I appreciate genuine human interactions. I believe that every person has a story to tell, wants to be heard and connect with one another. I find that couch surfing brings like-minded people together, however diverse our backgrounds may be. Before I joined couch surfing, I've had the chances to receive the hospitality of complete strangers in many places that I traveled to. It is wonderful to connect with and trust somebody who you've just met, in an unfamiliar context, to experience the differences, but ultimately to find out so many things you share in common.

Volunteering in Guatemala by the beautiful lake Atitlan. It was my first real experience of working with children (not to mention in my terrible Spanish!) and I somehow managed to design a mural for all the children there from as young as 6 year old to 13, to not only participate, but to have fun and take pride in the work, and to finally finish almost all by themselves. My only role there was demonstrating, damage control (so that paint was not spilled and wasted all over the street during the fun and over excitement), and occasional repair work. Perhaps it's not that big of a deal to people who are good with kids but to somebody who had long had children-phobia, I was quite proud of this little accomplishment. I also learned that being a facilitator could be extremely rewarding. I now really look forward to finding more volunteer works with children and teens.