Born and raised in Dubai with a love for travelling, art, architecture, gardening, cuban salsa, painting, and cooking. Love meeting like-minded people and social entrepreneurs. Founder of Dubai Jiggy and Engulf Art - I organize creative ecosystem building events in UAE and help to support over 500 creative freelancers ranging from artists, designers, poets, writers, and filmmakers, through my community events and partnerships. Co-founder of the AJALA Project - a unique art platform that crowdfunds for grassroots social impact initiatives.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've travelled to 31 countries and used airbnb quite regularly. After meeting a number of couchsurfers in Dubai who love hanging out with locals, I'd like to try the same when I travel.

I LOVE ANIMALS AND ART. I try and incorporate both in all my travels and have visited galleries, museums, zoos, and natural conservation parks in every country I've been to (31+ and counting).

Interests

• architecture
• street art
• painting
• tourism
• food
• street food
• museums
• local culture
• explore
• walking tours
• coffee shops
• scenery
• cuban salsa
• arabic architecture
• hole in the wall eateries
• local coffee shops

Music, Movies, and Books

AAAH this is so hard.

Books:.
Follow my on goodreads - Dubai Jiggy
2018 - I've read 19/30 books this year
I love reading celebrity memoirs - not sure why. Especially by stand up comics - they share their tragic childhoods in the most hilarious ways. STand Up comic memoirs are definitely by guilty reading pleasures. I also read historical fiction, motivational self-help, and literary fiction.
I love the Stieg Larsson series, I love historical fiction, I loved All the Light we Cannot See from the recent books I've read.

Movies:

This sounds cliched but I loveeee Pulp Fiction and am a die hard Leonardo Dicaprio fan. I haven't seen The Revenant yet though. Recently, I fell in love with the movie Mal de Pierres, despite the terrible reviews.

Music:

THE WEEKND - been a fan since 2011. I love him.
I listen to Rnb, Nigerian, Dancehall, HIphop, reggaeton, Salsa music, french hiphop and dancehall

PAINT:

My facebook art page is NArmeen Naser Fine art and my business page is DUBAI JIGGY.
Anybody that knows me will tell you I'm incredibly passionate and put in 200% in to all my projects. I'm a creative and love to paint, garden, sew, dance, etc. I try and teach myself a new skill every year.

You can find more about me here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaZFv6ee4-0

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Diving in the Great Barrier Reef
Trekked Great Wall of China
Travelled all over New Zealand and Australia while selling herbal ayurvedic teas at fairs, whilst continuing my Master's Degree in Canberra
Attended Barack Obama's first inauguration as part of the University Youth Global Leadership programme
Built the largest creative database in DUBAI

Teach, Learn, Share

I want to learn arabic
I can teach gardening, dancing, cooking, sewing, or painting.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Dubai dates, souvenirs, spices, etc

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, China, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Georgia, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Monaco, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, United Arab Emirates