Hi,

I'm Raquel Leiva Velasco and I'm 31 years old. You could easily google my name and find that I was a Miss Deaf Australia 2013.

I love travelling and meeting people. But I usually do not make the first move and say hi as I am shy sometimes and literally unsure of what to do and what to say.

I've had my first taste of couch surfing in munich. I was really lucky to find a place to stay as I was pretty broke before I could fly back home to Australia.

And I host deaf backpackers in my spare time and I always help them find work on their working holiday visa to the best I can do. If you have hosted me, I am more likely to host you in return as I'm a firm believer in the saying: "what you give is what you get back in return."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Right now it’s November 2024 - I’m at this precarious point where I’m literally bringing a boyfriend to meet the family for the first time ever especially since it’s for Christmas. I’ve never brought anyone home so it’s a big deal. My parents have asked that I find seperate accomodation for me and my partner to stay at.

When I'm hosting, I always tell my backpackers / guests that "mi casa es su casa" - my home is your home.
And I always will make time for someone to show them around. I always love to find out what my guests like and will make the effort to take them out to places to explore, also that I am a foodie and I always know exactly where is good places to eat at.

I'm not keen for the whole touristy touristy thing, but sights are pretty awesome though, but through local perspective. I really would like to try couchsurfing and decide if it is really safe for a deaf woman such as me to travel on those means.

Interests

Travel, photography, history, books, food and music.

Food is life, and life is food.

• books
• photography
• dining
• flying
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• surfing
• history
• sign language

Music, Movies, and Books

I have two favourite books - it seems kinda niche.

1. A place at the end of the world by Janine Di Giovanni
2. A Fortunate Life by Albert B. Facey

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Succeded in learning to read, write, and speak in German as a deaf person. I was told I was too deaf and I wouldn't succeed. Right now I’m trying to learn Spanish 😅

Teach, Learn, Share

I've worked as a aupair teaching English.

I teach sign language to little kids and anyone I meet whos curious about my language.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Anything. Just communicate with me about what you are looking for.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Serbia, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Croatia, Germany