Hi!
I'm Mel from Australia.
After teaching Pilates for almost 10 years, and owning my own business, I decided to leave it all behind and travel more of this wonderful world.
I have just been travelling around Mexico, Cuba and Guatemala for 4 months, and am heading to Asia to travel for 6 weeks, before flying into Barcelona, Spain.
I lived with a Guatemalan family for 3 weeks in Antigua, and went to Spanish School for these 3 weeks.
i love experiencing different cultures, meeting the locals, learning the language. It takes me out of my comfort zone and challenges me. I learn so much about other people, and about myself.
Life is worth living. I intend to live life :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm Couchsurfing because I've heard such great things about it.
I'm over the traditional 'backpacker' scene, and want to meet the locals and experience the culture. In hostels, you just meet other travellers, which I love, but it doesn't give me the true essence of a place.
I'm not travelling just to 'see the sights', I'm here to meet the people. Immerse myself in the everyday life (albeit for a short period of time). Find out how people live in their country, and what they enjoy about living there.
I will be doing volunteer work teaching English in Budapest and Warsaw, and teaching Pilates in Dublin.

Interests

Reading
Eating -good food is one of the best things in life
Pilates
Travelling (of course!)
Learning Spanish

• culture
• perfumes
• dining
• cooking
• pilates
• drinking
• flying
• reading
• traveling
• volunteer work
• backpacking
• rock climbing
• business
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Hmm.. my favourite travel album that I love listening to is "Into the Wild"

Movies - About time, Intouchables, Samba, A beautiful life.
I love french movies - they are my favourite!

Books - The Alchemist, The Bronze Horseman, Tuesdays with Morrie... I love reading, both non-fiction and fiction. It's my way of escaping without going anywhere :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One of the best things I have experienced is climbing Volcan Acatenango just outside of Antigua, Guatemala, and watched a volcano erupting over and over again!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach pilates and English.

I enjoy learning spanish and how to cook

I enjoy sharing good food and drink with great company

What I Can Share with Hosts

My travel experiences, my love of food, interesting experiences and insights.

One of the things I love about meeting different people, are the interesting conversations we have, and how people all over the world can have such different lives, but have similar views and insights.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Scotland