I find myself to be optimistic and friendly. And I guess as a Cancer, I'm someone who develops strong attachments to people once I know them. I used to be quite reserved but as I grow up, I find myself to start to be opening to people more which I am really glad of this improvement. As an Indonesian Chinese who has been studying in Singapore for almost 10 years (OMG! time flies!), I am proud to say that I'm really independent since I've been living on and off with my sister (I can fill you in more when I see you regarding this :D) I think that I'm quite funny 'cos I get the feeling that my friends laugh at my jokes or words (do you call that being overly self-confident?) I don't think that it is always smiles when you take photos, it can be funny faces too, that's part of a memory as well.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To live like a local as a tourist. And of course, to listen and gain all the knowledge and different experiences that I will be able to gain from hosts as they tell me about the cities (how I wish my brain storage could be expanded to remember all these!)

Truth be told, I am actually still lost in what I want to do in life so I hope through meeting different people from different walks of life and culture, I can find myself, search for what I want to pursue in life. Of course, even if I don't, I will still get to meet many different kinds of people which I will appreciate as much!

Interests

eating, traveling, sharing and listening to stories, walking, laughing (and it serves as a good exercise, so why not?)

Something that I have always enjoyed doing, people watching (not in a bad way, of course): looking at how they dress (I draw my inspirations from them and I find it interesting), observing what people do (some people unconsciously do some not-so-glamorous actions, most people nowadays just put their heads down and look at their technology gadgets which I find it very saddening although I'm also guilty of it). Sometimes as I watch people, different thoughts will cross my mind and I like to reflect upon what I've done, been doing and should do. Constant reflections upon oneself are good too, I think.

• culture
• dining
• cooking
• exercise
• walking
• technology
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• drawing
• volunteering
• solo travel

Music, Movies, and Books

I have not read a book since I was 13 unless it was forced by the school, but I remember I used to enjoy reading a lot when I was young. Then as I grew older, I just kept giving excuses to myself that I didn't start reading until now. But I really want to pick up reading again, maybe my laziness just overcomes this.

I listen to Mandarin pop songs more often. I do listen to other languages' songs too. My favorite English songs are "Nothing's gonna change my love for you", "I just called to say I love you" & "Sway". As the Chinese singing competitions are on trend these years, it adds up to my favoritism towards Mandarin songs.

I like movies that are related to wars but I do catch cartoon movies too. I like simple stories too like "Eat, Pray, Love" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" that inspire me to want to travel the world more while I'm still young and still be daring to dream, no matter what age.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Did a small solo traveling on my exchange to Hamburg, Germany for about 10 days where I tried many things for the first time (taking overnight train, first couchsurfing experience, challenge myself (and to test my courage) to take 3am bus (probably not so impressive for some people but at least I consider it is haha), first time staying in a forest house, first time seeing snow and venturing in snow covered area etc...)

Is waking up early without an alarm clock considered amazing? Cos nowadays rarely do you see people who wake up early with just their biological clock!

Staying nights alone at home, just by myself, before I was 15. I'm not sure how is this amazing or if westerners find this amazing (because I always have the mindset that westerners are much open and more independent at a younger age) but at least I find that it's daring of me to do this, at least in my family and among the people who live in Asia. After all, kids nowadays are quite sheltered.

It's okay if you, who are reading this, doesn't find this worthy of being written down, but I guess maybe I still have other amazing things I've done before just that I can't think off hand, so maybe we would need some talk!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach Indonesian (I'm bad at my mother tongue actually. I'm better in English and Chinese :P), English and Chinese. I enjoy doing housework (some people find this weird but I still meet people who enjoy housework like me), so I think that I'll be of much help to the hosts if they need help! But I just can't cook well, so I'm sorry I might disappoint you if you want me to cook for you, hosts. As much as I can't cook, I LOVE FOOD. I am open (and want to) to trying different cuisines worldwide and am definitely game to try them out.

I'm sure everyone will have their own fair share of stories to share. I love listening to stories and sharing mine too.

What I Can Share with Hosts

As mentioned, I can share stories (I do some volunteering activities locally and overseas too, so I thought it will be interesting to share) and a helping hand at housework! I can be your helper in the kitchen but maybe not be able to cook for you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Cambodia, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Indonesia, Singapore