CURRENT MISSION

After years of dreaming I have finally dared to make the leap of faith. I quit my job, gave notice on my flat and will start travelling for 1,5 year in September 2017. My mission is NOT to visit as many countries or continents as possible. My mission is to emerge myself, at least for some time, in a life that has less comfort, less stuff and less routine. Instead it will hopefully offer more freedom, more encounters and more truth.
I need to know what it feels like to be fully on the road. Not to be "on holiday from something" but to be present in a place with nothing left as a home but the backpack. I don't know why I have this desire but it's been calling me for a long time, and that time is now.

ABOUT ME

My first ever backpacking trip was to Spain, and I fell head over heels for the country. My heart is still lost there, I call it the most beautiful place in the world :) It was this same backpacking trip that awoke in me a love for travel and the unknown. All of a sudden I realized there is a whole world out there, waiting for me to explore. So I became a "traveller".

I like to think of myself as curious and honest. Most probably I'm also shy sometimes, and a bit lazy. I'm an introvert in the way I prefer a nice pub over a big club, a cosy dinner over a huge gathering. But I also love to meet new people and discover new places.

In people (myself included) I value integrity, respect and honesty. Regardless your background or interests, if we share these traits I'm sure we'll get along.

PHILOSOPHY

In one of my favourite books, Le Petit Prince, there is a quote saying: "Before becoming adults, we were all children once." Picasso said a similar thing when he told a journalist "Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain one as we grow up". Both imply that growing up is not just about getting wiser and smarter and "better" at life. It's also about preserving the knowledge of the child, something that might be overlooked a little too much. I think such balance is very important for creativity, love and eventually, happiness.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I believe meeting and connecting to people is the essence of travel.

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

As I am currently travelling around for more or less a year, I have no flat to rent out or invite people to. It's my mission to look for a flat that is big enough to host Couchsurfers when I return to Belgium, as I then want to give back to this community as much as I can.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Not many so far. I've showed some people around my home town, had some Belgian beers :) I've also met some nice people while travelling, which (almost) always turned out to be a great experience. As soon as I hit the road though, I hope to be using CouchSurfing a lot more so I can get in touch with many different people during my travel.

Interests

In my free time I like to draw, paint and write. I'm not very good at being an artist, yet attempting to share a story or emotion through words and image makes me happy, so I keep practising. I also have a travel/art blog where I like to post my progress: www.thelandofdreaming.wordpress.com

When meeting people I like to go out for dinner or drinks, or cook at home, so we can spend time chatting and sharing stories. I also enjoy seeing shows, especially modern dance and musicals (Les Miserables and Beauty and the Beast are my favourites). If you like Disney we can "sing" along to many songs together!

When picking travel destinations I look for ancient architecture, especially religious art. In Europe I mostly adore the Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic styles, outside Europe I look for historic mosques, synagogues, and temples.
I also enjoy visiting art museums, but I'm not a big fan of contemporary art. Some of my favourite painters are El Greco, Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh - for their bold and unique use of colour and technique.

In conversation about economy and politics I will disappoint you with my lack of knowledge... So it will be easy to teach me something about that. I can talk with a passion about travels, food, arts, and other more poetic topics ;)

• writing
• architecture
• photography
• desserts
• yoga
• walking
• traveling
• drawing
• art
• food
• spain
• musicals
• art museums
• disney

Music, Movies, and Books

I have a taste for movies and music that varies so wildly it can probably be both loved and despised by anyone. When my playlist is on shuffle it can be very awkward sometimes :)

Some of my favourite singers are Belgian bands: Vaya Con Dios, Tourist LeMC and Bart Peeters. After that I checked which names were most in my playlist: Queen, The Levellers, Elvis Presley and Eminem. I'm ashamed to admit that Eurovision is my guilty pleasure.

I mostly watch the very commercial Hollywood kind of movie (Disney, Avengers, Jurassic Park style) because in the theatre I like to not think and just be entertained. I get very annoyed with romantic comedies but I do appreciate a good costume drama from time to time (The Crown, anyone?)
I'm also quite a Sherlock fan and Eccleston is my favourite Doctor.

I don't read as much as I'd like... Some of my favourite books are The Beach (NEVER judge this book by the movie!!!), One Day, Le Petit Prince and the writings of Persian poet Hafiz. I've also self published a (Flemish) book of my own, telling the story of my Camino de Santiago and the people I met there.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Walking the Camino de Santiago: 900km from the French/Spanish border to Compostela in Galicia. It was a life changing event, mostly because of the wonderful people I got to meet along the way.

Teach, Learn, Share

TEACH
I can teach my language (Flemish/Dutch), and a little bit of yin and vinyasa yoga.
You can teach me about whatever is your passion, I like to learn!
Also in the future I intent to study more about painting and graphic design so if by any change you could share knowledge of that, great!

LEARN
I'd like to learn about your culture, everyday life, your interests and your person.

SHARE
I can share my experience of solo travelling, which will hopefully grow as my journey continues. I can share with you my time, enthusiasm and optimism. My friends told me that what they will miss most when I'm travelling is my joyfulness, so perhaps this is something I can carry with me share along the way. I will certainly try :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share with you my passion for food, exchange travel experiences and talk about shared interests. I also have this idea of drawing a little water colour for all of my hosts. I'm not a very good painter, but it's a personal thing I can give to you as souvenir.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium