My name is Caitlin. I currently study Japan Studies at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. I don't have a lot of couch surfing travel experience, but I've traveled all through Europe and to a few countries outside Europe as well! I can be a bit shy at first, but I become a lot more relaxed when I get to know people better. I'm not much of a night life person. I'd rather spend the night talking while playing board or card games and drinking tea at someone's house than go out to a club.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm currently in Nagasaki, Japan on a foreign exchange. Classes will be ending soon however, and I will be going back to the Netherlands on 22 August. Before I go back, I want to travel a little bit around Kyushu and for that I am looking for places to stay. More than that, I want to spend time with other people who can help me and tell me about the best places in town, and who I can laugh, share stories and have a good time with.

Interests

• arts
• singing
• japanese food
• video games
• board games
• drawing
• rock music
• metal music
• art history
• linguistics
• japan
• pokemon
• japanese culture
• japanese language
• japanese music

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
Imogen Heap/Frou Frou, RED, Breaking Benjamin, Flyleaf, Three Days Grace, Evanescence, Blue October, Sixpence None The Richer

Movies (and tv series):
Moulin Rouge, Scrubs, Orange is the New Black, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Blacklist, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Disney's Tarzan (the 1999 movie), Avatar The Last Airbender, Grace and Frankie

Books:
Yikes, I don't really remember the books that I've read. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, Cardcaptor Sakura.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- I've been to Mexico City with my aunt who's Mexican herself and I met up with a group of Pokémon fans who I contacted through Facebook. They took me to the best places in Mexico city to get Pokémon plushies, while sharing their stories with me.
- I've gone WWOOFing in Japan for five weeks. It was a rough experience, but it taught me a lot about myself and my own limits
- I'm currently an exchange student in Japan for a period of 5 months.
- I've participated in a Japanese speech contest hosted by the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands - twice!

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: Maybe a bit about drawing. A lot of useless but interesting facts, that's for sure! *laughs*
Learn: Pretty much anything. Whether it be about languages, entertainment, cooking, music, art, whatever, I'm happy to learn about anything people are passionate about!
Share: Knowledge and stories about different countries and cultures, about my home country, or just useless but interesting knowledge *laughs*

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share knowledge about different countries and cultures. I can share knowledge about other languages such as Dutch, English, German and French. I can share stories with them about my home and other places where I've been. I can talk with them, play board or card games with them, or even just watch movies or listen to music with them. I love having deep conversations about interesting (sometimes philosophical) topics.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, Netherlands