 96 more. (my veggie T-shirt)

In my own words I would describe my philosophy as a long search for meaning, love, and answers.
At the moment I try to find out how the consumption of meat is still so rooted in Western Culture, why people are so frightened to leave their daily piece of meat even though they know about the ethical, environmental, humanitarian, and health consequences. Maybe I am aiming for a future as an anthropologist or psychologist or maybe I'll always stay a journalist, an interviewer living on asking all the questions spinning in her head.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

In august 2008 I surfed my first couch, thanks to couchsurfing! (if you don't count my first couchsurf in Norway in 2005, before I knew the website) A friendly couple from downtown Montreal and their cute fluffy cats offered them their hospitality and confortable couch. It was great! After that experience I opened up my house for other couchsurfers.

Between 2011- 2014 my boyfriend and I hosted two Israelian guys and we spend a great week with our American guest Matthew. In 2015 we were in-between homes and were so glad to use this time to travel within Belgium and Netherland and get to know other families with kids on Couchsurfing where we stayed for short visits. From 2015-2019 we switched to Workaway and we have hosted over 15 people for long-stays at our home and foundation. Then corona hit and our always buzzing home was suddenly without guests. Since 2022 we are back on Couchsurfing and ready to host (and travel) again!

Interests

I am a good vegan cook. I would love to teach you some of my best recipes!

If you know good card games from your country, teach me!!! Magic card tricks are welcome too!

Words are my passion. I volunteer for Jeugd en Poezie (Youth and Poetry www.jeugdenpoezie.be) as an Ecrivain Public ('Street poet' on request), start to love the blog scene (http://www.thinkaboutit.eu/author/veerlevrindts), wish to change the world, need to live on stage once a while in a theatre or improvisation play, enjoy good alternative and terribly commercial movies, defend rights of humans and other animals, search intercultural dialogues where-ever I am, discovered the joy of vegan cooking, but even freezer-spinach, Alpro Soya semi-spicy tofuhamburgers and banana-raspberry-soymilkshake can make my day.

• animals
• cats
• culture
• writing
• books
• poetry
• cooking
• recipes
• vegan
• yoga
• meditation
• partying
• boating
• politics
• movies
• board games
• blogging
• magic
• anthropology
• journalism
• psychology
• religion
• science
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Jeux D'Enfants, Le Fabuleux destins de Amelie Poulain, Moulin Rouge, La Vita e bella, Mar Adentro, Patch Adams, le premier jour du reste de ta vie, Waltz with Bashir, ...

Books: Once Minutos (Paulo Coelho), memories of a geisha, all books by Amelie Nothomb, het Sinaasappelmeisje (Jostein Gaarder), ...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Giving birth to another living being (2013)

- I've lived in a house next to the Ecuadorian beach for one year (2005-2006)

- I jumped off a 15 meter high rock on the Galapagos Islands. (2006)

- Staring speechless at a school of killer whales just some meters in front of us on a boat in British Colombia. (2008)

- The Rockies with Bees! (2008)

- I published three youth books(2000, 2003, 2006)

Teach, Learn, Share

I really want to learn Portuguese and improve my German and Spanish! And I also want to learn more about meditation, yoga and eastern religions...

Someone wants to peer-educate me?

I in return can exchange experiences with you, bake vegan cake and brownies, challenge you with board games, maybe (if you are very nice) I will even reveal some of my magic card secrets :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bolivia, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Canada, Ecuador, Netherlands

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