If I had to choose three adjectives to describe myself, I would pick zesty, goofy, and discombobulated. Yes, I'm queer, tall, quite inquiring (in a fuzzy way), sometimes endowed with a bit of a golden retriever energy and into all things genuine and spontaneous.

Summarizing what I think I'm about is quite the task - I'm hoping the following bullet points will give you enough of an idea!

- I was incredibly fortunate to spend a bit more than a year living in an urban intentional community in Montreal, which, well, changed my life . We were a bunch of heterogeneous people crammed in a loft, a tad hypersensitive, engaged in a number of activist, artistic, and performative movements, all living together with a focus on care culture, group cohesion, feminism and queerness. Common meals, dumpster-diving, workshops, consent and trauma-informed check-ins (!), deep bonding, solidarity and mutual aid were commonplace practices. Although life sent me elsewhere for now, I put great importance in cultivating those values and practices at home, in my relationships and around me. I'm definitely expecting to answer the call of community living when it comes again.

- I was brought up in France and privileged enough to get to follow the cliché-enough exchange student to permanent resident-wannabe route when I set foot in Montreal. I'm almost two years in, hoping to make it last! Still struggling with "I want to see the world" and "I want to build a home" considerations, which immigration-related constraints tend to oppose, but trying to keep in mind that there could be "homes" (plural form)!

- Trying not only to exist, but to thrive, and to participate in enacting a positive project of global thriving for all of us, does bring its share of mind and body fuel. I take it as central to try to embody, enact and build community here and now. I hope I'll be able to act up to it and make you feel it!

- As for dumping random interests : I love hiking, biking, drinking water that tastes good, exploring popular education practices, dumpster diving, talking, sharing, connecting, doing weird poses with my hands in photos, writing letters, cheese, warming my hands on the heater when they get swollen and red because of the freezing temperatures, more inclusive martial arts classes, being a vegetarian (although I consider dumpsted things don't count), long enumerations, speaking and trying to speak other languages, snapping for drags, podcasts, winking, surfing on my non-heterosexuality, having fresh armpits, fairy lights, pretending to be good at orienteering while taking the metro the wrong way.

My fingertips are getting sore - time for a lil' hydration break.

Can't wait to hear about you!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I find it incredibly important to foster spaces where practices that try to defy the dominant norms can be developed and cultivated - I believe Couchsurfing has great potential for that when it comes to travelling.

Also, simply super into meeting new people, sharing and connecting!

But more essentially perhaps : I have a space where you can crash - let me offer it if it can help!

Interests

• cooking
• dumpster diving
• hiking
• philosophy
• community living
• vegetarianism
• biking
• feminism
• veganism
• climate justice
• anti-racism
• lgbtq+
• popular education
• p4wc
• self-governance
• caring thinking

Music, Movies, and Books

My musical taste is pretty eclectic! I'm currently obsessed with Liniker, Black Pumas and Etienne Coppée.
My personal classics include múm, Kings of Leon, Daughter, Regina Spektor, Lianne Lahavas, Tom Misch, Bia Ferreira, Michael Kiwanuka, Ray Charles, Sufjan Stevens, Odezenne, Etta James and quite a few more...
Would love to discover new artists!

Regarding movies, some highlights include Queen and Slim, Wendell and Wild and Laurence Anyway. I'm also super into Ghibli movies. Generally speaking usually love movies that squeeze your little heart until you shed every tear you could possibly produce, and those that are able to create a deep and mesmerising atmosphere.

Some non-fiction authors that provided me with tools that may accompany me for the rest of my life include Sarah Ahmed, Fred Moten and Stefano Harney, Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge.
I haven't given as much time to reading fiction as I would like, but I'm really into short stories, political fiction and autofiction.
I'd be glad to hear your recommendations!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

That one's a bit outdated, still thinking about what I could replace it with! But here it goes :

In order to get a study permit to move to Canada, I needed to provide my biometric data. Little constraint: it can only be done in a few reserved centers, only two of which are in France, namely, in Paris and Lyon. The thing is, we had to hurry quite a bit to get an appointment, for only very few were available at that time, and the procedures had to be done early enough so we could get our study permits in time – thank you dear covid.
I thus did hurry - quite a bit -, and booked the earliest appointment possible. One needed a notice of meeting to be able to attend, but I was expecting to get it the day before my appointment.

Fast forward to the appointment day.

I, of course, had not received the notice as expected. I still decided to take the train to Paris, in case I got it on the way. The rain was pouring outside. I ended up spending the day in an underground parking lot next to the biometrics center. The notice only came when I was on the train back home, disheartened by this stupid failure. At that time, there were no available appointments in Paris anymore. Most centers ran out of them. Most, but not all.

This is how I ended up taking a 1am coach to The Hague. I got there at 5am, strolled around, killed time by browsing the streetcar network mindlessly, went to the beach, met up with a friend I was fortunate enough to have met up online, ate great food with them, and, finally, suceeded to provide my damned fingerprints to the Canadian federal state. So, this whole chaotic situation ended up with me having a blast! First and only time in the Netherlands, short but iconic.

Morale: dishsoap is cheaper in the NL, I grabbed some before heading home.

Teach, Learn, Share

I like to give away surprise little handmade gifts.
I would love to share some recipes from my humble compilation!
I can try to teach you how to make ocarina-like sounds with your hands.
I might be able to help with your French!
Ask me about anything and everything, and I'll be glad to answer to the extent of my knowledge and sensitivity!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Currently moving into a new space, this section will be updated when I'll have a better idea of what I can offer (soon)!
I should be able to start hosting at the end of May.
Pop a message if you're planning to visit Montreal around that time and you think we'd be a good match!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, Laos, Netherlands, Slovenia, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France