Ahoy, comrades!

My name is Maria
and I crave adventure with my bones. My anthem is more or less the sound of the wheels of my suitcase and it has gotta be scientifically proven till now that the sweetest pain comes from leaving a heavy backpack on the ground after a full day of walking around.
This is Travel Addicts Not-So-Anonymous, right? I’m in the right place? Thought so.

I'd like to think of myself as an open minded person and I'm always open for new experiences. I'm interested in meeting new people, getting different perspectives, understanding cultural differences. I'm a rather positive person, I always try to see the good in people, but I also treat and question almost everything with a healthy dose of skepticism. I'm easy to get along with even if at first glance a little shy, but I always try to push myself for more.

I currently live in Lisbon, Portugal. I came here for an internship, but more or less I took up this adventure in order to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. Cause if not now, when? Right?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Let me tell you a story. My parents raised me to be a curious little fuck, we’ve travelled throughout most of Bulgaria together, we’ve been to lots of places in Europe as well, but almost always on organized trips, you know the drill, gather 40/50 people from whenever you can drop them here and there in front of major cultural sights for a couple of photos, get them back. So till a certain point in my life travelling outside my country for me was that – falling asleep the minute I enter a bus for a longer period of time, being dropped off somewhere fascinating and trying to squeeze out a different perspective from the even the most touristic places you can think of and listening to guides. Fun times, eh?

But see, there came a change. An enlightenment. In the beginning of 2015 I did a semester of Erasmus in Istanbul, Turkey and I think that beast of a city has changed me for life, it’s safe to say it now defines me as person. Once Erasmus, Always Erasmus, all that crap, you know? It was a dream of mine to do a semester abroad for years and when I really did, it was everything I expected and so much more. I was free to do my own exploring, I backpacked without a strict plan for the first time, couchsurfed for the first time, hitchhiked for the first time, tenting, climbing, lots of firsts in that year, lots of beautiful memories that keep me warm on the inside and just make me crave more.

Point is I discovered a whole other level of travelling, I found out about myself that I’m much more interested in understanding other cultures through connecting with people (and food!) rather than somewhat artificially inserting myself here and there for a couple of hours to get the best tourist shot to prove I’ve been there. Which is still cool, I’m taking any opportunity I can get, even if it's short in duration, and as an avid art&culture appreciator my insides still get all thingly at the sight of massive museum or gallery, but let's say now I value much more a connection with someone local, a walk, a beer, whatever. Provides a much better sense of the reality of the place, gets you a better memory even.

So sum it up, I’m here because my heart’s like an open highway (oh, yes, I’m referencing that lame Bon Jovi song). Currently I may not have the space to host a fellow couchsurfer, but if anyone’s passing through Lisbon and is looking for company or has any concerns I can help with – shoot away! I’ll be happy to hear your story and share what I’ve learned on my way as well.

Interests

• culture
• humanities
• photography
• dancing
• beer
• reading
• music
• hiking
• anthropology
• history
• art
• food
• travelling
• cinema
• world politics
• ski

Music, Movies, and Books

Cinema is one my greatest passions and I'm always excited to talk about anything and everything film. It's really hard to pick out particular favourite movies and honestly it would just take way too much space, but let's say I'm a fan of the works of David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze, Alejandro Inarrito, Edgar Wright, Matthew Vaughn, Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers & others. I also watch a lot of TV shows, some favourites are Black Mirror, Westworld, Breaking Bad, Orphan Black, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, Shameless, Californication, Brooklyn 99, Big Little Lies, True Detective, Hannibal, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Broad City, The Mindy Project and a lot more.
As for music, I like rock, alternative, indie, blues and jazz, here and there some hip hop, but generally I always want to try out new sounds and beats.
I also read a lot, mainly as part of my university studies, but hey, I study culture!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'm alive? Wahaha.

Seriously tho, let me tell you flying on a hot air balloon in Cappadocia has got to be one of the most magical experiences one can get on this beautiful Earth and I did that!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Great stories and cold beers go great hand in hand in my experience, but I'm up to checking, just to be sure? Also whatever I've learned so far about photography, cultural history, travelling and so on :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bulgaria, Portugal, Turkey