Mariana:
Hello! I’m Mariana and I’m currently doing my bachelor in biology. Born and raised in Lisbon, where you can find me living with my parents and my brother.
Before embracing the world of natural sciences, I took a course in visual arts where I specialized in Pottery. After that I knew that I didn’t want arts as an obligation for the rest of my life. I was quite confused about what I wanted for my future so I decided to take a gap year. I worked for a while in Portugal and went to South Africa for 3 months where I stayed as a resident volunteer in a Wildlife Sanctuary.
When I returned to Portugal, I started to work at an animal ONG where I learned a lot about animal welfare and behavior. At the same time I got admitted to university in Social Work and despite being in an area that sparks a lot of interest in me, I quickly realized that I wasn’t following my heart so I ended up giving up, which led me to do more stuff in the field of biology and finally gain courage to apply to university in that same area.

I’m very passionate about everything that surrounds me. I’m always after all kinds of novelties in life, which can make me both restless or, in turn, calm enough to be open-minded, communicative, attentive and a good listener. I love being in social environments and I’m usually good at starting a conversation and breaking the ice but I feel that it drains some energy from me, so I also appreciate moments when I’m by myself.

By coincidence (or not), since I met Gonçalo I’ve been gaining interest in all aspects of the individual’s well-being. I’ve been learning and investing a lot about mental and physical health especially in physical exercise and nutrition.
Besides that, I’m lucky to have always traveled around the world with my family which makes me interested in other cultures and traditions and not want to live in a “comfortable bubble”. “Causes” tell me a lot whether they are humanitarian, environmental, animal… And I like to contribute to them especially on a voluntary basis.
Currently what moves me is the area of animal behavior and welfare as well as environmental conservation and sustainability.
I like to be inspired in my daily life through music, reading and cinematographic art. I reflect a lot after “drinking” from these places. I also love crafts and the art of crafting, so it’s easy to find me making earrings, painting wooden boxes or making macrame hangers for my plants.

Gonçalo:
My name is Gonçalo, I’m a bachelor student in biology, currently in the 2nd year. I study and live in Lisbon with my parents. Before giving up, I previously wanted to take a degree in Jazz and modern music, but I ended up studying one semester in a Videogames creation bachelor’s degree. I quickly figured out it wasn’t for me, so I decided I wanted to acquire more knowledge about the natural world which has always sparked an interest in me. Now in the university I’m currently at, I met Mariana and we started dating roughly 1 year after, and we’ve been together for 9 months :)

I’m a very curious guy. I’m passionate about having a deeper understanding of the world around me, being it nature, cities, civilizations and their history, gastronomy, art and so on. I hardly ever lose an opportunity to learn something new because I truly feel that it enriches my experience of the world.
I’m an introverted guy but usually start to interact a bit more when I get more comfortable and when around small groups of people. I just become quieter in larger groups of people when I don’t know anyone, but I think I’ve been improving in this aspect in the past few years.

I’ve been gaining an increased interest in being able to identify species, mostly trees, shrubs and birds and learning some details about the most common ones in Portugal, Iberian Peninsula and Europe.
I’m looking to travel with my friends family and/or girlfriend all over the planet. I’ve been to African continent for the first time this year in Morocco. And right now my objective is to visit every continent. I’m specially excited about south-east Asia and South America, their tropical climates and their stunning and rich cultures.

I used to be quite addicted to videogames, in my teens specially in high school and a couple of years after. I’m still passionate about videogames, the fantasy worlds, characters, history and competitiveness that exists within them. But I’ve been finally able to set them aside for most of the time to have a much healthier lifestyle and be open to different experiences in the outside world.

I love music ever since I was a child and started learning piano by ear. I sort of started learning music by my own through videogame, series and film soundtracks. Later on I joined a music class in my local town where I’m still at.
I’ve been mostly a physically active person even some of the time when I was addicted to videogames. I’ve practiced martial arts (karate, judo and currently muay thai) and swimming as well as athleticism focused more on sprinting. Currently I work out at my local gym.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We are a young couple of Portuguese biology students with quite different backgrounds, however, with a major feature in common that holds us firmly us together: an insatiable craving to explore. We are looking for adventures, new experiences, maybe stepping a bit out of our comfort zones in order to create memorable experiences, which is why we're going on an interrail between august and september. The world is full of breath-taking places that we want to visit, and inspiring people embedded in contrasting and fascinating cultures that we would love to be a part of, at least for a little while. And of course, we would like to share a bit of ourselves, our experience and culture with other people, because what is the purpose of life, of learning, if you always keep everything to yourself? We are looking to share excitement, knowledge, spark interest and motivation in other people and in ourselves. To hear about other people’s experience and talk about ours. Perhaps ignite some inspiration through all the sharing, creating a motor that drives us to explore ourselves in different ways and see life in different perspectives. All of this through some companionship, while sharing a home for a few days. We truly believe that visiting a country is a much more well-rounded and plentiful experience when surrounded by locals that can talk to us about their country and get to know details that otherwise we would never hear about. And, needless to say, we would also love to talk to you about us, about Portugal, our lovely home.

Interests

• anime
• reading
• pottery
• music
• biology
• travel
• nature
• trekking
• manga
• videogames
• sustainability
• gastronomy
• conservation
• birdwatching
• martialarts
• k-pop
• arthistory
• physicalactivity

Music, Movies, and Books

Videogame and movies /series soundtracks
Classical music, Jazz - Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Debussy, Chopin, Bill Evans.
Two door cinema club, Grizzly bear, Tame Impala, alt-J, Chet Faker
Manga (Tokyo ghoul, Death note, Akira)
Anime

Studio ghibli movies specially Princess mononoke, spirited away, Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle
Game of thrones books, Lord of the rings, Harry Potter

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Mariana:
I've done volunteer work at an animal Sanctuary in South Africa for 3 months. Basically, nature conservation and maintenance, mostly taking care of wild animals.

Gonçalo:
I've done volunteer work in an international workcamp. organized by an NGO, at Biorria, a natural reserve in Estarreja (Aveiro, Portugal). Also nature maintenance and conservation. Worked in ricefields, learned techniques to remove invasive species and also helped restore a burnt forest and the ecossystem associated. Learned to recognize lots of native fauna and flora and their importance in the ecossystems as well as exotic and invasive species.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can share a bit of Portugal's gastronomy, language, and culture in general. I (Gonçalo) can teach a bit of music theory and some basics of the japanese language.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Sao Tome and Principe, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Portugal