Hi! I'm Maartje (she/they), a quirky Dutchie who loves creating, talking, and growing! I'm queer, neurospicy, and currently traveling with my partner Marcus (he/they), who's a musician from the USA.

Interested in my travels? Take a look at my website onceuponajrny.com and/or Instagram @maartjehensen

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've honestly had a life-changing year (lots of healing) and I'm currently on somewhat of a 'sabbatical' (put my stuff in storage last September; I've been nomadic before) and I've realized how important it is for me to connect with others on my journey. I love to meeting like-minded people!

Interests

This year, I've quit drinking, and one thing I like about that is that I've seen a shift in my interests to more day-time activities and things that are truly connecting (going for a long walk in nature vs clubbing, for example). That said, I can still enjoy a fun party (I'd love to learn salsa dancing!)!

• writing
• dancing
• cooking
• reading
• traveling
• scuba diving
• queer
• photographing
• polyamory
• lgbtq+

Music, Movies, and Books

All sorts of music! I listen to pop music, RnB, techno, indie, etcetera.
Same with movies, I used to work at the cinema and I used to study film in college (but I've retained an embarrassingly little amount).

I love reading, some of the last books I read were Love's Not Color Blind, Polysecure, Think Like a Monk. In true ADHD-fashion, I'm also currently reading three books (amongst which is No Bad Parts).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Diving with bull sharks, seeing flying mobula rays, traveling the Trans Mongolian Railway, hitchhiking through Japan, sunrise in Bagan

Running my own company and writing a book (go buy it! It's called The Pride Atlas).

Teach, Learn, Share

Recommendations for visiting Amsterdam:

Squares/Terraces: Museumplein, Leidseplein, Rembrandtplein, the Dam, Waterlooplein (market during the week), Nieuwmarkt (lot of nice places to drink/eat).
Museum: Rijksmuseum (and all the other museums around Museumplein/ museumsquare)
Boat tour: Rederij P.Koij (at Rokin), Lovers Company (central station).
Other: Red light district, the old church (in the middle of the red light district), Haarlemmerstraat for coffeeshops (near central station).

Food you have to eat: poffertjes (little pancakes-ish), stroopwafels (fresh ones at the Albert Cuyp market), drop (black sweets, you can buy them in supermarkets etc), fries with mayonaise, bitterballen/kroket (fastfood that you can get out of a wall at a snackbar).

Have an amazing stay!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook something (Dutch) for you! We can share (travel) experiences with each other

I am not great at small talk, I love diving deeper into topics like queerness, healing, feelings, astrology, hobbies, interests; I can be quite passionate, and I love hearing people talking passionately too!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, United States