Being a feminist is the first thing people notice about me. To empower women is something I intend to do my whole life. I love travelling and meeting new people, I think it is an awesome way to get to know different cultures and realize the world is way bigger than we think it is. I'm from Brazil but I'm currently living in Holland. I'm a student of modern languages/English literature and an English Teacher.

PHILOSOPHY

"You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise." - Maya Angelou

"I would always rather be happy than diginified" - Jane Eyre

''Everything you love, you will eventually lose, but in the end, love will return in a different form" - Franz Kafka

"It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for" - Amy Poehler

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It's a great way to meet new people. You get a totally different vibe than when you go to a hotel. I just love this exchange of culture and I've only had great experiences with it so far.

Interests

My mother is a History of Art/Literature teacher and my father is a Painter, so ever since I was a little kid I was surrounded by books and art. I love to read and I'm fascinated by art. I'm really lucky to live in The Netherlands because it is such an amazing country and also home of my favorite painter, Van Gogh.

• arts
• culture
• books
• literature
• traveling
• blogging
• cycling
• teaching
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I love music, movies/tv shows and books. And I could talk about it forever. Some friends make fun of me because when I talk about it, I'm so passionate it's almost like a mother proud of her kids.

MUSIC

If I put my Ipod on shuffle it could easily go from Manu Chao to Miley Cyrus, or Led Zeppelin to Beyoncè, or even Ella Fitzgerald to ABBA. I'm very eclectic. At the moment I'm listening to Norah Jones, Glen Hanshard, Fleetwood Mac and Caro Emerald a lot. But I'm open to everything!

MOVIES

I'm crazy about movies. I am also really fond of old hollywood movies. I had the pleasure to watch some of these movies on the big screen thanks to the several movie festivals in my homecity (Recife), such as Casablanca, Rear Window, Psycho, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Vertigo, The Sound of music, The treasure of Sierra Madre and not so old Back to the future, Pulp Fiction, The godfather, Jaws, Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie...

TV SHOWS

People don't understand how I get the time to watch my shows. To be really honest me neither. But it's already out of control and I can't go back.

Game of thrones, House of cards, 30 rock, Parks and Recreation, The office, How to get away with murder, Breaking Bad, The good wife, Arrested Development, American Horror Story, True Detective, Veep, Broad City, Community, Orange is the new black, Orphan Black, Friends, The Fosters, Bates Motel, The L word, The golden girls, I love Lucy, Grace and Frankie, Twin Peaks, Faking It, My Mad Fat Diary, Miranda, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

BOOKS

It is so clichè to say how great it is to read a book while drinking coffee, right? But I love doing these things. These are a few books that changed me somehow

Ham on Rye, Factotum, Post Office, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, South of No North, The Most Beautiful Woman in Town, The Last Night of the Earth Poems - Charles Bukowski

Sophie's Choice -William Styron

The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

In Cold Blood/Breakfast at Tiffany's/ Music for Chameleons - Truman Capote

And everything written by E.E Cummings.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Recently I did a bike trip alone around the Netherlands. I went from my place (Ter Aar) to Maastricht. I stopped in Breda and also Eindhoven. From Eindhoven to Maastricht I crossed through Belgium. (biked 260km in 3 days). It was definitely the most amazing thing I've ever done in my entire life.

Teach, Learn, Share

I think you can tell a lot about someone based on their blog. I'm gonna share with you mine. Will or will I not regret this decision? That is the question!

http://hollygohardly.tumblr.com/

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Netherlands