I am Dutch, born and raised here in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). That is where I currently live.

I have not used couchsurfing in years but I got a reminder trough e-mail and now I am here again. I will hopefully be travelling for a while starting november 2022 but for now I have my own apartment (with garden! :)) in Rotterdam. Would be good to pay it forward and host some nice people before I leave!

About my character: I like to be spontaneous and I guess and hope other people find me friendly and kind, caring, open-minded, enthusiastic and a dreamer. I do think I have gotten a bit older and am not super outgoing anymore haha. I am quite relaxed.

My life motto is to 'never be afraid of heights'. Both literally and figuratively speaking. I "force" myself to do anything I want, without letting fear (for failure, mostly) getting in the way. Because being afraid means missing out on the great adventures in life. So, never.

My favourite country is Brazil. I have lived there twice for six months. I fell in love with the people, the culture, the food, nature, the climate, the language... everything basically.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've couchsurfed several times in the past and experiences were usually quite meaningful.
I have experienced quite some things which I would not have had if I did not stay with locals trough couchsurfing.

I do think couchsurfing should be an interaction and not just a free place to stay!

Interests

I love that moment when a city is waking up, the light is beautiful and the streets begin to come alive. I love the smell of rain on asphalt during the summer. I love to see sunrises and sunsets.

Some things I really enjoy doing: cooking and baking (but perhaps even more the eating part), listening to live music and dance, being inthe water or an a boat, watching arthouse movies (in Rotterdam we have just had the International Film Festival Rotterdam, my favorite 2 weeks in the year), visiting flea markets to find special objects and hike in nature.

• cooking
• baking
• movies
• hiking
• volleyball

Music, Movies, and Books

I like to watch movies and arthouse movies in specific, but have seen so many good ones.

Music: soul and R&B, country and folk, jazz, techno and some reggae sometimes.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have several memories of amazing experiences and I hope to make many more.

Some of the great moments during travelling were definitely:
- celebrating carnival in Rio de Janeiro (drinking caipirinha while dancing on the street and resting on the beach before and after, 5 days in a row)
- a private boattrip in Turkey with one of my closest friends (there were no tourists in late September and so the captain gave us the freedom to stop wherever we wanted and just enjoy sunset).
- near the Azores, I saw giant whales swimming and breathing, which was absolutely breatthaking!
- visiting the Brazilian Amazon and being able to spend 5 days just with 2 guides and 1 friend on a boat going around looking for animals and nature, while doing some fishing and singing in between. AMAZING!!!
- in Malaysia, I 'accidentally' visited the jungle of Borneo in the best time of the year and I saw a flock of wild elephants.

All experiences just made me feel like a tiny human, who is grateful for what she is able to experience and see. I never take these things for granted.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would like still to learn how to windsurf and practice my Portuguese. I always like to learn something about local cooking habits and nice recipes.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My enthusiasm and some Dutch or Indonesian (as my mother is Indonesian) recipes if wanted :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Netherlands, Portugal