It's always weird to describe oneself...I like contemporary art very much, languages, LGBTQ activism and travelling to experience other cultures.
I lived in Italy for three and a half years while I was studying visual arts in Bologna.
In 2017 I came back to Ecuador and I felt like I had to start from 0 with some projects of my own. I started my online activism platform where I upload illustrations and content that mix my Ecuadorian context with some queer imagery: its name is Guayaqueer.
In 2018 I joined Enseña Ecuador, which is a member of the global teaching network Teach for All, so now I'm teaching some English to kids and teenagers, but also to value themselves more and have more critical thinking. I believe education changes our lives, so if I had the opportunity to help myself studying abroad, why not helping some of my people on my way to self discovery :)
As for now, I can say that I am creative as a way to live and understand the world, I speak four languages to listen more openly and I teach to continue learning.

My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorachegm

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I had a profile since 2014 but never used it till 2016... I had my first couchsurfing experience at the beginning of 2016 in Georgia and since then it has been an amazing experience because:
- Spending great time with nice people, sharing interests or ideas, or considering other point of views broaden your own vision.
- The feeling you get when a stranger becomes a friend is priceless!
- I think learning to listen with an open mind and an open heart is the key to becoming a better person. CS had taught me that and I wish to continue practicing it.

Interests

• arts
• culture
• poetry
• contemporary art
• dancing
• lgbt rights
• education
• human rights
• partying
• clubbing
• reading
• teaching
• parks
• forests
• trekking
• relaxing
• museums
• city life
• walking around

Music, Movies, and Books

La Femme, Beyoncé, Sexy Sushi, Crystal Castles, The XX, Rihanna, The Drums, The Ting Tings, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, are some of my favorite, but really I can go from listening to Foals to RuPaul, or to Chavela Vargas very easily... I like dancing some trap and new wave or disco too!
My favorite writer is José Saramago. It was amazing when I could go to Lisbon to his house and meet an old friend of him. Right now I'm reading more queer literature like James Baldwin & Virginia Woolf.
Some of my favorite films are Closer, all of Xavier Dolan and Gaspar Noé films, Yo, la peor de todas, Viva, many Almodovar films, etc, etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Riding an African Elephant for my 20th birthday.
Interviewing trans women in the Philippines with just a camera and my phone for a documentary..
Living (surviving lol) and studying in Italy for almost four years.
Teaching to an entire high school of 6 classrooms with 40 students each and becoming a Teach For All alumnus.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach Spanish or English or French or Italian, I know those languages very well! So tell me if you wanna practice ;)
I know some things about contemporary art, lgbtq+ issues, pre-hispanic culture, or history that we can talk about, that'd be interesting. I'm that person who sleeps late because I end up reading about anything I'm interested in, mostly about those things I wrote above.

What I Can Share with Hosts

The experience I've got during my short 24 years life... it may not be much so I'm a good listener too :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, San Marino, Seychelles, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, Italy, Switzerland