Heya everyone!

I'm Pia, a 21-year-old girl living and studying in Helsinki, Finland. I love to explore the world, see new places and make new friends!

After graduating from high school a couple years ago I took a gap year and spent it backpacking and doing volunteer work in Europe and ended up living 6 months in Barcelona as an au pair. I had the best time travelling and meeting amazing people, and even though I'm now quite busy with my studies I'm always trying to find some time for a new trip!

I'm a very bubbly person, I love laughing and I'm always excited about every chance to get to know more of this world. I'm very spontaneous, and it happens every now and then that I just buy a one-way ticket somewhere with no plans at all! I love to meet new people over a beer and just chill, but I'm also always up for a good party (and dancing)!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is an amazing way to see a new city, country and the culture. Staying with a local is so different from a stay at a hotel, you get to know the culture from a completely new point of view and get all the insider tips as well! Also it's the best way too meet people and socialise, and in the best case scenario you'll make friends for a lifetime!

Interests

I'm quite active at a volunteering organisation here in Finland, and I've been doing volunteer work in Italy and Germany. After these experiences I've taken part in several different projects, the topics being human rights or non-formal learning for example. In my opinion volunteering is an absolutely amazing way to get to know different countries and to live the culture a bit more from a native's perspective.

In my free time I love to do different kinds of sports, mostly running and spinning. Also I really enjoy hiking or just walking in a forest and enjoying the nature at times.

I also play the guitar (a little bit), and I just love singing and strumming the guitar by a bonfire with friends! Trying to learn ukulele also, because it would be a bit more convenient to carry around when travelling! :-D

My taste in music depends always on my mood, but still mostly indie rock and indie folk. So sometimes its Florence + The Machine and sometimes Bob Dylan I'm listening to! Reading is also something I really enjoy, but sadly all my exams have been taking my time from that a lot lately... But I will try to read more this summer!

And then of course - travelling. There is something very special in the moment when you arrive to a city or place you've never been before. I'm not the type of person who wants to see all the tourist attractions at once, I mostly find myself wandering around a city for countless hours, discovering small alleys and getting a little lost every now and then.

• arts
• culture
• cooking
• vegetarian
• vegan
• running
• reading
• guitar
• hiking
• backpacking
• sports
• volunteering
• going out
• indie music
• outdoors

Music, Movies, and Books

In music my top favourites are currently Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Florence + The Machine, Bastille, Years and Years, Arctic Monkeys, The Wombats, Bob Dylan, Belle and Sebastian, Tame Impala, Kodaline, Simon and Garfunkel and the list goes on and on!

Honestly, I have to admit that I haven't watched that many movies. For me it's something social and I do love a good movie with friends, but I hardly ever watch them by myself. But my favourite one has to be Amélie!

And books, love them! The feeling when you find yourself reading a whole novel in one go is amazing! It's difficult to say a favourite book, but I guess Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie really impressed me.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I guess moving to Spain has to be the answer to this. I decided that I'll move to Barcelona in October 2016 and two weeks later I already was living there. Of course I had my ups and downs there, but overall it was such a great experience, I learned so much about myself, and above all made some really good friends.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Finland, Ireland, Spain