traveling again :) whenever I live somewhere and can host, you can be sure I do!
But for the moment I am enjoying the incredible hospitality of others, thank you so much!
And hope to meet many for a coffee/drink!
Hildavsb 56, Female Oostende, West-Flanders Belgium Friends since June 1981 "daughter" Friendship Type: Best Friend 30+30+30+
Marieke Vandecandelaere 30, Female Gent, East-Flanders Belgium Friends since September 1999 "We met in school (and now have a friendship that gloriously survives time and space!!) " Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Marie-Line Villers 153
Lauren David 28, Female Roquetas de Mar, Andalusia Spain Friends since October 2006 "Through a travel group I started" Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Marie-Line Villers 10
Amit Evron 26, Male Maceio, Alagoas Brazil Friends since December 2007 "Met at Revival and then for dinner." Friendship Type: Good Friend I vouched for Marie-Line Villers
Ruben Bellanger 29, Male Brugge, West-Flanders Belgium Friends since November 2008 "CS meetings Oostende, common friends and lots more" Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for Marie-Line Villers 36
Shane Grabke 23, Male Sydney, New South Wales Australia Friends since November 2011 "we met on a raspberry farm in Tasmania, Aus. " Friendship Type: Close Friend 30+
Nicolás Cortegoso-Vissio 29, Male Cordoba, Cordoba Argentina Friends since November 2010 "She came home" Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend 4
Miriam Elman 33, Female Brooklyn, New York United States Friends since February 2008 "It's the way the universe works, you just keep running into the pp you need to:-)" Friendship Type: Friend I vouched for Marie-Line Villers
What´s in a name... The one my parents gave me, is Marie-Line, pronounced like ´Marilyn´ but written different.
If you really want shorter you can call me "ML".
I love feeling alive by doing lots of things, taking random classes (from dog training to chocolate making) and seeing as much as possible. But I like as much to just hang and do nothing.
Food is one of the biggest blessings in life for me, except for onions, they wouldn't be existent in my perfect world.
Some things I've seen while traveling scarred and shaped my heart for life. I realize I am so lucky with all that I have.
Step by step I am learning to let go of things, not to hold on to people and objects. Realizing this sets me free.
The world is such an amazing, interesting, and beautiful place.
I would give everything to lessen the suffering everywhere and preserve this beautiful world with all its life and wonders. (sounds very cliche but I totally mean it) I hope one day I'll have an idea on how to help create some change, and in the meantime I am traveling and learning from the people I meet, like you. :)
How I Participate in CS
CouchSurfing has been a big part of my lifestyle the last years, and therefor I decide to keep carrying the 'ambassador' flag, although I would wish that it had another name. It doesn't mean anything hierarchical, mainly that I am really passionate about this community, and there to help out whoever needs advise or help! I also try to create communities where there aren't yet, and my biggest passion in life is to bring people together.
Further I tremendously enjoy participating in the many CS events wherever I am or travel to, and I very much enjoy organizing meetups and activities where ever I pass by.
If you have any questions or need advise about couchsurfing, please message me and I'll be there to help you out. This is a great and open community, with tons of options to fill your life with social activities, traveling and really getting to know the place you're at and the people, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
CouchSurfing Experience
I know you'll all agree on this but still... to me (and you probably (: ) it is amazing to really sleep in someones home, wherever that may be in the world, it feels like so much more than traveling, like 'really' being there for a while, not as a real tourist but someone experiencing it all.
I also love joining as many CS activities as I can and meeting people that way. I like showing you around wherever I am living at the time.
Surfed a ton of times all over USA, Europe, South America and Australia with great people... . I first kept a list, then deleted it, but then regretted it as it's a fun way to remember my surfing adventures for myself, so here it is back :) I will DEFINITELY need to pay a lot back in couchsurfkarma because I´ve couchsurfed a LOT more than hosted, but whenever I have my own place my door is wide open!
