Hi :) I’m Serenay. I love discovering new cultures and meeting new people. I’m curious and analytical, and I hope to satisfy my curiosity through Couchsurfing 😂 I’m genuinely very curious! I love observing how someone from a different country, speaking a different language, spends their day, what they think about, and how they interact with their family and close ones.

When I was little, a French family stayed with my grandparents for a week. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we got along really well. We made kites together out of plastic bags and light cardboard. Later, when I started kindergarten, one of the children missed me so much that they traveled alone to see me in a city they had never been to. They didn’t know the language but somehow managed to reach our home—just to see me! That story left a huge impression on me, and I admired them so much that day.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I actually joined Couchsurfing a long time ago. Back then, I didn’t have much money and I was in 10th grade; I wanted to go to Iran, but I couldn’t make it at that time either. I first heard about Couchsurfing from Emre Durmuş, a well-known traveler and YouTuber in Turkey. In his videos, he explained that it’s a free platform where travelers help each other and share experiences, based on mutual cultural exchange.

I was planning to go to Iran in the summer of 2024, but unfortunately, due to some reasons, that trip never happened. So, I decided to turn my face westward instead. I’ve always dreamed of being a traveler, staying at other travelers’ homes, and listening to their stories. Now I’ve decided to use Couchsurfing actively and start my first solo journey—to a place I never even imagined: Sweden!

Music, Movies, and Books

Books 🩷🏔️📚

Susanna Tamaro – Follow Your Heart

Nasuh Mahruki – A Mountaineer’s Diary

Jules Payot – The Education of the Will

Lev Tolstoy – What Men Live By

Alexandre Dumas – The Black Tulip

Movies 🎞️

Interstellar, Titanic, Inside Out, Dead Poets Society, Into the Wild, Attonement, Seven Years in Tibet

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Germany, Jordan, Netherlands, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

Turkey