Tambien hablamos español! Preguntanos lo que sea!

Matias is from Argentina, Daniela from the USA/Mexico. We met on a trip to Israel in 2015, dated long distance for a year, then spent over a year together in Buenos Aires. We then had a lovely 3-month-long trip through Europe, and then waited another 4 months long distance until Matias got a visa to move to Pittsburgh with Daniela. We are now reunited and happily married.

We are both fluent in English and Spanish, and learning German and Japanese. Daniela can speak some Italian, while Matias can converse in Esperanto and German. We both love eating out and trying new things, we are both very enthusiastic about living an exciting life. We're also very content with sitting at a cafe or restaurant and drawing together. We've also both been trying to go to the gym regularly, no matter how hard the habit is to create.

We are both on instagram! https://www.instagram.com/danielameravigliosa/ and https://www.instagram.com/maltalef/

Daniela: I like making surrealistic (or fantasy, colorful) paintings/drawings. I tend to be the one to take pictures when we travel, so most of our Couchsurfing photos are of Matias and less of me.

Matias: Hmm. Let's see... I'm a geeky, friendly, funny person. I'm a programmer (was also a teacher for a short time, and game developer too). I lived in Buenos Aires my whole life besides a 9-month long backpacking trip throughout New Zealand (and now living in the US). I speak the Esperanto language though I'm kinda rusty for lack of practice. Also: I'm 29 years old as of this writing (born in 1988), can't put both ages up there haha.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We love this concept of hospitality/kindness and we really enjoy the company of those who also wish to make travelers feel welcome or share experiences with other people; our experiences with Couchsurfers made us conscious that this energy is contagious and makes your life richer immediately.

We think that making new friends no matter where you are is the best way to travel; hanging out with locals (who also want to hang out with you) is exceptionally better than traditional tourism.

We hosted our first Couchsurfer right before going to Europe (besides also hosting friends we already knew from other places when they were visiting Buenos Aires) and fell in love with the whole experience. Not only did we enjoy spending our time with him but we also could put ourselves in his shoes and imagine how much better any trip could be when you're hosted by friendly and helpful people.

Interests

• photography
• coffee
• anime
• video games
• board games
• painting
• drawing
• swimming
• art
• tea
• vegetarian food
• ice skating
• whales
• programming
• vegan food
• esperanto
• cooking and baking
• death metal
• global game jam

Music, Movies, and Books

Shared Interests, to name a few...
Music: Electroswing genre, Skazi, and some individual songs (our music tastes are very different otherwise).
Movies: Satoshi Kon's Paprika, Mr. Nobody, Mary and the Witch's Flower, Spirited Away, Argentinian drama films.
Books: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, Slade House by David Mitchell.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Daniela: One time I did a live collaboration painting at an event called Art All Night (in Pittsburgh), and I spent 14 hours total painting within a 24-hour timeframe. I started painting at 4pm, worked until 3 in the morning , slept/napped at home, and then resumed painting at the event from 8-11am.

Matias: I've gone backpacking to New Zealand for nine months with a working holiday visa. First time away from home for more than a week, and had an amazing experience that completely opened my mind. I worked, visited, hitchhiked, did WWOOF (similar to helpx, help a few hours a day in a farm or wherever in exchange for food and accommodation), and met some amazing people.

Teach, Learn, Share

Daniela:
Teach: ESL. Painting/drawing.
Learn: How to spin poi, or hula hoop better. I'd like help from fluent German/Japanese/Italian speakers.

Matias:
Teach: Spanish, Basic German, Esperanto, Programming. A very basic introduction to meditation.
Learn: More tech. More languages.

LEARN: We would love to learn about anything that you are passionate about.
SHARE: We can cook and make a (limited, but nice) variety of dishes!

What I Can Share with Hosts

We will help you out however we can (cooking, cleaning, attempting to fix broken things, etc.) If we are able to bring snacks/desserts to share then we will. If we're able to bring board games then that is another possibility of an activity during our stay. It just depends on how much space we have for our things when we travel. We would want to spend time with our hosts if it is possible, but we will always try to make time.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Ghana, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Mexico, United States