Surfed With: Peter, Santa Cruz CA, USA
Chris, Boston, MA, USA
Awesome Allyson, Orinda CA, USA
Ray, Homestead FL, USA
Jon, Key West, USA
John, Miami, USA
Justin, Buffalo NY, USA
John and Mark, Rockville, USA
Mike, Boston, USA
Philip, Boston, USA
Andres, New York, NY, USA
Eli, Boston, USA
Billy, Chicago, USA
Praveen, Chicago, USA
Miri, Berkeley, USA
Marcy & Davey Kay, Austin, USA
George, NJ, USA
Amit, Dileep and Frank, Jersey City, USA
Seth, New York, USA
Alejandro, Brooklyn NY, USA
Allyson, Greenwich CT, USA
Mabel, Queens, USA
Brandy, Brooklyn NY, USA
Sachin, Long Island, USA
Bastien, New York, USA
Sarah, New York, USA
Els, Hasselt, Belgium
Pieterjan & Erlinde, Gent, Belgium
George, Brussels, Belgium
Philipp, Metz, France
Marieke, Gent, Belgium
Martin, Maastricht, Netherlands
Kevin, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Bernard, Bruges, Belgium
Kyle and Maren, Cologne, Germany
Jonathan, Aachen, Germany
Bastien and Melanie, Paris, France
Bart, Antwerp, Belgium
Joke, Ghent, Belgium
Clara, Liege, Belgium
Manuel in Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Ignacio in Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Rose May in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Clemence in Lille, France
Tessa in Beerse, Belgium
Daniel in Vienna, Austria
Olivier in Lille, France
Lauren in Berkeley, USA
Lazer in Joshua Tree, USA
Rosy in Lima, Peru
Ricardo in Ica, Peru
Lizandro in Puno, Peru
Lizzie in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Javier in Tarija, Bolivia
Romy in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Leticia in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Eduardo in Brasilia, Brazil
Claudiomar in Brasilia, Brazil
Mayara in Pirenopolis, Brazil
Almir in Recife, Brazil
Juliana in Maceio, Brazil
Monique in Aracaju, Brazil
Renato in Salvador, Brazil
Bernardo in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Eduardo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Victor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Paulo in Curitiba, Brazil
Tatiana in Blumenau, Brazil
Trevor in Florianopolis, Brazil
Simone in Porto Alegre, Brazil
Alejandra in Montevideo, Uruguay
Ezequiel in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Silchu in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nicolas in Cordoba, Argentina
Ivan in Huaraz, Peru
Maria Eugenia in Esmeraldas, Ecuador
Sergio in Medellin, Colombia
Wayne in Medellin, Colombia
Maribel in Bogota, Colombia
Sara in New Orleans, USA
Abott in Lake Tahoe, USA
Delia in Hawaii, USA
Bob in Hawaii, USA
Pam and Shane in Sydney, Australia
Thomasso in Sydney, Australia
Tim in Brisbane, Australia
Wayne and Margot in Rockhampton, Australia
John in Airlie Beach, Australia
Steve in Cairns, Australia
Gernot in Cooktown, Australia
Genie in Townsville, Australia
Leia in Melbourne, Australia
jFred in Melbourne, Australia
Stefan in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
River and Willow in Golden Valley, Tasmania, Australia
Clint in Branxholm, Tasmania, Australia
Mike in Coles Bay, Tasmania, Australia
David in Orford, Tasmania, Australia
Annie in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Patrick in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Stina and Lovell in Cattai, Australia
Hosted: In California: Marieke from Belgium
Nadia from the Netherlands
In New York: Allyson from USA
Lauren from USA
Marieke from Belgium
In Belgium: Viktor from Hungary and Kendra from USA
Allyson from USA
Shruti, Lisa and Jessica from USA
Jade from Canada
Dee from Canada
Nelly from Antwerp
In Cusco, Peru: Dileep, Frank, Chris
and a whole bunch of others from New York
In Sucre, Bolivia: Maria from Equador
In Airlie Beach, Australia: Camille and Melissa from France
Barbara and Isabella from Austria
Maxime from Canada
Lovell from Sydney and Stina from Sweden
Mel from Berlin, Germany
Max and Larissa from Germany
Sheepi from Hongkong
Kathrin from Germany
Ursula from Germany
-- and had the honor to live in the house of John, who hosts so much so I got the pleasure of 'co-hosting' tons of people thanks to him :)
If you leave a reference, please think about the significance of it. The referencing system is an important safety check, so please only leave a reference when you feel like you know the person well and have something to say about him or her. Please don't leave references like 'she seems nice' after meeting me for 5 minutes... I understand that if you are new you want to 'build up' your profile, but if you message me I will leave you a one-sided beginnersreference if you want to get you started. Please also don't ask to get vouched for, I will vouch for you when I feel like it's appropriate. If you ask, I will most likely change my mind towards not doing it. :)
Interests
• I intensely love the entire big ball under my feet •
Traveling and exploring makes me feel alive.
I love trees, rats, wolves, dogs and ukuleles a lot.
I recently discovered Vipassana and try to incorporate it in my life. It is amazing.
And I really love doing yoga, hanging out with the people I love and meeting new people, and most of all connecting them together, I love animals and nature, and sitting at places on my own, preferably with my back against a tree.
Philosophy
I do try to live realizing that nothing lasts forever, every second is one of my life, and we're all going to die. Everything is changing all the time, but still it is hard to accept it at times, I am still learning this with every step/breath I take. I try to make the best of it and follow my dreams, rather jump and fall than not jump at all.
Here some pretty quotes just to fill this space...
and I hope to live by :)
There's no road to happiness, happiness is the road
♥
Don't dream your life
Live your dream.
♥
You must be the change, you wish to see in the world
♥
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter
and those who matter don't mind.
♥
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but about learning how to dance in the rain.
♥
Don´t cry because it´s over, smile because it happened.
♥
Traveling is looking at yourself on a different background...
(more true than I could imagine)
♥
Types of People I enjoy
I really like talking to people who know more about certain things than I do, and want to share their knowledge with me. I love learning about what you know, expanding my narrow mind, or having my current opinions challenged on things... I love meeting people that follow their heart and soul through life, and enjoy the moment.
