Since October 2018 and for one year, my girlfriend Marie and I travel around the world! We have already visited India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines and are excited to move on to Australia, after which we'll go to New Zealand, Chile, Bolivia and Peru.

Our goal during this trip is to discover the beautiful things that the world has to offer us, but also to meet the beautiful people. We are very sociable and love to exchange about passions and interests, our culture, our travels...

Who are we ?

Jonathan: 24 years old, I finished two Masters in environmental science & management and in civil engineering (in applied mathematics). I live in the countryside, in the south of Belgium, in a pretty region with beautiful landscapes and forests. My main passion is climbing, which I have been practicing now for 15 years, both indoors and outdoors. Since I was little, I traveled with my family and friends, to climb but also to hike all over Europe in regions all more beautiful than the others. I love nature and I feel very concerned about all the issues that affect the environment (which is why I studied environmental science & management). I also like to share with people I meet, whether it's during my studies or my travels.
For years, I was a volunteer in University Projects in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium): I was a member of the two years of "Kot Planet Earth" (http://www.kotplaneteterre.be/, on the theme of sustainable development and three years in "Kot à Jeux" (http://www.kotajeux.be/, projects around board games)
Finally, I like to enjoy life and I love to party with my friends!

Marie: Also 24 years old, I just finished my Master's in Bioengineering. I was born and raised in Brussels, Belgium's capital city ! After high school, I went to Australia for an extra school year and lived with an amazing host family near Brisbane who introduced me to the Australian culture and showed me around lots of places. They became my second family and of course we are going to visit them when we get to Oz. Throughout the year, I got the opportunity to see quite a bit of the Australian East Coast and experience many Australian adventures. I came back to Belgium to study Bioengineering at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, and now, 6 years later, I am lucky to have a second opportunity to visit the land down under !

If you want to have a look at our journey, here's our Polarsteps link (posts are written in French):

https://www.polarsteps.com/MarieWillocx/548456-tour-du-monde

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

During our world tour, we decided to go for a trip closer to the locals, and we think that for this, the couchsurfing platform is excellent because it allows us to meet people who live in places that we seek to discover. We think that, above all things, travel is about meeting and sharing !

Interests

- Travelling around our amazing world, discovering, meeting, sharing...
- Climbing (especially bouldering)
- Hiking
- Nature and Environment
...

• board games
• traveling
• bouldering
• hiking
• rock climbing
• engineering
• hitchhiking
• volunteering
• mountains
• meeting people
• learning
• discovering
• having fun

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jonathan:

- Climbing for 15 years has allowed to me to visit beautiful mountains and landscapes !
- An hitchhiking round trip to spend all the summer holiday in Spain (for a climbing trip).
- To be in a volunteer in University Projects in Louvain-la-Neuve (Roommates gathered around a commune project): I was a member two years of "Kot Planète Terre" (http://www.kotplaneteterre.be/, on the theme of sustainable development) and three years in "Kot à Jeux" (http://www.kotajeux.be/, project board games)

Marie:

- A whole new life in Australia, with an amazing host family
- 3 years of volunteering as a youth leader
- 2 years of volunteering as a member of "Kot Planète Terre"
- Many trips with friends and family, I really love to travel

Teach, Learn, Share

Jonathan:

I really like sharing and teaching my knowledges of any types (especially my passion in climbing...) with the people we meet.

Marie:

I really like learning from people; languages, customs, culture, new sports, new games, tips&tricks,...

And of course we can help our hosts train their French !

What I Can Share with Hosts

- Spend time to get to know each other and share our respective cultures, our passions ...
- To play board games
- To have a party or just have fun
- Cook with or for our host
- ...

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Burundi, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, United States, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Belgium, Rwanda