CURRENT MISSION

To bring some of South America's great vibes over to Holland!

ABOUT ME

Last year I graduated in the Netherlands, and this year I'm broadening my horizons - together with a friend I´ve travelled through South America for 6 months. After that, I finished my masters in International Business in Lima, living in this great Latino-city for over 4 months.

In September-October I travelled through Central America for 5 weeks, and mid-October I got back to Holland. This means serious life is about to start... Therefore I am very busy finding a job right now! ;-

So, something about me... I am a very open-minded person who loves learning new languages, travelling and meeting people from all around the world. Oh wait a minute... This applies to 99% of all CS'ers! Oops!

Let's start over. Well... I'm a very active person. I love my sports and can't live without. My running shoes are always in my backpack when travelling, and I love to meet up with fellow CS'ers to go to some crazy running event (this has actually already happened various times now :-) ) . My running-craze ranges from doing 3000 meters on the track (in 10:30min approximately) to doing half marathons (I have done 5 so far, all between 1.32h and 1.37h), and THINKING about doing my first whole marathon next spring. But next to running I also really enjoy other parts of athletics, doing outdoor activities, I am a huge snowboarding fan (have missed my dear snowboard while being in South America!) and can definitely get excited by doing a multiple-day hike through some type of beautiful landscape. I also love all sorts of adventure sports :-)

But well, there's also a side of me that likes having a tasty beer with some friends, going out dancing until the early hours. Believe it or not, after a whole year in South America my dancing skills still suck. I keep telling myself this is due to the fact that I am comparing myself to Latinos and that I will be a star dancer stealing the show as soon as I get back to Holland. Unfortunately, deep in my heart I know this is not true ;-) . However, I do enjoy going out to a bar or club, either for a good conversation or for some terrible dance moves!

Having lived in New Zealand and Peru over the past 3 years and being away from Holland for 1 year (oct 2010-oct 2011) I think I am now ready to settle down in Holland and find a big-girl job. Well actually, let's be honest because you're CS'ers and I think you'd understand: I am not ready AT ALL and would much prefer to continue my adventure... But all my secret bank accounts are depleted now and the fastest way to solve this problem is to go back and make some € € € rather than Soles, Pesos, Bolivianos or whatever crazy currency might exist here in South America. A bright point in this story is that I have discovered CS now, and will be able to continue the multicultural experience from the comfort of my own home, hosting and meeting up with (hopefully) many of you! :-)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I joined CS in early 2011, because I was travelling through South America with a friend and we figured it would be a nice way to meet some of the locals. Unfortunately, without references it seemed very hard to find someone who wanted to host us. So in the end I didn't meet any fellow CS'ers until I arrived to Lima in April.

When I moved into my room here I quickly received my first couchsurfer, Nick from Germany. And after that, well, the story continued! I have shown some people around Lima, have gone to running events with Jan from Norway and fellow Dutchy Otto, have met up with some people for drinks... It's been a blast! I can really say that I have enjoyed meeting these fellow Couchsurfers- I loved hearing their stories and getting to know them a little bit.

In Central America I continued the Couchsurfing adventure and did some CS'ing in Nicaragua (with Carlos) and met up with some CS'ers in Costa Rica.

As soon as I get my own place in Holland I will be offering my couch. In the mean time, I am definitely available for a coffee, beer, a nice long run, some sightseeing- whatever!

Interests

Running: it makes me happy and keeps me fit. I do tend to get a bit competitive though, always wanting to break my own records and get everything I can out of myself.

Photography: a hobby I picked up a few years ago, and which is obviously great in combination with travelling. Unfortunately my SLR got stolen in Chile (I did not give a damn about the laptop and the passport, but I was truly upset about the camera!)- so for now I have a camera that's in-between standard digital and SLR. The advantage is that it's got great zoom. Can't wait until I can buy a new SLR though!

Travelling: No explanation needed, right...!

Sports: Next to running I am also a fan of athletics, football, snowboarding, surfing, hiking and I don't mind the occasional swim. Especially in blue oceans with a nice white sandy beach waiting for me afterwards ;)

Languages: I speak 4 languages fluently and I am blessed with a good dose of linguistic talent (or something that the Dutch call a 'talenknobbel'). I plan to use this talent to learn as many languages as possible. It took me less than a year to become fluent in Spanish, so when you talk to me in 6 years I will hopefully be fluent in at least 10 languages...haha. Well, I wish! And I am definitely gonna try. Next languages on the list: probably Portugese and Italian, and possibly a slight improvement of my French.

Adventure sports: I love a bit of excitement! I go snowboarding at least once or twice a year, have been bungee-jumping 3 times (highest jump: 233 meters in Macau, Asia), did a skydive from 13.000 feet in New Zealand, have done wild-waterrafting in NZ, canyoning in Chile, parapenting in Lima, did 2 diving courses in Colombia (I love diving! :-) ) and went diving with sharks in the Blue Hole in Belize. The adrenaline rush you get is very addictive!

• photography
• dancing
• beer
• coffee
• marathon
• running
• drinking
• clubbing
• traveling
• socializing
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• bungee jumping
• skydiving
• snowboarding
• sports
• soccer
• track and field
• swimming
• business
• languages
• sightseeing
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

The past 6 years I have been a student, meaning I was forced to read many, many books- some definitely more interesting than others. But because of that, I preferred spending my free time on other hobbies. However, when I started travelling through South America I regained my previous love of books (I am now talking about when I was 10 years old and read at least 6 books per week) and really appreciate the art of literature again. I love Khaled Hosseini (the kite runner, a thousand splendid suns), really liked the Millenium trilogy, and a ton of Dutch writers you have probably never heard of. Right now my favourite book is 'Viva South America' by a journalist called Oliver Balch. It is an awesome journey through a continent that I have gotten to know very well over the past year, with great background research, interesting themes and many amazing anecdotes.

One little fact about me that some people consider a flaw: I have never seen a Harry Potter movie nor read a Harry Potter book, and still do not feel the urge to do so.

Movies... Well, although I am not a huge movie fan I do enjoy the occasional sit-back-and-relax night watching a good ol' movie. Favourites include August Rush, the Green Mile, Zwartboek (Dutch), 127 hours, Slumdog Millionaire, Inception, Inglorious Basterds. Yep, pretty mainstream. I am not a film critic, just like a pleasant watch. And I would not be honest if I would not admit that sometimes I can enjoy the guilty pleasure of a chickflick or romantic comedy ;-)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Being in South America, the past year has been full of amazing experiences: Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguacu, Bolivia. Especially the last one was an amazing place: Living with a family for a while I got to feel like Bolivia is my new home country. Amazing!! But all of the 9 countries in South America I have visited have something special, I love this continent!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bolivia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru

• 

•