I really enjoy people who are passionate about something.
Sometimes I have problems with very negative people, as I tend to copy vibes easily and just start feeling bad too...
And, I love people just to hang with, my best buddies feel so natural to have around, anywhere, anytime.
I love the friendships that gloriously survive time and space, real love is being able to let go and wanting your friend to be happy, and in the end, the world isn't so big if you travel... But, I love close by hugs even more ;)
Teach, Learn, Share
First, I would recommend everyone to try a Vipassana course. It teaches you to observe yourself and take your life really in your own hands.
I took some photography classes and love taking pictures therefore I could teach you about aperture/shutterspeed,
filters, lenses etc...
I love photography as it does something my mind can't, it captures the moment.
I studied multimedia and can program websites etc...
And if anyone wants help tweaking his CS profile let me know! The pics I used are mine, please dont copy those though, thx :) (it's hawaii - gran canyons - death valley - everglades)
I'd love to learn good recipes to cook! From all over the world... Food is mostly what I miss the most after having been somewhere. And I very badly want to learn to sail, juggle and to speak fluent Spanish. For the moment my ukulele is my biggest buddy and I hope to be jamming it soon.
If you want to help the world, except for volunteering and coming up with great ideas, there is something very easy and fullfilling to do: microloans! You can lend some money to people to help set up their business. See http://www.kiva.org Nothing to lose! And it feels great knowing that even if you're not doing anything you do help a tiny bit someone somewhere :)
One Amazing Thing I've Seen or Done
I went to Cuba on a special trip where I lived among students and visited their social projects and was shown and told a lot of their ideals and projects. It opened my eyes on what is possible in the world and how other governments and media can give people such a deformed image. Don't believe anything you didn't see yourself, and even then... Keep your mind open :)
There are so many possible windows to look at the world .
Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org Project
CouchSurfing changed my life and became a big part of it for the last years, enriching it with tons of amazing experiences, and people.
This summary is not a replacement for reading references; it's a quick summary to help you get started. At a glance, you can see how many references a member has, and how many of them are positive, neutral, and negative.
In the second line, you'll see how many references came from people who hosted this member, surfed with them, and traveled with them. These numbers won't always add up to the total: some references are not categorized, and some may be categorized as more than one thing.
When viewing this summary, don't jump to conclusions! Things that are negative for one person may be positive for another, and vice versa. It's important to read references carefully and evaluate what that information means to you.
I hosted Marie-Line and Shane, but I almost haven't seen them. Anyway they were easy and outgoing so I had no problems hosting them despite my terrible work load.
You don't need to spend much time with someone to know you get along. This was the case with Marie-Line. She is frank and open and refreshingly optimistic. I'm happy to have met you guys even though the timing was not quite right :) thanks again for the breakfast and all the best for your travels... enjoy Vietnam xx
Marie-Line and Shane were excellent couchsurfers and it was my pleasure to host them for their short Gold Coast visit. I love Marie-Line's travelling spirit, her embrace of Vegemite, her amazing experience surfing and travelling, and her love of custard apples - even if they are usually filled with spiders and bugs. Drink for me in Belgium, I hope we meet again one day!
A seasoned couchsurfing vet. Friendly and full of advice. Too bad we caught you on your way out. Maybe we can catch up wit you again when you come back! Nice to meet you.
We met when hosted by the same host,ML is a gril who love travel alot,share the great storis which encourage me to discover the other side of the world,I'm so admire her life style and looking forward to c ya somewhere in the world one day,all the best!
Her 284th positive reference...that says it all!!!A top world traveller, great guest, easy going, very smiley and positive (taught me some good habits on how to talk more positively ;)) and all I can say is that I seriously hope we'll meet again for longer and we'll definitely keep in touch. No need to say that I recommend her as a guest, and I'm sure she'll be a great host when she settles somewhere (that day might be a while away though ;))
Marie-line or Maryline or maybe Marolin !! !! A true,tried and tested amazing Csurfer who must not be missed OK !!
A great weekend spent with her and friend Shane plus a few other surfers was in my view one of the best weekends in quite awhile.
Has to rank up with the top 5 of my guests.And i have had hundreds.
Have a great time hosting her.
Happy travels and all the best where ever you may be.
Marie-Line and Shane stayed with me for two days. Both were great guests & super easy to host. They were interested in hearing about Newcastle, open to sight-seeing suggestions, and willing to explore on their own when I had other commitments. They also made me a delicious breakfast!! Marie-Line is a very experienced couch-surfer & epitomises everything that CS is. We will def keep in touch & hopefully catch up somewhere in the world!! x
I meet ML in a health food store in Joshua Tree NP. I was like hey you want to blow some stuff up lol We went shooting, claiming and got some thai food. ML and her friend stayed in LA with my family and I a few days later. Had good time new years in Fullerton downtown. Marie-Line is one of the largest motivations/inspirations for me to travel the world.
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Kuala Lumpur
Vietnam
Iceland
30+ 
30+ 
30+ 
