CURRENT MISSION

To see/feel/taste/breath everything this big world has to offer !

ABOUT ME

I am an Aquarius with my rising in Leo and moon in Scorpio- the stars and planets aligned and according to my hippy aunt I am an indigo child!! For some that may tell you a lot, and for others I'll take a different route. My name is Giuliana and I am 21 years old. While I was raised in the good ole' South, I am half Italian and spend all my summers in Italy with my family (between the cobblestone streets of Rome and wise mountains of Umbria.) In 2011 I moved to Montreal where I study International Development and Communications. While I fell in love with the city, I am still searching for my niche and profession to pursue. I hope to one day mesh my passion for creating/designing with my ardent interest in human rights, especially those concerning women. Craving a new experience, I have moved to Paris for 6 months where I currently enjoy getting lost in the city on my long strolls, delicious wine, spontaneous adventures to new places, and watching strangers turn to friends!!

PHILOSOPHY

Positivity (in mind and body) is fiercely powerful ... seeing the world through this lense makes ANYTHING POSSIBLE !!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hoping to join the couch surfing community .. to see new places by staying in real homes.. and hopefully when I have more room too myself I will host one day too !

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Only been hearing good things about couchsurfing from my friends.. so curiosity killed the cat and I decided to try it out myself. No experience yet, but soon to change !

Interests

Traveling, cooking without recipes, stimulating the RIGHT/creative side of the brain via painting/doodling, searching for new music, and pushing the body/spirit with some hot bikram yoga!

• cats
• human rights
• cooking
• recipes
• wine
• yoga
• flowers
• movies
• traveling
• painting
• music
• hunting
• surfing
• sailing
• anthropology
• communications
• economics
• teaching
• religion
• tourism
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

From some Thievery Corporation to Moby to Pavarotti... to Wu Tang and Chinese Man ! One of my favorite past times and top choice of procrastination is searching for new music ! Check out how my taste is lately on my regularly updated SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/giuliana-mazzetta

What better nutrition for the brain/ relaxation for the soul then reading.. as far as favorites- "Baron in the Trees" by Italo Calvino, "1984" George Orwell, "On the Road" Jack Kerouac, and Pablo Neruda for my love poems :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

CAMINO DE SANTIAGO (2012: Portuguese way & 2013:French way)

The sound of gravel on the uneven, raw ground sends steady vibrations throughout by body. With every step I take on the well-trodden path, the repetitive drum like marching emerging from underneath my feet and the feet of my companions ease me into a state of trance. I have entered a place where the physical pains shooting up my sore, swollen limbs are numbed. Time becomes distorted, and the past, present, and future intertwine delicately like jasmine leaves throughout the dialogues of those I encounter and my own personal introspections.

Here we were, people of all ages, nationalities, religions, socio-economic backgrounds, yet we shared the common thread of insanity. For some reason or another we decided to leave our lives to walk without any tangible reward; to abandon our friends and family, our work and homes to follow a yellow arrow for hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers, only to find refuge in monasteries and hostels at night, with the bed bug myth constantly looming in our thoughts as we fell fast asleep. We traveled on the road to Santiago, a sacred pilgrimage thousands of years old, from France into Spain leading to the mortal remains of the apostle Saint James. For a certain period of time we took on the identity of pilgrim, our symbol the scallop shell, our path the same as the stars that sprinkled across the Milky Way.

My life in particular was founded by my eclectic upbringing between the United States and Italy. I lived comfortably, my parents always encouraging, never forceful, friends interesting, yet always cut from the same cloth. I had achieved so many things I had hoped for, attaining my International Bachelorette diploma, getting accepted into McGill University to study International Development, and then flourishing there academically and socially. Yet a violent thirst came, a thirst for experience, a hunger to step away from living vicariously through the studies I read for Anthropology and lectures I attended for Economics, and to do something of real substance, to really participate in, how a pilgrim described, “the university of life.”

The long trek slowly reveals to us a place forgotten by most in the face of modernity. The primitive energy that infiltrates the air and enters the bush scratches its way into the very depths of one’s flesh and bone. We find ourselves in a space that shatters all barriers; we reach the forefront of our own physical and psychological limits. Discomfort and vulnerability are mirrored by strength and knowledge, the former we desert, the latter we follow to our final destination in Santiago di Campostella- the star field.

Traveling through the bare mountain tops of the Pyrenees, fertile fields of Ponferrada, and dark forests of El Cebrero projections are cast on the foot paths, a cinema plays for us of the unique, ever-changing stories of pilgrims. Pure, honest words are exchanged, coming together to form an endless, rich ocean of experience that act as guide and compass throughout the Camino.

I discover a new realignment of how I once defined abstract emotions. Exposing my own trials and tribulations in life, whilst listening attentively to others stories of suffering, revealed to me how pain is pain, regardless of context- a universal feeling incapable of being ranked. Through the bravery of sharing both struggles and successes with complete “strangers,” I witnessed compassion come to life, a flower blooming exotically in full force. An understanding of how joy and happiness are independent of material, the core of them coming from within, yet capable of being awoken by those whom surround us. We spoke without filter, we spoke from our hearts, soul to soul.

I find that an exceptional collage, encompassed by splinters of the other’s lives, has become integrated within me. From Tristan the philosophic pianist, to Juliette the veterinarian, to Koen the bearded flemmish environmentalist, to Olliana, the stylish Basque teacher- these people, along with countless others, became my continuously morphing family during those difficult days and relaxing nights. I vow to honor their stories and use them as strength and vitality as I create my own mark in this world. The energy I felt on the Camino is something I strive to emulate in everyday life- the honesty of self, and also desire to connect with others in a real way. For isn’t life a pilgrimage? A pilgrimage constituted by knowledge gained by others, which allows us to come closer in discovering ourselves, hence reaching our own Meccas?

It seems my thirst for experience and new knowledge has seized to die down, but rather grown in intensity. And so I attempt to remedy my malady for living adventurously once again. I bring this experience with me to every new street I turn onto, border I cross, and ocean I sail.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you the secret steps to delicious pasta- it's in my blood ! Also, I can share my stories and the stories of others that have been shared with me.. always lending my ears for new stories !! Learning is sharing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Croatia, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France, Italy, United States