21 year old student from Belgium. I'd love to see as much of the world as possible because that way, you get to meet people who look at the world from a totally different perspective.
Although I tend to be a bit shy first, I think I am a pretty outgoing person and I'm also quite talkative. In the past, I was a bit of a control freak and I wanted to know everything about a place before I went there. Now, however, I like to be surprised by what I see. I will, of course, plan the things that I definitely want to see, but I love to just wander around a city and see where it gets me.
I've been fortunate enough to spend a semester studying abroad in Madrid where I met many locals. This experience only made me even more eager to travel more and meet more locals.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I would like to travel more, alone or with one or two friends. My budget is very limited so this seems a great alternative for youth hostels. I would also like to practice speaking another language and I'd love to meet locals and broaden my horizon. I think this is a great way to expand your world view with a limited budget and in a relaxed way. In return, I could (hopefully) offer nice conversation and Belgian chocolates ;)

Interests

My main interests are history, art and languages. I'm also interested in politics, world views and culture in general. Furthermore, I like going out and being with friends. I love to read as well (both fiction and non-fiction).
I also really love anything to do with food. I really like cooking and a big part of travelling, for me, is trying new foods. I am willing to try anything at least once :-)

• arts
• culture
• cooking
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• history
• languages
• food

Music, Movies, and Books

Even though I'm not very interested in music, I can certainly enjoy it. I don't have a particular taste in music but the music I listen to is mainly mainstream (with Florence + The Machine as my all-time favourite). I like listening to modern classical music because it really helps me to relax.
I love reading, although I don't do it often enough. My favourite book has to be The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
I have recently become more interested in movies. I have a particular penchant for old Hollywood movies but I can appreciate any movie with a good story and good performances. I'll skip horror and anything too violent.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Visited slums in Peru, talked to people who lived there and planted some fruit trees in a modest attempt to try and make life a bit easier there.
Stayed with a host family in Japan for two weeks and hosted a Japanese student at home.

Teach, Learn, Share

While studying in Madrid, I taught Dutch at my university. It was a really interesting experience and the students and I exchanged a lot of interesting things about our cultures. It was also really nice to see that they were motivated to learn Dutch and I really enjoyed teaching them.
As a student at a university with many foreign students, I have been fortunate enough to meet many of them. I have been 'buddy' for a Spanish student which means I helped her get settled in my university town and afterwards we met regularly for a coffee. It was a nice way for me to practice my Spanish and to get to know the Spanish culture from a Spanish student.
Furthermore, I have participated in language exchange programs with both an English and a Mexican student. Again, this helped me to greatly improve my language skills and to get to know another culture from people who grew up in that culture.
These were invaluable experiences and this is for me the main reason why I want to do couchsurfing: I think it is fascinating to get to know a country or culture by talking to or doing things with a person from that country.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love talking about basically everything but, of course, mostly about culture, language, art, history,... I study English and Spanish so this would also be an amazing opportunity for me to practice my languages.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, Turkey, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Spain