CURRENT MISSION

I am currently travelling with my boyfriend (Antonio, 30). We both quit our jobs in Munich, Germany and left in June 2015 for a long trip in South East Asia.
Why did we do such a crazy thing? Because we felt trapped in our daily routine and felt the urge to learn more about new cultures and countries with a very different lifestyle than ours.
We chose South Eastern Asia as a destination because it's an area of the world which we hear a lot but don't know much about, and are eager to get to know it in person. The best way to do this in our opinion is to volunteer. We decided to volunteer in either schools as English teachers or with NGOs where our skills can be useful.

We have already volunteering experience at SMP Islam Manbaul Ulum school in Gresik (East Java, Indonesia) and are ambassador for the NGO green-books.com

ABOUT ME

We are both Italians but live in Munich.
Giulia: I grew up in a multi cultural environment in Munich. After graduating at the European School, I studied in Milan, Italy. I lived in NYC, Paris for a while and then moved back to Munich to start working as a marketing manager for a small licensing agency. I am open minded, like to get to know new people and adapt to new environments easily.

Antonio: I grew up in a small village in South Italy, close to the Amalfi coast. I left my hometown at the age of 18 and started to move around Europe for my studies and professional needs. I am always open to learn new things from people and am curious to learn about different lifestyles from a political and social perspective.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

During our trip we have mostly been hosted by the NGOs or school we have been volunteering with. Along the way, we met many couch-surfers and believe this is a great way to enhance the purpose of our trip, as the people that host couchsurfers do it merely to interact with travelers, exchange a glimpse of their lifestyle.
We have always done "unofficial couchsurfing" (hosting friends of friends that needed a place to stay and viceversa or just showing friends of friends around our city if they happen to be there). Thanks to couchsurfing.com we have a broader audience to interact with.

Interests

Giulia: I love to read. I could spend hours not moving from one place if the book I am reading "gets me". The best thing is when I can share this and manage to excite someone for the last title I've read, or to follow someone's suggestion and fall in love with a new author / book.
Also, I am great fan of the cinema festivals. I try to visit them as often as I can, especially when the director or the actors are present for a Q&A after the movie. I've been to the TriBeCa (NY) Venice and Munich film festivals and hope to add soon more to my list. One of my favorite things to do in the summer time is to go to open air cinemas.
I also like to bake, especially in the winter time :)

Antonio: I love to write poems, tails and articles regarding topics like politics, economy, sociology. This is the best way I can express myself. I also enjoy hiking in the mountains and going for long walks in the nature. I like to travel by hitchhiking, because it gives me the feeling to be lost between borders.

We are both environmentally conscious.

• writing
• books
• poetry
• music festivals
• festivals
• film festivals
• environment
• cooking
• politics
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• muslim
• languages
• religion
• sociology
• hitchhiking
• volunteering
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

We both like many kinds of music, spacing from Italian contemporary and folk music to reggae, ska, lounge, rock. Since our arrival in Indonesia, we started to appreciate Gamelan music.

We have a wide collection of movies. From the classical movies which made history to the indie movies and European movies. Not a fan of blockbuster movies, nor multiplex.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Quitting our well-paid, permanent, jobs and cozy environment to leave for a new adventure where nothing is definite and every day is different from the previous one.

Teach, Learn, Share

We speak multiple languages which we can teach you. Antonio is an excellent cook and is happy to share his knowledge about Italian cuisine.

On the other hand, we like to learn anything that we still don't know.

Before leaving for our trip, we opened a blog: www.zainettoinspalla.com
We write about the new experiences here in South East Asia

Antonio's FB: https://www.facebook.com/apotente222?_rdr
Giulia's Twitter: https://twitter.com/g_jewels (I deleted my FB account years ago...)

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can cook together, do outdoor and creativity-related activities, go to music festivals, talk about our life, politics, society, lifestyle, religion, funny and extraordinary experiences we had and much more..

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, England, France, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United States, Venezuela