CURRENT MISSION

Looking for the true meaning of life, and trying to be an everyday Amélie and trying to meet as many thrilling people as possible in the process :)

ABOUT ME

My goal in life is to be an everyday Amélie (know the movie? If not, WATCH IT. NOW.) and to bring happiness to people's lives by doing small and not so small things for them. My passions revolve around music, traveling and English. I love learning about different cultures and traveling can be soooo utterly fulfilling for that specific reason, and also for meeting extraordinary people and seeing things you couldn't even have imagined. My future goals include a job in an international NGO, a PhD in English, relaunching my music blog, learning to surf properly, learning Spanish, and learning to play the guitar. I have an intense way of feeling everything and I get emotional over things happy and sad, but at least I feel like I'm strongly connected to reality :) I genuinely care about the people around me and sharing love and experiences is the essence of what is important in life.

PHILOSOPHY

It's all about genuine love and care. And music.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

At the moment I cannot host any guests unfortunately, but in the near future I look forward to having guests from all over. In the meantime, I wish to have a chance to crash on your couches and to meet all you lovely people out there :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm just hatching from my egg when it comes to couchsurfing so I don't have that many experiences yet, but I have many friends who have been blown away by the experience and they are devoted fans of the CS project.

Interests

Music (especially indie rock, classic rock, alternative), English (I just love and adore this language from the bottom of my heart), traveling, different cultures, surfing, yoga, nature, photography, coffee shops, rock clubs, flea markets, cooking, baking, wine, chai lattes, tea, bikes, friends, family, magazines, reading... you can find inspiration and fulfillment in rather surprising places when you just keep your eyes, ears and heart open to various influences around you. The world is a magical place.

• culture
• photography
• perfumes
• cooking
• breakfast
• wine
• coffee
• baking
• yoga
• clubbing
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• guitar
• surfing
• snorkeling
• swimming

Music, Movies, and Books

I love alternative rock, indie rock, classic rock... it doesn't get any better than Led Zeppelin, but e.g. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The National, Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, Coldplay, Tool, and Radiohead will always have a place in my heart.

I don't have time to read that many books, lately it's mostly been about travel guides, but I love magazines for all the interesting stories and visual pleasure they have to offer. I do have a pile of books I'm about to read as soon as I find the time!

I love movies with a real meaning and lots of good ol' romance, like Amélie, Love before Sunset/Sunrise, 4 Days in Paris, The Notebook, and Into the Wild. I also love anything with penguins (Surf's Up is the BEST), and fascinating documentary movies about subcultures, such as Lords of Dogtown and Riding Giants. Any movies about surfing melt my heart actually!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I had always wanted to see a sea turtle and I got to swim with one for about 30 minutes while snorkeling in Tioman, Malaysia. It was absolutely unbelievable and the magical creature was so darn cute that I cried.

This might not sound like much but it was a monumental moment for me... I will never forget how I felt when I got to the plane going to Melbourne and I was just sitting there and realized that I am actually going to Australia. It has always been my ultimate dream to see Australia and once I fully realized that dream is coming true, I had this huge smile on my face and I was giggling to myself and I got a lot of amused looks from the other passengers. Then 'Sweet Disposition' by The Temper Trap started playing and the moment was just utterly perfect. During my trip I then experiences, saw, heard, and felt so many astounding and magical things that I cannot even put those experiences into words. The stars lined up and I felt deliriously happy and content and will be forever grateful for that.

Teach, Learn, Share

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis claims that every member of a culture sees the world through so-called cultural eyeglasses and this affects their verbal manifestations of the world around them. Some famous examples of this are Eskimos supposedly having dozens of words for different kind of snow and the Irish have numerous expressions for different shades of green. The point is, we talk about our concerns that usually derive from our immediate surroundings, and our language develops accordingly.

If you wanna learn the basics of cultural differences, you should check out Hofstede's cultural dimensions. It is an old study but still really valid, and it will open your eyes to the world and people around you in a fresh and thrilling way.

Like I said, I love English <3

One practical piece of advice for everyday life: the best breakfast option for any day of the week is a bowl of plain yoghurt, strawberries, blueberries, muesli, and a touch of maple syrup. This combo never disappoints, and therefore you can trust some things in your life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Finland, Singapore

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