CURRENT MISSION

Getting to know a bit more of the area I've just moved to, Portland, in south-west Victoria. Starting an online degree, going back to uni will be exciting. I hope to get to one new country a year and back to Europe for a trip at least once every 2 years.

ABOUT ME

I am a 35-year old Dutchie , I lived in Spain for nearly 6 years, where I taught English, and managed hostels before that.
My partner Simon and I were living in Melbourne for three years and have just moved to Portland. I am interested in meeting some locals here and in the surrounding towns like Hamilton, Mount Gambier, Port Fairy and Warrnambool.

I have been living and working in many different countries and love traveling and being part of an international community.

PHILOSOPHY

There' s no such thing as the wrong decision. Don't regret, just make it into something positive and good will come of it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have been on couch surfing for the past 10 years and have met some of my best mates through here. I think it is a great way to travel and see things from a local's perspective. I have worked in hostels for years and love the cultural interchange.

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
I have mostly hosted, and have been inactive that way for a long time now. Have done some surfing while in South America and met some great people who opened up their hearts and homes for us. I will soon have the space to have
some surfers around, and friends or friends will always be welcome.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Before joining CS, I was always unofficially couch surfing, staying with friends of friends and hosting them as well. As said, I have had loads of surfers over since signing up, haven't surfed that much myself yet.

I have met a lot of very important people to me right here through Couchsurfing, several of my closest friends I have met through this network.
The best CS experiences are when people feel at home straight away, like a friend, rather than feeling like a guest.

I prefer to host travelers with the right Couchsurfing mindset, meaning that, if you stay, I want to get to know you, eat with you, do some fun things together, because I don't like hosting strangers.
Make it worthwhile for your hosts to have you in their place, do something for them like cook a nice meal or buy a drink, but at the very least clean your mess and bring some fun into the house.

Interests

music, movies, languages and cultures, photography, books and most importantly people people people! I love languages and will never stop learning new ones.

• books
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• drinking
• movies
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Love watching movies, even though I have a tendency to fall asleep. I like to watch movies I love over and over, and will not get bored of them. Because of this, I have big gaps in the collection of movies I have seen. I watched Star Wars for the first time last year...
Some of my favourites I have seen at least 7 times, just to give you an idea; Boy
(awesome kiwi film), La Vita e bella ( love Roberto Benigni, and I never fail to laugh loudly and bawl my eyes out), Amelie Poulain, Darjeeling Limited, and anything Wes Anderson. Woody Allen gives me the creeps and I don't usually like his films, but I enjoyed Midnight in Paris.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have been able to live and work in many different countries and got to know amazing people that way, with whom I have had many many simple but beautiful experiences.

Spending a year travelling in South America was one of the best things I've ever done.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love anything to do with language and language learning. I can teach you some of the languages I speak. I would love to have more practice in Chinese, because I am not getting anywhere with it. For the rest, I love food! And would like to share lots of good good food with you.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food, drinks, good conversation

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, France, Netherlands, Spain

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