I am currently living in Montreal and travelling with my wife Mélodie, I'll split the profile in two so you can know us both! Seems only fair since you get two for the price of one (alas, we only have one account) :)

Yolaine: I am 34 and I was born in Switzerland, where I lived a good part of my life. I've been lucky enough to do my undergrad in Paris, some more studying in London, and I'm now trying to get my PhD in Canada. Travelling is one of the passions I share with Melodie, we went on a 16-month trip around the world in 2015-16 and basically count the days until we can do that again! I have a thing for history and international relations, and any and all good books, I enjoy sports a lot, in particular tennis, rock climbing and skiing. I'm also a great music fan, pretty omnivorous though good rock will always be above everything else, and am rarely as happy as when standing at the front row of a concert (though having a good meal and drinks with friends or family is a solid contender).

Mélodie : I'm a 34-year-old French girl who was born and raised in Gabon, Africa, prior to moving to France. I've since lived in Spain, Switzerland, Australia, the UK, and Canada, and studied intercultural management and translation so you can see a pattern... I absolutely love travelling and meeting new people on the way. Our round-the-world trip was a dream come true, and I'm always looking for an opportunity to get on the road again!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We met amazing friends through couchsurfing when on our round-the-world tour, and had the most wondeful time discovering new places with them. We hope to be able to continue that journey everytime we travel somewhere!

Interests

Yolaine: discovering new places, good books, history, games of all kinds

Mélodie: reading, board games, music festivals & concerts (love old school rock, Elvis was my first love), languages, food, people! And I'm a very curious person so I can find anything interesting from cooking to gardening to plumbing...

• pets
• books
• diy
• concerts
• music festivals
• festivals
• ballet dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• chocolate
• drinking
• gardening
• politics
• board games
• reading
• traveling
• music
• fishing
• skiing
• sports
• rock climbing
• tennis
• business
• history
• international relations
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Yolaine: Must confess undying love for Pink, Bear's Den, good old school rock, and almost anything done by Meryl Streep or written by Sarah Waters

Mélodie: fantasy and Hispanic literature for books (Lorca, Neruda, Zafon), old fashioned rock but I do like Adele, the Script, Coldplay... and the movie that will make me cry every single time is The Pursuit of Happyness! Oh and I devour good TV shows like Sherlock, United States of Tara or Orange Is the New Black!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Yolaine: hiking to Macchu Picchu or fishing on a frozen lake in Northern Canada

Mélodie: riding a hippo when I was 3, supporting 19 social entrepreneurs in 18 months, saw the Nutcracker (my favourite ballet) in St Petersburg on Christmas day

Teach, Learn, Share

Yolaine: beside my field of political science and a few tennis tricks I can't pretend to know enough to teach, but I'm always happy to discuss and learn about new places, countries or cultures, politics, cooking and bartending (always trying to improve my espresso martinis and learn new recipes!)

Mélodie: Would be more than happy to practise/trade some language skills (supposed to be fluent in English and Spanish but a bit rusty and super interested in learning Portuguese and Russian). Can share stories, travel tips... :) I can also offer some advice if you want to create a business plan or scale-up your social business, which is what I did before we left :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Yolaine: French cooking, anything chocolate-based, and a great mood!

Mélodie: A positive attitude and a smile! I love helping around the house (I'm a renowned dishwasher in my family circle and if I'm not particularly skilled, I love DIY and gardening projects) and can take care of your pets too :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Russian Federation, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, France, Gabon, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom