/!\ COUCHSURFING IS NOT TINDER NOR SEXSURFING, THX /!\

Hi, I am Marlene, a French and Portuguese girl that lives actually in Santa Barbara with my husband ❤️

My backpack story : for almost 2 years traveling in all Americas Fev 2017 to Nov 2018:

I left Paris after resigning my job 💪

Why? I did not see myself continuing my life in Paris. I just went through a painful breakup. I did not like my life. I did not like Paris anymore... I wanted to discover another part of the world, I wanted to observe, to live, to be free for a while and see what affect it would have on me. Even if I had to take risks, I decided to do it despite my fears and uncertainty of what would happen along the way.

So I embarked on a life changing journey and went to live in Brazil for 1 year. I stayed 1 month in Sao Paulo, 5 months in Rio (where I took Portuguese lessons). I travelled alone, backpacking across all the north of Brazil from Manaus to Recife, through British Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana. After that, I decided to not take my return flight back to Paris and continued to backpack by myself in Colombia for 3 months from Bogota to Cartagena. From there, I traveled to the United States to surprise my aunt for her 50th birthday. I spent in total 3 months traveling from San Diego to Seattle ; seeing my aunt and met my boyfriend along the way 😍❤️
With the summer coming, I thought it would be a good idea to continue up to Canada.
WHY NOT ? I mean ... backpackers are so flexible and free that it would be foolish not to seize the opportunity. So I went to Vancouver and from there crossed Canada to Quebec !! ✊

My journey has consisted of living with native families through Couchsurfing or shared hostels. I travelled mainly by bus and hitchhiking. 👍

I flew from Brazil to Colombia (from Recife to Bogota) and from Colombia to the United States (from Cartagena to San Diego).

There were many magical and unique moments. As you can imagine: there are also very difficult moments both physically and mentally, but these moments allowed me to become who I am today. They are part of the trip. They allowed me to learn more about myself, about others, about society, about the different countries that I went through. Without any hesitation I can say that they were a blessing.

In the meantime, dare to become yourself. There are no rules to follow. Don’t be afraid to create the life you want. NOBODY will create your life for you ... and it's much better like that !!!

I have a new Facebook page where you can find articles about my backpacking : https://www.facebook.com/1MarlenaDaSilva

You can see some photos of my travels on my instragram here :
https://www.instagram.com/marlena_da_silva

You can look at my resume video of my Backpacking trip from south and north america in 5 minutes here : https://youtu.be/e6uKmIoqRx8

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing was a big part of my travel. Without it I could not travel for so long and never had this AMAZING EXPERIENCES with all my very good friends from CS. I love sharing and knowing people traveling 😁👍

Interests

• animals
• animal welfare
• organic food
• traveling
• hiking
• computer science
• solo travel
• road trips
• nature
• personal development
• plants
• exploring new places
• comedy
• roller skating
• humanitarian aid
• landscapes
• roadtrips
• natural medicine
• nature walks
• share experiences
• humanitarian work
• peace of mind

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

==================EN==============
I have been to China for 6 months during my studies in 2012. I stay 5 months in Shanghai (Jiao Tong University) and I have done one road trip for 1 month to descover Beijing, Hong-Kong and Macao. It was my first real experience as a traveler at the other end of the world. And my passion of travelling was born...
=================FR===============
J'ai été en Chine pendant 6 mois durant mes études en 2012. Je suis restée 5 mois à Shanghai (Jiao-Tong University) puis j'y ai fait mon premier roadtrip pour découvrir Pekin, Hong-Kong et Macao. C était ma première expérience en tant que voyageur à l'autre bout du monde. Et ma passion pour les voyages est née...
=================PT===============
Eu fui para China 6 meses para meus estudos en 2012. Fiquei 5 meses em Shanghai (Jiao-Tong University) e depois fui fazer um roadtrip durante 1 mês para descobrir Beijing, HongKong e Macao. Foi a minha primeira experiência como viajante no outro lado do mundo. Minha paixão para viajar nasceu assim...

What I Can Share with Hosts

==================EN==============
I can share my travel experiences, my life style in Paris and why I don't want to live there, anymore.
=================FR===============
Je peux partager mes expériences de voyages, mon style de vie parisien et pourquoi je ne souhaite plus vivre là bas.
=================PT===============
Posso compartilhar as minhas experiências de viagem, minha vida em Paris e a razão pela qual não quero mas viver là.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Estonia, French Guiana, Germany, Guyana, Hong Kong, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Suriname, Tunisia, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, China, France