Hi there,

Welcome to my CS profile!

I'm Ingrid and I currently live in the beautiful city of Hangzhou, China. I first started using Couchsurfing eleven years ago when I was still a young & adorable college kid.

ABOUT ME:

I am from Brazil and lived in Rio for 7 years until I moved to NYC to pursue my masters, where I ended up having 4 of the best years of my life. I studied something called Peacebuilding which allowed me to have a broader sense of what justice and equal rights actually mean. While in NYC, I've worked with refugees, women's rights, research and taught college courses on Peace and Justice studies. During that time I also spent some time in a tiny nation-island country called East Timor (Timor-Leste) where I had the most rewarding experience since. I've worked with former gang members combining mediation work, conflict resolution, and restorative justice in order to rehabilitate them while contributing to breaking the cycle of violence in the country. I've also used photography and theatre as Peacebuilding tools among the local youth I worked with. That gave me the certainty that with the right tools, kindness, and care, we can without a doubt create a more just and peaceful society without the use of violence nor oppression means.

I guess it's fair to say I am optimistic and I am in love with humans, despite what our daily doses of negative media and chaotic world politics show us otherwise. I've seen some of the worst the world can give, but on the other hand, I have seen some of life's most beautiful things.

Like most of us here, I love to travel and experience different things. But I am more about the people I meet along the way than anything else. I'm all about the cultural interconnection and how we can share our life perspectives with one another. And I'm looking forward to hearing yours :-)

PHILOSOPHY
"If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed" (Leo Tolstoy)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My Mom said I could never talk to strangers, but never said anything about hosting them! ;) Well, I think this project is the greatest idea I´ve ever came along! Joined a decade ago and had amazing experiences so far!

Interests

PHOTOGRAPHY, music, drawing, traveling, volunteer work, politics, and loads of books.

• culture
• dining
• drinking
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• volunteer work
• drawing
• music
• surfing
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

MOVIES
Addicted to documentaries of all kinds. But I also Love old classic movies, from musicals and Chaplin to Hitchcock. Almost anything from the '80s, having John Hughe's movies as favorites or anything with John Cusack from that time. Forest Gump, the Color Purple, the Elephant Man and Field of Dreams have a special place in my heart. For more recent ones, I enjoy anything that has a socio or political angle, like Selma, Moonlight, call me by your name, Blackkklansman, Dallas Buyers'club, Hidden Figures, Milk, 13th and so many others.

MUSIC
Jazz, Jazz, Jazz. Also Bossa Nova, folk, blues, indie and rock. I'm the kind of person who thinks Billie Hollyday, Nina Simone, Jhonny Cash, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie are (were) geniuses.

BOOKS
Tough. I read more nonfiction than fiction. For Fiction I have SHANTARAM as my special favorite book. Anything from Gael Garcia Marquez, Jorge Amado, and Virginia Wolf. Yuval Harari, Roxane Gay, James Baldwin, Paulo Freire… oh and Fernando Pessoa!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Lived a simple life in rural India, without phone, internet, running water or electricity for 2 months.

Worked with formerly convicted felons and heard their powerful stories of regret, forgiveness, and healing.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to make the perfect Caipirinha - Brazil's national cocktail, teach you some Portuguese words and share some of the greatest Brazilian artists with you.
And I would simply love to hear all about your cultural traditions, national artists, films and writers.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Timor-Leste (East Timor), United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, China, Timor-Leste (East Timor), United States

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