Hi! I'm Ingrid, from Paraguay.

I'm a bookworm, carbohydrate aficionado and equestrian wanna-be who loves traveling.

Unfortunately my first solo travel adventure is rather embarrassing and it took place when I was 15 and crossed the borders of the land surrounded by land that is my country, Paraguay, to go to the big city in Buenos Aires, Argentina to see a Backstreet Boys concert. I would love to say that my music taste has improved but I still dream of meeting Enrique Iglesias. Don't worry, if I stay with you I will use headphones.

When I was 16 I participated in a program called "Ruta Quetzal" that brings kids together from all over the Americas and Spain to learn about the history of colonization. I traveled around the South of Spain, Panama and Costa Rica for a month with about 400 other teenagers pitching a tent everywhere we went and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.

Since then I've been very interested in traveling and learning about other cultures. Although my family doesn't have means for me to travel, I searched for scholarships and opportunities to continue traveling through education. So I found a scholarship to go to a high school abroad. I was already 18 but I didn't care about doing two more years of high school and graduating at age 20. The incredible place I went to, United World College (UWC) in Canada, is part of a network of international schools that promotes peace and a sustainable future by bringing together kids from all over the world regardless of their ability to pay so I had classmates that were refugees, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and a princess from a country I had never heard of before!

After that I needed another scholarship, and Smith College in the US, a super liberal women's college near Boston, gave me one so there I went and it was a great decision.

Since then I have lived in 7 different countries. I am now in The Netherlands and I am looking forward to explore Europe meeting like-minded people.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

A friend introduced me to Couchsurfing in 2009 and I met a bunch of really cool people at a gathering in Paraguay. I love meeting other travelers and hearing about their stories!

I live in Maastricht which is pretty far (by European standards) from tourist paradise Amsterdam. This means that even when my friends come to NL they make me go there to meet them, so if you're coming to Maastricht you probably have an interesting story :)

Interests

I'm a total nerd and love reading and therefore exploring pretty bookstores and libraries is always top on my travel to do list.

Although I've started learning how to ride horses, it is quite expensive and it became a thing of choosing between travel and horses so I had to pick and guess which one I chose?

• soccer
• anthropology
• travel
• food
• read
• linguistics
• cultures
• horseback riding
• gin
• ice cream
• steak

Music, Movies, and Books

I read a lot so it's hard to say which ones are my favorite books but I really like A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Deep Rivers by Jose Maria Arguedas and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Anything by Margaret Atwood tends to be good too, not so much the stories but there's something about the way she writes that I really love.

I was also recently inspired by Clara Bensen's book "No Baggage: A Minimalist Tale of Love and Wandering." If you haven't read it, you should! It's about her stays with Couchsurfing hosts during a trip where she and the guy she met online traveled around Europe without luggage.

In terms of movies, Amelie, Motorcycle Diaries, Babel, Before Sunrise, Big Fish, Silver Lining Playbook, and 7 boxes, a Paraguayan movie. Think Slumdog Millionaire in a South American market :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Living with a Guarani indigenous family in the North of Argentina while doing research.

- Going to Patagonia on a budget at a time when I was totally broke and meeting the best people at hostels.

- Going to Iceland and seeing the Northern lights.

- Spending a night in the Sahara, alone with my Berber guide, hearing about his incredible life story.

- Sleeping in a book shelf in Tokyo made book worm me very very happy!

- Visiting Christmas markets in Europe.

- Living in Europe and being in a different country within one hour. What a privilege!

Ok, ok, that's more than one but I cannot choose!

Teach, Learn, Share

Have you done the Trans-Siberian? Have you been to Guam? Lesotho? Yemen? Tell me about it!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Paraguayan culture, linguistics, anthropology, travel, books, movies and how learning Dutch is impossible :P

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Macao, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, United States