Hey!

Ill be in Europe from the 28th of December starting with Switzerland :)

I just came back from Asia where I was since January 2018! I started my journey as a student exchange in NUS (National University of Singapore) lasting until May 2018. I decided to stay in Asia afterward to discovering this beautiful continent and explored over 11 countries♡

[About me in general]

I'm an optimist who always sees the bright side of life! Open minded, I like to connect with people from other cultures and places to learn more about what's happened outside of my own country. I truly enjoy thoughtful conversations.

I am a daily meditator of Mindfulness trying to get established in Vipassana meditation (which I did the 10-day retreat twice) and I am currently delving into the Yoga & Buddhist philosophy. I have also been practicing Yoga almost daily for the last two years and I am now a certified teacher! :D

What I don't like? Complains, negativity, and when people are always on their phone! I love connecting with the people I am with rather than being connected online ;D

[Academic Background]

Close from finishing my bachelor in International Development and Sociology at McGill University, I was looking at the master in Social Entrepreneurship & Management as I now want to hear about possible solutions to all the social problems i have studied! Ahahaha

[Spoken Languages]

My first language is French, but I am fluent in English, which is the language I study in. I can also express myself in Italian, and German. I still understand mostly everything in Spanish, since I used to speak it.

[Professional background]

In term of professional background, I have been working with a few non-profit organizations, including these following 4 organizations

1) the goal of one is to break the isolation of people with intellectual deficiencies

2) the second is to give a break to parents with autistic children

3) I have also worked for the YMCA which I was the local coordinator of a program of summer work student exchange. I was in charge all the promotion, the contrat with the employers, the interviews with the participants and host family and the organization of the activities and the gestion of the budget.

4) I have been (and I am still) a tutor for students with difficulties in post-secondary education. I give them better way of working and tips for their organisation and how to deal with stress.

Everything that I have been doing defines myself quite good: I'm a very active person who loves to learn, especially from people having different life experiences, since I strive to improve myself every single day.

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Gabrielle (or Gaby, less formal)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Traveling is my passion, I want to be a CoughSurfing not just to travel, but also to travel in my own country. When Im not traveling,then the travelers can come to me.

Over the years, I also realize how much CS gives you faith in humanity... you meet so many incredibly generous people, it shows you what the media don't: how much good people they are in the world.

Interests

We can have a chat about that... I love so many things! I am a very curious person.

• culture
• yoga
• politics
• traveling
• history
• philosophy
• meeting new people
• etc.

Music, Movies, and Books

Seriously, for music, I like mostly everything, but I really love Jazz, Blues, Old Songs, Country music, Musicals, electro swings, ... And much more!

For movies, I like the alternative one, the ones that speak about the different reality all around the world. The ones, you are learning stuff. The ones that make you become more aware about particular reality.

Same thing for books, I also love biography and suspense.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

There are so many amazing stories that happened during my travels & before, but let me at least introduce my international experience!

When I turned 18 years old, I went volunteering to Mexico for 2 months.

- The first month, I worked at a daycare and pre-elementary school center, whose goal was to help single moms. I was babysitting more or less 20 babies of 0 - 2 years old in the morning and helping the pre-school teacher in the afternoon.

- The second month, I worked in a center of rehabilitation for toxic depended youth between 5 and 17 years old, who used to live off the street. In the center, I was in charge of teaching them school's notion to help them catching up to obtain their high school degree. I was also a neutral person with whom they could talk without fear of judgment. I became extremely close to them.

A year after, I was crossing Canada by train and spent a bit of time in British Colombia roadtripping. The nature is really astonishing there.

6 months later, I was flying to Europe where I spent 6 months! 3 months in Sicily, where I worked in a B&B, and 3 months in the UK where I couchsurfed, experienced airbnb, roadtriped in Motorcycle, and slept in parks with or without a tent!

I came back to Canada for 4 months before going back to Europe where I did all Western Europe this time, roadtripping with a car around 13 countries. The Christmas markets were absolutely lovely.

4 months later, I was doing the same in the US! I had never really looked at the US (let's say as Neibough we have a different view of the US), but it turned out really great! The US is so diverse in culture and mentality, but especially in Nature, which I am really fond of.

After the States, I flew to Berlin to learn my fifth language: German! I lived there for the whole summer.

4 months after, I was going to Australia for my first University Exchange in the University of Sydney, I lived there 8 months and I did an internship as Anthropological fieldwork assistant in Western Australia. I really fell in love with the Australian desert. The first thing you notice when you arrive in Western Australia is the silence. It is a particular experience. When you go up towards the Pilbara, most towns were 2 hours distant apart (and towns were really small).

I came back to Montreal 4 months and left again in 2018 for Singapore this time. Since then, I have been travelling in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Macau, Hong-Kong, Borneo, and India!

So it sums up my last 5 years almost!

Teach, Learn, Share

Philosophy of life I guess!

What I Can Share with Hosts

In Montreal, for sure my City!

When Im a CoughSurfer, probably my happiness and my simplicity.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Singapore, United Kingdom