Hi there! I'm a swiss girl on a mission - I want to discover the worlds most fascinating places, people and cultures!
Same as probably everyone here on CS, I absolutely love traveling and meeting new people. I'm always in the mood for a good, long conversation, no matter what topic. I also happen to have a big passion for languages, so whenever I arrive in a new country, I will try to learn at least the most important words and phrases. Sometimes even the writing system (Arab, Korean), because, well... I'm a designer and kind of a nerd at the same time (I had even started to learn Elvish as a kid!).

I would describe myself as open, friendly and uncomplicated. I like all animals (more or less - I'm still waiting for spiders to win me over!) and will eat anything that comes my way, as long as it's not too spicy, since my poor tongue is not used to it (yet). I don't smoke.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In my opinion, one's personality grows with every new encounter and with every single conversation!
I've already done some travelling, and I came to notice that my best memories are often formed by the people I had met.
I think you can't really know a country without knowing the people who live there, because they are part of what makes it special. So for me, Couchsurfing is the ideal platform to do exactly that: Getting a bit of an inside view into the culture and make some international friends.

I would love to be able to return the offer of hosting someone, but at the moment, I don't really have an appartment to share... I'm a nomad!

Interests

I draw, sketch and paint pretty much since I've been able to hold a pen. I'm super interested in art, design and foreign writing systems and fonts (as mentioned above). In case you are curious, you can check out some of my graphic design projects on my website (www.vanessalandolt.ch) or my drawings on Instagram (@v_n_ss_).
Other than that, I started doing martial arts some years ago (Krav Maga, Lei Tai, some Wing Chung and Eskrima) – so you'd better be nice to me! :'D

• arts
• literature
• design
• traveling
• martial arts
• languages
• psychology
• visual arts
• food
• nature

Music, Movies, and Books

Generally, I'm pretty open to discover new music - but I'm not too fond of most of the hits in the charts.
Some of my favorite bands/singers: Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack, Glass Animals, Stromae, Agnes Obel, Alt-J, Kongos, ...

I love movies that make me think, that are profound or filmed in an interesting way.
Some examples: Shutter Island, Memento, Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds, Donny Darko, Inception, Melancholia, American Beauty, Mullholland Drive, ...
Sometimes, of course, it can also be movies that are a bit more relaxing.

Back when I didn't own a laptop and smartphone, I used to read a lot: from fantasy to science fiction to books about psychology through to classical literature (mostly in German, so Hermann Hesse, Stefan Zweig, Goethe, Schiller, ...). Right now I'm trying to force myself away from the digital world as much as possible, and go on to read some books in English and French as well. We'll see how things go!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Living in Berlin for 5 months - this city is really incredible! It's lively, unorganized, artistic and a bit savage. Berlin and it's residents have a rough charm that I'm very in love with, and it's a great source of creative inspiration. It is "fucked up, but in a pretty way", as I like to say. :P

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to learn a bit of whatever language you speak!
In exchange, I can teach you some German, English, French or even Swiss German - if you're up for a challenge. It's hard, haha.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can offer my humble company, a good mood and interesting conversations.
Unfortunately, I'm quite useless as a cook, but I'm a great kitchen aid and I will try to make myself as useful as possible with whatever needs to be done - cleaning, doing the dishes, grocery shopping... I was raised well and I don't expect to be served! :)

Besides, I like doing portraits, so if you want I can draw you (like one of my french girls. *cough* I'm kidding).

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, Switzerland, United States