Hey everyone!

My name is Réka, I'm an aspiring illustrator who's been working in the hostel field for close to 9 years now. Right after starting collage and studying Tourism I started working with backpackers on a daily basis which gave me the travel bug preeetty quickly. :)
In 2017 I've spent 8 month living out of a backpack (2 backpacks actually... yes, I overpack...) - visiting friends and taking up their living room (:D), couchsurfing and volunteering for food and shelter. I had an amazing time, meeting all kinds of amazing people and though I haven't seen not even half as much as a normal tourist/traveller would have, I had a great time. I'm thankful for everyone who contributed to this amazing year! :) I hope to be able to make long, slow-paced trips like this in the future too.

Other than travelling...
About 5 years ago I realized that drawing is something way more important to me then just a hobby and I started changing gears and start moving towards art related goals, so I wish to attend many art-related conferences, fairs and events (as long as I can volunteer, cause I'm pretty broke :D), and in general do a lot of plen air and urban sketching while travelling. If you know any art events in your neighborhood that is a 'must do' - don't hesitate to drop me a line, I'm eager to hear about it! :))
If you are curious about the kind of art pieces I make, check out my portfolio site over here:
http://felerisketches.com/

I'd love to get to know people, make friends, do projects together, improve my art, be inspired, learn languages and just see whats out there! :)

Looking forward to meeting You! :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Since I've been working in a hostel in Budapest forever now, giving tips about my city kind of became second nature to me - so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to bug me with them, I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can. :
I'm not able to help with everything, but I'll do what I can ;)

As for surfing itself:
I'd be happy to meet new people, wander around places without plans, sit around sketching and talking, just soaking in the atmosphere of places.
According to my ideas I'll be travelling around in the long run but without a proper budget, so I figured CS ties in well with my idea of experiencing foreign parts of the world and also with my pocket size.
I won't be the person dining out with you, but I'm always happy to prepare a meal together. ;)

If I can be in town for more then just a few days, I'm eager to take part in art project, collaborations like painting together, making illustrations, mural painting, whatnot. I have some experience with body painting (did face painting for kids on events) and henna as well so if I have the materials at hand, I'm ready to decorate people as well ;)))

If you are busy and don't really have the capacity to hang with me, but are willing to give a place for me to stay, I'll be a very grateful, respectful shadow that tries not to interfere with your life much. :))

Interests

Art, art and art:
As you already read I love many things connected to art - traditional mediums just as well as digital painting, I love conversations and talks about visual storytelling, comics, animation, illustration, children's books etc.
I'm not the most educated person on these but I love listening to podcasts about them, getting to know more and more people within the industries and I'm definitely learning more and more every day.
http://felerisketches.com
https://www.instagram.com/felerisketches/

On the geeky side:
I love fantasy and sci-fi, I'm usually the "book was better" kind of person, but I didn't have a lot of time to read in the recent years, so shame on me for that.
I love tv series but nowadays try not to get hooked on them so that I can spend time on other things. :D
I used to game a lot when I was younger, so video games and the gamer experience is a beloved topic for me as well.
I love board games, card games and although I don't have a lot of RPG experience but I'm somewhat familiar with a few of those realms and I love the concept a lot.

Languages:
I'd love to learn more languages on the go, since that has always been a rewards experience for me and it's not only a great fun but also comes pretty handy. So I'm totally up for language exchange or trying to fight the language barriers with playing 'activity' and teaching each other new words. :))

TED talks... loooove listening to TED talks. :)
I also like listening to all kinds of content about communication, habits, enterpreneurial skills, life coaching, management, social interactions, psychology, writing etc.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies & Series
Butterfly effect, K-Pax, The fountain, The Phonebooth, Dead poet society
Pay it forward, 12 monkeys (both film and the series), Léon the professional, Memento, The Prestige
Black mirror, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Misfits, Better call Saul,
Spirited away, Howl's moving castle, Secret world of Arriety, Bridge to Terabithia etc.

Books
Terry Pratcher&Neil Gaiman: Good Omens
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Dragonlance cronicles from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The song of Ice and Fire books by GRR Martin
Amanda Palmer: The art of asking
Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit
Talent is Overrated

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Been wandering around for 8 month in Europe in 2017, strengthening friendships and connecting with more and more amazing people.

Teach, Learn, Share

- draw together
- share insights about art
- henna painting
- exchange recipes (I love baking cookies :))
- I love brainstorming about many things - even if I'm not familiar the field of expertise, based on what people explain me I'm glad to toss ideas around and see if any of those spark an idea
- if you just need to pour out your soul to someone cause you are struggling with something in life, I can be a listening ear <3

What I Can Share with Hosts

- Sketching experiences
- Cooking together (paaancaaakes! :))
- Walk&talk

+ I'm happy to help out around the house if you need a hand with something ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Hungary