I'm a writer, so I'm curious about you.

I travel a lot - currently escaping from my home in the Netherlands by house-sitting in different places around Europe. Still trying to find the balance between putting down roots and following my nomadic instincts.

Sometimes I feel as if I was born in the wrong time as well as the wrong place; I prefer letters to text messages, and would always rather take a train or a boat than get on a plane.

Things I love: reading, writing, walking, meditating, exploring new countries, learning about different cultures, and finding friends in unexpected places.

Also hitchhiking, cats, good jokes, gardens, alternative ways of living, vegetarian food, long evenings in good company with a bottle of wine, growing things, storytelling, legends and folk tales, getting lost in new cities, climbing mountains, watching sunsets, bicycles, camels, markets, boats, and taking things slowly.

In search of amazement, truth, beauty, and a good cup of tea.

https://www.spacesinbetween.org/
https://www.facebook.com/kate.kingsford

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

My husband (Jedrek) and I have been on Couchsurfing for nearly 10 years, both hosting and travelling, so please have a look at our older profile for references and more: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/mishmushkila

These days I'm travelling more on my own, so I've started a separate profile. Jedrek joins me when he can, and when he's busy with work he hosts travellers at our place in Leiden.

I've never been very interested in sight-seeing; for me, travel is all about meeting people, learning new things, and coming home with a new perspective on the world. This is why Couchsurfing is the best thing on the internet!

Interests

• writing
• books
• yoga
• meditation
• gardening
• cycling
• languages
• hitchhiking
• mountains
• nature
• tea
• permaculture
• theatre
• different cultures
• meeting new people

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many to list here, especially when it comes to books. Perhaps I should just add a photo of my bookshelf.

But just a few: Norse mythology, the Mabinogion, Virginia Woolf, E. M. Forster, Jeanette Winterson, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Tim Macintosh-Smith, Rebecca Solnit, Julian Barnes, Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Terry Pratchett, P. G. Wodehouse, Haruki Murakami, Zadie Smith, Kurt Vonnegut, Tolkien, Shakespeare, Tom Stoppard, Stanislaw Lem, Robyn Davidson's "Tracks", Nicholas Bouvier's "The Way of the World", Arundhati Roy, Barbara Kingsolver, Elif Shafak, Rohinton Mistry, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, fairy stories, David Mitchell, Kate Atkinson, Kazuo Ishiguro, William Dalrymple, and so many more.

Sorrentino, Miyazaki, Bergman, Park Chan Wook, Almodovar, Kieslowski... / Tinariwen, Amadou and Mariam, Miriam Makeba; Yasmine Hamdan, Rashid Taha, Ilham al-Madfai; Anoushka Shankar; Nigel Kennedy, Einaudi, Arvo Part; Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday; Iron and Wine, The National, This is the Kit, Vampire Weekend...

Teach, Learn, Share

I love learning about people: languages, cultures, and especially personal stories about life. I'd be happy to learn anything you can teach me!

I can teach you some more English and a bit of Swahili, or just help out with whatever you're doing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Uganda, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Yemen