2023 Life update - WE GOT MARRIED.
And for our honeymoon, Edwin and I quit our jobs to travel around the world October 2023-end of 2024.

Our itinerary is:

September 2023 - Poland! For our first wedding!

October 2023 - Road trip around Balkan states. Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

November 2023 - Heading to Kerala, India for our second wedding reception :)

December 2023 - Backpacking around India

January 2023 - Thailand

February 2023 - Indonesia

March 2023 - Vietnam

April 2023 - Japan

May 2023 - Korea for 10 days, then Africa

After Africa? Australia? Pacific Islands? Haven't decided yet

About me:

Monika: Just your typical third culture kid, raised in America by immigrant parents from Poland. I was a former AFS exchange student to Argentina in 2014. I've traveled extensively on Couchsurfing and doing workaways throughout South America, North America and Europe.

Former Couchsurfing endeavors:

March 2017 - June 2017: traveling around Ecuador and Colombia with my friend Nikodem. Workawaying our way around the country.

July 2018- August 2018 Interning in a clinic in Hyderabad, India

Edwin: My lovely husband, a Malayali raised in Northern India. Graduated with an electrical engineering degree but has been working in data science for many years... mainly in AI and NLP.

Interests

I love trees and mountains and all that has to do with nature. I enjoy doing multi day trekking in the wilderness and long-distance bicycle rides. Some day, I hope to do a several month bicycle journey across Europe and Africa... always looking for tips from fellow cyclists!

• writing
• photography
• documentaries
• coaching

Music, Movies, and Books

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

At the age of 16, I took a solo bus 1800 km trip across Argentina to find a girl from a documentary film.

I took the TransSiberian express from Moscow to Yekaterinburg, Russia.

I hitchhiked on the road from Buenaventura to Cali in Colombia across a military picket line.

I passed Physical Chemistry with an 85% :)

I rode 320 kilometers in 2 days on my bicycle from Seattle to Portland, USA.

I lived in a village in India and worked in a rural health clinic.

I got married!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, stories, stories! And food.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Poland, United States