Born and raised in Poland, which has always been, is and will be the dearest place in the world for me. Home will always be home, no doubts about it. But this doesn’t stop me from being curious about the world around. This curiosity made me live and work a few years in Cardiff, UK and Dublin, Ireland. It also pushed me into traveling, back in 2012 when I did my first backpackers trip to India along with my friends. From that moment on, I was hooked in travel. All I wanted to do was see more of the amazing world around and learn more about the people in it. But like most people, I had only a few weeks of holidays per year, which did the job of traveling to remote countries only partially, so at the beginning of 2016 I decided to quit my 9 to 5 office job and set off to South America to do my first solo travel.

Mi nombre es Ela, soy de Polonia y a mis 33 años de edad decidí dejarlo todo, renunciar a mi trabajo y realizar mi sueño - el viaje por America del Sur.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I started couchsurfing only recently, although I do have previous experience in flat-sharing and hosting friends when living abroad. I currently don’t host as I’m traveling myself, but when I’m back to Poland, I’d love to start doing it again.
The concept of CS appeals to me a lot not only because it’s a cheap way of traveling, but MAINLY because it’s an incredible opportunity to experience the hospitality and true culture of a new destination with the local touch provided by the Host.
By using CS, I do hope to make friends on the road, to experience the local culture from a local perspective and to escape typical tourist traps as people living in a place know the location far better than any travel guide ever will. I also hope to get connected with people who are like-minded, who have fantastic travel stories of their own that could inspire me to change direction and head somewhere I had never considered before.
Last but not least, CS is a way of opening my eyes wider, of coming out of my shell a little and welcoming each opportunity to experience something new with open arms. I would like to challenge myself and my assumptions about the world, see amazing things and learn as much as I can.

Creo que CS es mucho más que alojamiento gratuito! Uso CS para conocer gente, descubrir nuevas perspectivas, escuchar historias y compartir experiencias que me abran la mente y amplíen mis horizontes.
CS es para mi una forma de intercambio cultural y una oportunidad para conocer otra forma de vida de primero mano que se basa en la confianza y el respeto. Quiero compartir mis experiencias de viajes y vida en otros países con quien quiera escuchar :) También, quiero escuchar Tus historias!

Interests

As silly as it may seem, my main interest is to live a good and happy life ☺ Whether that’s traveling to a remote country on the other side of the globe or doing a day cycle trip to the nearby forest, whether it’s cooking a nice meal for my friends, reading a great book or simply making small changes to my daily life and routine that make me feel healthier and happier.
When it comes to traveling I’m trying to do it as responsible as I can - ecologically and most of all giving back to the local communities. I’m not interested in ticking off the box on a “Must-See” list. Instead, I’d love to travel mindfully, enjoying every little aspect of my day-to-day travel experience.
I’m very into nature as nothing calms me down better than tranquility/ majesty of a beautiful landscape. I enjoy mountain trekking, cycling and all sort of water sports such as sailing, stand-up-paddle boarding, kayaking or kitesurfing (which I only started to learn recently).

Por supuesto, me interesan los viajes :) Pero responsables y sostenibles. Además, me gusta andar por la montaña y los deportes acuáticos como la natación, la vela, el kitesurf, el stand up paddle boarding, el kayak. Me encanta la naturaleza :) También, me gusta cocinar y reunirme con mis amigos.

• culture
• books
• cooking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• equestrian
• kayaking
• sailing
• sports
• tourism
• solo travel
• mindfulness

Music, Movies, and Books

It’s really hard to name them all, but to give you a flavour:
FILMS:
“Man on wire” James Marsh, “Requiem for a dream” Darren Aronofsky, “Single man” Tom Ford, “Danish Girl” Tom Hooper, “El secreto de sus ojos” Juan José Campanella, “The mission” Roland Joffé
MUSIC:
The band I’ve loved from my childhood days (and I still do) is “Queen”. You may call it cheesy, you may call it outdated, but love is blind, isn’t it ? ☺
I generally listen to all sort of different genres/albums/bands/singers as long as I think they are good, but the artists I always go back to would be Fleetwood Mac, Kings of Convenience, Feist, Bonobo, Massive Attack, Tool, Alt J...
I also started listening to artists singing in Spanish, out of who Bebe would be my very favorite.
BOOKS:
“Ninety eighty four” George Orwell, “Lord of the flies” William Golding, “The Master and Margarita” Michail Bulhakow, “Fried green tomatoes” Fannie Flagg, “The Little Prince” Antoine de Saint Exupery
Recently, I’m also very into all sort of reportage and travel books as I believe it’s a great way of learning about new places and people’s lives.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Horseback trek around El Chalten, Argentinian Patagonia – it was truly magical and mesmerizing experience for me – the views were absolutely breath-taking, pure and wild and I was over the moon as I stepped out of my comfort zone and got on a horseback years after I fell off the horse.

Teach, Learn, Share

For people visiting Łódź:

Street Art:
http://www.urbanforms.org/UF_Walls/en/

Smartcodes walks around Łódź:
http://www.odkodujlodz.pl/

Cool places to go to:
http://offpiotrkowska.com/
http://owoceiwarzywa.com/
http://offpiotrkowska.com/portfolio-items/spaleni-sloncem/

What I Can Share with Hosts

While I definitely welcome the financial benefits that CS offers, I don’t think it’s by any means “free”. I do realize and appreciate the fact that inviting strangers to their home would cost my potential Hosts their time (to read the CS request, organize my arrival, potentially spend some time together), their personal space, but most of all – their future choice to keep hosting. I truly believe that CS should be based on mutual trust and respect. What I can assure you of is that I value other people’s time and private space.
I’m a cheerful, optimistic girl in my early thirties who enjoys meeting people and trying new things. If you find it interesting, I’d love to share my stories and experiences with you, tell you how life in Poland/ UK/ Ireland looks. I’m also happy to go out for a few drinks (although binge drinking is definitely not my cup of tea), cook a dinner together or do whatever else we find interesting.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Cambodia, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ireland, Poland, United Kingdom