Nice to meet you ! I'm an Animation artist, half-french half-Indonesian currently doing a Masters at the Royal College of Art in London.

Currently I'm looking to explore Toledo, Salamanca, and other cities in the vicinity of Madrid in May. Also, improving my Spanish and getting rid of my french accent ;).

I enjoy pretty much every aspect of creation from drawing, painting, graphic design to animation and video. Travelling and meeting new people enables me to fill my head with new images, ideas and emotions that are bound to enrich & inspire my art practice and myself as a person.
To see some of my work :
www.laura-ntamara.com
http://nkins.tumblr.com
www.instagram.com/niwakins

Laughing, sharing silly stories and dancing are also particularly relevant to my interests.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet cool people, and discover new places through their eyes !
Wether it be Beijing, Sevilla, LA, or Japan, I can't thank enough the people who welcomed me and made me feel at home in their city, usually within days of arrival. Sharing, discussing and confronting our different perspectives & experiences has been not only fun, but also eye-opening. I'm here to meet the unexpected.

I can't offer a couch right now, but if you'd like a tour of Paris, and especially its Montmatre disctrict (think the "Amélie" movie) it would be my pleasure.

Interests

Art, craftsmanship, cinema, languages, literature, photography, architecture, history, music. Walking and dancing and delicious food. Living absurd situations. Sharing perspectives. Discovering new things, people, places and being amazed. Always something new to be interested in !

• arts
• literature
• folklore
• architecture
• design
• graphic design
• photography
• dancing
• dining
• walking
• clothing
• movies
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• music
• rock climbing
• animation
• history
• languages
• language exchange
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Music tastes are ecclectic, and range from chanson française to classic hip hop with some gamelan and Japanese folk songs in the mix. It all depends on the mood, as I believe there's a song for every situation.
The only thing I'm not really into is Symphonic Metal. I enjoy concerts and music festivals, my best experience so far being Nuits Sonores in Lyon.

Brel, Brassens, David Bowie, New Order, Radiohead, Eels, The Smiths, Kylie Minogue, Franz Ferdinand, Kate Bush,Los Campesinos!, The Knife to cite a few names.

Movies: Gus Van Sant's works and Buffalo 66 have been known to break my heart in the best way possible. French animation movie "Le Roi et l'Oiseau" is a gem. Kikujiro's summer, Satoshi Kon movies...I watch a fair share of films, including arthouse cinema, difficult to pick just a few !

Books: Les Enfants Terribles (Jean Cocteau), Orlando (Virginia Woolf), Good Omens (Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett) and too many comics to name.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-Right after I graduated from high school, my friends and I went on a trip to Japan, staying with a friend's family. We took part in a japanese-only tour to climb Mt Fuji. After many hours of climbing, we stopped late in the night for a quick meal and short nap. We then resumed climbing at 2am - with the strong wind and my thin clothes, I had never been so cold in my life - but when we finally reached the first Torii, and saw the sun rise below from the top of Mount Fuji, all fatigue was forgotten. The view, with its thin mist, looked just like a Japanese print coming to life.

- There are too many amazing memories from Indonesia to simply pick one ! I am however, completely in love with Bali, its hidden beaches and the city of Ubud, an incredible center for art, tradition and craftsmanship.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can help you practice drawing...I'll probably have an extra set of watercolours and some markers :).

I'm fluent in both english and french, and looking to improve my Spanish and Japanese, we can have a language exchange.

I'll be happy to walk with you, share some food, have your perspective of the place you live in.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United Kingdom

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