I'm now living in Auckland and hosting and travelling with my partner, Aaron.
He's a computer programmer, I work in social housing.

Zsuzsa has done a fair bit of travelling, but not nearly as much as she would have liked to (thanks, Covid :( ). Aaron has a lot to catch up on, so we're starting our travelling the world together project soon in Thailand.

Aaron grew up in NZ, Zsuzsa is from Hungary originally, lived in Ireland for a few years, did some travelling pre-Covid, and arrived in NZ a week before the shit hit the fan, fell in love with both the country and Aaron, and calls NZ home now.

PHILOSOPHY

We believe in things that aren't based on money, like volunteering, hitch-hiking, couchsurfing, giving, exchanging things, clothes, languages, anything we've got.
These make the world a better place. :)

(We don't say that we shouldn't use money, but it's much less important than one might think.)

This "rule" of Jim Jarmusch, couldn't agree more:

Rule#1 There are no rules. Anyway, I would personally never presume to tell anyone else what to do or how to do anything. To me that’s like telling someone else what their religious beliefs should be. Fuck that. That’s against my personal philosophy—more of a code than a set of “rules.” Therefore, disregard the “rules” you are presently reading, and instead consider them to be merely notes to myself. One should make one’s own “notes” because there is no one way to do anything.
!!! If anyone tells you there is only one way, their way, get as far away from them as possible, both physically and philosophically. !!!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Zsuzsa's been on and off for many years, depending on circumstances. She has had a lot of amazing and some less amazing experience so far. She hosted quite a lot mostly while living in Dublin, surfed a lot when travelling a few years ago, and now starting this new chapter of hosting together with Aaron.

She met amazing people through this site (both hosting/surfing and events) and have seen much more of cities than the 'must see checklists'.

We're really looking forward to both hosting and surfing together.

Interests

Zsuzsa: Dance, movement, spirituality, psychology, nature, plants, walks, yoga, art, museums, street art, feminism, women's rights, theatre, childfree by choice, storytelling, folktales and fairytales, board games, coffee, the quirky, the unusual, the off the beaten track.
Also, local food, local drinks.

Aaron: Nature, experiencing other cultures, walks, plants, programming, entrepreneurship, thinking outside the box, board games, D&D, art, street art, craft beer, theatre, museums, the quirky, the unusual, the off the beaten track.
Also, local food, local drinks.

• culture
• dining
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• traveling
• cycling
• volunteering
• storytelling
• theatre
• fairytales

Music, Movies, and Books

Just some random favourites:

Books: Kundera, Bulgakov, Bret Easton Ellis, Norfolk...

Movies: Sin City, Stardust, Inglorious Basterds, Big Fish, Brokeback Mountain, Peterson, Dolls, Dogville, Howl's Moving Castle, In Bruges, Limits of Control, Memento, Midnight in Paris, Amélie, The Dark Knight, Only lovers left alive, The Party...

TV Shows: Firefly, Stranger things, Sex education, Sense8, The Witcher, His dark materials.

Music: Muse, Lily Allen, Snow Patrol, Amy McDonald, and a lot of 'alternative' Hungarian bands like Quimby, Kispál, Pluto, etc. ...

Teach, Learn, Share

“If you love somebody, if it works, it’s because, most often, in my opinion and observation, you let that person be who they are. You don’t try to change them. Of course, you have to make compromises in any kind of relationship, whether it’s a love one or a working one, but as soon as you start telling the other person why you want them to be some other way that’s the beginning of the end. That’s conflict. How does that feel to the other person? That they’re inadequate.”
Jim Jarmusch

What I Can Share with Hosts

We both enjoy cooking - can make a half decent Hungarian goulash (pending ingredients).
Some cool travel stories.
Always happy to share a bottle of wine.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom