CURRENT MISSION

In the short term: learn something everyday, be happy respecting people and the environment. In the mid term: take the Trans Siberian train. In the long term: who knows anymore?

ABOUT ME

Borned and raised in Italy, we've always had the feeling that our beautiful, controversial and wasted country didn't quite fit us.

Pushed by our desire to travel, share experiences and fill up our lives with new stories and faces, we backpacked and left.

Marco travelled widely around Europe and went to Brazil twice, where he worked as volunteer for an Italian NGO. He was involved in projects on sustainable agriculture, microcredit and educational help for the "meninos de rua".
After his graduation, he travelled around India for one month and when he came back he decided to build his life everywhere but Italy, that is how he ended up in Amsterdam. Marco recently started an online initiative aimed at helping Italian people who want to move to/visit Amsterdam, providing them every kind of information and help.

Maddalena after her studies moved to Spain to do the European Voluntary Service. She was supposed to remain just 9 months in a small town in the province of Palencia (literally "the middle of nowhere"), working in a project on rural and sustainable development, but once she got there, leaving didn't seem to be so easy. She moved to Palencia and then Bilbao where she worked for a small Ngo and took a Ma Degree in Sustainable Development, before moving to Amsterdam to work for Greenpeace International.

We met in Amsterdam one and a half year ago. While playing ping pong every Tuesdays, complaining over Italian political situation, discovering Amsterdam and the Netherlands, going to concerts, taking pictures and making pizza, we shared our passion for travelling and start thinking about developing a project on sustainable agriculture in Brazil.

PHILOSOPHY

I (Madda) may appear to be affected by a peter pan syndrome but, against a society that pushes people to consume more, I stick with decrease. I strongly believe that we all need to make a step backward, we need to change our life style, consume less and insist on more sustainable values, enjoy all the little things life gives us. I want my actions (the way I live and the job I do) to have a positve impact on the environment and society. It's a long way to the top, I know, but if you never keep walking, you never reach your destination.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We've just signed in the CS project and regretted for not having done that before. According to our working committments, we really want to be more involved in the CS project, helping in the best way we can.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

First very positive experience in Antwerp, we had a great host. We'll never forget the gipsy dancing in the rain!!

Interests

Photos (Marco), art and street art, literature, music and especially live music(folk, ska, rock, reggae, rocksteady, jazz, blues, good drum&base), comix (Madda), PING PONG, politics and activism, ENVIRONMENT and justice...

• arts
• literature
• street art
• concerts
• dancing
• environment
• walking
• politics
• traveling
• music
• live music
• jazz
• blues
• rock climbing
• table tennis
• agriculture
• volunteering
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Not so easy to rank or list our favorite music. books or movies.

Maybe a special mention is needed for: (among the Italian music bands) Giuliano Palma&the Bluebeaters, Daniele Silvestri, Ratti della Sabina and Modena City Ramblers. Cannot list all the SMALL&BIG artists that we like, but we couldn't sleep well if we didn't mention at least the Beatles (of course).

I (Madda) also love stoner rock, grunge, funk and share with Marco a passion for folk, ska and reggae.

I (Marco) love to read true story about trip, life, backpacking and experiences..my favourite book is Wild Swans.
Films..well..i love italian movies like "100 passi" (100 steps) and "Mediterraneo" but my favourite is absolutely "Dead Poets Society".."my girl"also is beautiful! and some others i don't remember now :)

(We keep this part constantly under construction).

I (Madda) loved The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and the Postman of Neruda by Antonio Skarmeta (for the moment my favorite books together with the totally inspiring Black Sea, written by Neal Ascherson). But I also love reading Federico Garcia Lorca, Pablo Neruda, Jose Saramago, Bukowski and John Fante...

About movies, my (Madda) favourite directors are Almodovar, Woody Allen, Julio Medem, Marco Bechis and Juan Jose Campanella.

About street artists we love Bansky and the Amsterdammer street poet Laser 3.14

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Marco has a lot of amazing stories from his experiences in Brazil and India (but also from his day to day life, according to me, he always happens to be in some kind of interesting situation). A part from that, he bungeejumped from a bridge and he also parachuted.

I (Madda) made a 2-week trip alone on the Pyrenees. After that I kept climbing the mountains around Bilbao. The most amazing thing I've seen is Bilbao from the top of the Pagasarri.
Another important experience was also the Non Violent Direct Action training that I've made with Greenpeace Nederland

We are both longing for more to come...

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Myanmar, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, Nicaragua, Spain, United Kingdom

• 

•