I only accept last minute requests because I don't really like planning too much ahead!

CURRENT MISSION

See the world, connect with people and help in any way I can.

ABOUT ME

Hi! I'm Justina from Amsterdam. I started couchsurfing about two years ago. Back then I was traveling in Central America, the idea was to have kind of a gap year. I traveled through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico for six months. This period really changed my life, because of the inspiring people I met and the spirituality I experienced. I went back to Amsterdam to start studying anthropology at university but it was really hard for me to come back to normal life. I decided that I wouldn't do something which didn't make me happy so I quit and decided to travel again! Best decision of my life! About a year ago I started traveling in Indonesia, witnessing the most beautiful nature. Vipassana meditation (the 10 day silent one) came to my path in Bogor, Java. After I traveled through Malaysia and Cambodia before going to my dream country India. Half a year I spent in the craziness there. A very special and wonderful country, I would love to go back soon. After India, my money was finished, so I decided to volunteer for a while in Thailand and after head to China to become an English teacher. This didn't really work out and that made me realize I finally came to the point that I miss Amsterdam, my family and my friends. I wanted to finish this year of traveling in style so decided to hitchhike all the way back to Holland! It started off great, I did 6000 km through China before entering the beautiful country of Kyrgyzstan. If you have ever thought about visiting Central Asia, please do so!! It's really wonderful here, far less touristy than SA Asia and with beautiful nature, and really the most hospitable people. A very rich and interesting history as well. After Kyrgyzstan I spent some time with the Hare Krishna in Kazakhstan, while I was waiting for my Russian visa. My patience was being tested because I was waiting already for about three weeks before deciding to fly home from Astana. It's a shame because I discovered how much nicer it is to travel over land than with a plane. Next time I will definitely travel over land as much as I can. Now I'm back in Amsterdam again and starting to miss the travel vibes, the interesting people with inspiring stories, and I would really like to give back because the kindness people have shown me during this trip is really incredible.

PHILOSOPHY

Do what you love and try following your intuition. You're guided in every step by spirit who leads you toward what you must know and what you must do. With every decision, ask yourself: what would love do now? What will make me most happy, most excited? This way you base your decisions on love instead of fear. Act upon this intuition and faith will follow you. Surrender and trust the universe, especially with bad experiences. The Dalai Lama says this: sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck. God knows what's best for you and the universe will always take care of you. Be grateful for every day and for every little thing. Simply become present again. Smile.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have only surfed so far, with many hosts actually! I love to couchsurf because it gives you such different insight into the culture. I'll try to treat my guests just as well as I have been treated all the time with great hospitality.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

A lot, I can tell you about it later!

Interests

Spirituality, nature, dancing, cultures, music, psychology, yoga, meditation, biology, reading, science...
I'm interested in a lot of things and really love to learn new things.

• culture
• dancing
• cooking
• recipes
• yoga
• working out
• meditation
• reading
• traveling
• music
• anthropology
• biology
• teaching
• history
• psychology
• science
• hitchhiking
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

The Power of Now
Conversations with God
A Thousand Splendid Suns
And the Mountains Echoed
Rumi
The Joy Luck Club
The Life of Pi
Seven Years in Tibet
Every book written by the Dalai Lama or Thitch Nhat Hanh
1984
Mahabharata
Ramayana
Bhagavad Gita
The journey home

Movie:
Into the Wild
And many documentaries,
Zeitgeist, for example

Music:
Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Otis Redding, d'Angelo, Amy Winehouse, Tracy Chapman, Nina Simone, Bon Iver, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Manu Chao, Eddie Vedder, Paolo Nutini, Joss Stone, Jose James, Raphael Saadiq, Erykah Badu, Norah Jones, Mayer Hawthorne, the XX, London Grammar, Jamie Woon, Sigur Ros, Einaudi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Fatoumata Diawara, Lauryn Hill, Noam Blat, Krishna Das

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've hitchhiked 7000 km by myself through China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you yoga, meditation and playing the ukulele. Also I can share with you many tips about hitchhiking, traveling low budget and traveling in general. If I have time I would love to spend some time together and I can show you around! I really want to learn different instruments, a djembe would be awesome or any other rhythm instrument. Also, do you know this instrument the Indian harmonium? I really want to learn how to play this, to start organizing Kirtans. I really like cooking but I want to become a better cook so it's nice to learn new recipes from all over the world. For the rest I like learning about almost every subject.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands