Hi world-travelers! :D

BEFORE you send me a lovely message:
I probably won't have time to meet up, as my schedule is really full these days. You can try, but you might not get a reply. For travellers who like alternative culture (underground/hippie/activist), check the website radar-squat (just google) and select Amsterdam. For example underground cinema, awesome parties (if you're not into mainstream) and so on. All the stuff don't have time for these days 😂

... Enjoy your travels! ♥🌻🌈☀

So... If you are still interested in reading, here we go! 😆

My name is Tsjalline, which is a really difficult name all over the world - unless I explain it is pronounced like cha-cha-cha! 💃 Cha-line!

I joined Couchsurfing some years ago and it made me connect to so many cool people! First I hosted a couple of people in my student-room in the Netherlands. I went for a month to the United States for a Geography summer course in NYC and afterwards I couchsurfed while traveling the East Coast. I also did a one-month French language course in Lyon and made sure I spoke French all the time.. ^^

I have had really amazing experiences with CouchSurfing, but also think it can be a bit tricky. Spending a day or two in someone's intimate space - their home - can be quite a challenge. I realised that I am not always able to voice my needs and concerns. I have felt uncomfortable a few times, mostly because I didn't listen to my own intuition... I always want to think the best of people and I try to stay in a good mood at all times (which is quite impossible), so I find it hard to tell someone: "I don't like this," or "I feel uncomfortable". I would rather pretend that everything is fine. I have also never written a negative review, even though my personal experiences have been negative a few times (so I guess I should have been more honest to myself and others). So I'm trying to being more careful now, using CouchSurfing a bit less for sleeping over at someone's place and more for meet-ups in town. It's safer and just as much fun! :)

For the past months I was traveling through Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. I visited different projects along the way, such as a refugee aid group in Belgrade, Serbia. Afterwards, I stayed in Istanbul for 2 months to do volunteer work at a small community center: https://www.smallprojectsistanbul.org
Then I traveled through the south of Turkey to Lebanon, where I was a volunteer at a small NGO at the border with Syrian, teaching children in a small refugee camp: http://www.reliefandreconciliation.org

One day I hope to become a writer. Maybe a travel story writer, or a documentary maker, or a professor in human geography or anthropology… (that's a broad definition of writer, I know). Well, something that makes me happy at least. And something I find meaningful.... I am interested global issues like immigration, food security and sustainability. Or just anything with the word 'international' in it... The idea that all people in the world are in some way or another connected is just so fascinating!

Before I make the decision to visit a place, I like to be well-prepared and well-informed. I love to learn about the country's history, cultural traditions and politics. I love learning languages. At the moment I am studying Turkish and it is so beautiful and poetic. For example 'günesh', the word for 'sun', is made out of 'gün' - which means 'day' - and 'esh' - which means 'partner'... So the sun is the partner of the day! Isn't that beautiful? :) So basically if you have any random words to teach me in any language, I am down...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I think Couchsurfing is an amazing initiative that brings people together who have minds and hearts that are open for new connections and adventures. It just makes me realize the world is full of amazing people.

Interests

- Singing / Making music together
- Drawing / Art
- Writing (short stories or newspaper articles)
- Debating (or discussing world issues in a thoughtful way)
- Deep conversations (about the UNIVERSE... ^^)
- Silly funny crazy things :D

Sports:
- Swimming
- Yoga
- Biking
- Running
- Hiking

I like everything natural - from flowers and butterflies to storms with lightning...
I like food, especially when it is prepared and eaten with love! :)
I like to listen to stories...

• arts
• writing
• singing
• documentaries
• dining
• cooking
• vegetarian
• yoga
• running
• flowers
• politics
• traveling
• drawing
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• sports
• swimming
• teaching
• geography
• history
• languages
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
(in random order, just what comes to my mind now... :P) Cesaria Evora, Bob Marley, Astrud Gilberto, Buena Vista Social Club, Orchestra Baobab, Fanfara Ciocarlia, Nina Simone, Ray Charles, The Animals, Amy Winehouse, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, Playing for A Change, New Age/Yoga/Relax music..

Movies:
Into The Wild, Little Miss Sunshine, Frances Ha, Amélie, As It Is In Heaven,
Brokeback Mountain, Das Leben Der Anderen, La Meglio Gioventù, Still Life, Hideous Kinky, Frida, The Kite Runner, The Story of the Weeping Camel and Samsara, Planet Earth.

Books:
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Life of Pi, A Thousand Splendid Suns, To Kill A Mocking Bird, The Hobbit, Wuthering Heights, The Bridge Over The Drina, Ali and Nino, Open City, the poems of Wislawa Szymborska.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Working as a volunteer for two weeks on a Permaculture Farm in South Africa. First did not even know what permaculture was, but then I learned so much about sustainable and independent living and how awesome nature is! :D (it's this place, close to Cape Town: http://www.berg-en-dal.co.za)

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach:
- I can teach you Dutch or some of the other languages I speak…
- I can teach you nice vegetarian cooking that I learned from my mum (like awesome pumpkin soup).
- I can teach you stuff about geography if you're interested Or drawing, or singing, or writing, or some other stuff I like to do…

Learn:
- I would like to learn from other people about the place they are living in, how they came there and what their dreams are in life… Wow, that sounds heavy. But I just mean: I like to meet new people!

Share:
- The love… Haha, that's really cliché again, right? What about 'the happiness'? Worse? Okay… I'll stop already.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my stories, my ideas, my songs, my worldviews....
Oh, and I can share the costs for food of course ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Portugal, Serbia, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Lebanon, Netherlands, Turkey