Hi! My name is Marieth but everybody calls me Maye. It’s a very common nickname in the Colombian Caribbean Coast which is where I grew up. My personality has a lot to do with the Caribbean culture, that is; easy going, relaxed, I like to live life calmly and of course “con sabrosura”. To be more fair, I have asked my friends how they would describe me and they told me that I tend to be very creative, enthusiastic, positive, open-minded but also a little shy in the beginning. Anyway when I get confident I become pretty talkative.

Since I was a child, creative and artistic expressions, such as music, poetry, literature, theater and dance, caught my attention. I took guitar, piano and theater lessons, and wrote poems, but finally in my adolescence I realized that I could sing and this captivated me. Since then I focused completely on singing and today this is one of the things that help me open up, forget about shyness and connect with people.

I studied Psychology in Colombia while I was part of the musical bands and orchestras of the University which gave me the opportunity to get scholarships, travel to music festivals in different cities, win prizes and experience. I also worked on weekends singing in hotels in my city, Santa Marta. There I met Edu, a Spaniard who traveled with his guitar around Latin America. We fell in love and now we live together in Madrid.
I have not seen many countries and I always liked the idea of traveling, living new experiences, knowing other cultures and learning from what is unknown.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Several people told me about their experience in CS. Even my boyfriend traveled to many places staying with locals and hosted many people in his apartment. I think it is very enriching to share experiences with people from different cultures and now I would also like to join this ideal of sharing and exchanging in CS.

Interests

• culture
• singing
• dancing
• music
• learning
• jamming
• meeting friends
• philosphy
• phsycology
• food and drinks

Music, Movies, and Books

To listen
Music that moves me, emotionally and physically. I tend to listen to music by singer-songwriters regardless of genre, although actually I always prefer the alternative styles, like indie, Caribbean, tropical, Afro-Latin, but also pop, rock, blues. I love fusions and artists that mix styles and genres.
To dance

I love dancing, so when I'm at a party, I like to listen everything that has a good rhythm like salsa, bachata, champeta, merengue, cumbia, reggaeton.

Films
My favorite genre is psychological suspense or psychological thriller, films that have an interesting character construction, that you can analyze and leave you philosophizing, also those that have a bit of mystery, detectives, police. Currently my guilty pleasure is teen series like Sex education, The 100, Elite, the end of the fucking world, the society and Skin. They are very entertaining and have good topics!

books
I am not a dedicated reader, but during my Psychology degree I have read many academic books and some have become my favorite books, especially by authors such as Aaron Beck, Judith Beck, Jeffrey Young, Bandura, Ausbel.

Of course I have also read a lot of books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I am from Magdalena province in Colombia, where he was born and which inspired him to write "One Hundred Years of Solitude". Other authors I have read are Andres Caicedo, Ernesto Sabato, Jane Austen…

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In Colombia I worked as a singer and also participated in festivals and musical contests. Something that made me very happy and I was impressed by is when I won the Best Voice award of the Barranquilla Orchestra and Fusion Festival, singinging “La piragua” which is a Traditional cumbia of Colombian music.
Moving to Spain for love! That’s definitely something incredible that I have done, I left all my life in Colombia behind to start a new one together with my Spanish boyfriend.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can give small singing lessons, teach you some vocal technique tricks… I also play the guitar and a bit of piano, but at a basic level so I could show you how little I know.
If you like Latin dances, I could also teach you dance steps.
We can play music together, talk, share some drinks, dance, cook together ...

What I Can Share with Hosts

A little serenade or jam session.
Delicious Colombian dishes (arepas, empanadas, Cayeye, patacones)
Dance lessons (Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, cumbia, champeta)
Help with clean up and washing dishes.

Countries I’ve Visited

Colombia, France, Portugal, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Colombia, Spain