I'm from Greece and currently living in Brussels. I moved to do a traineeship at the European Parliament and I'm currently working the worst-paid IT role for another institution :)

I am passionate about learning languages; Finnish, Russian, Spanish, Italian are some I have spent time on, currently studying Dutch, because Flanders. I also like drawing - with all kinds of mediums, mostly digital, but I want to do more wall painting.

I have lived in Corfu, Athens in Greece and in Tampere, Finland for one year and I feel like it's shaped me to a large degree. This also means that I could never say no to an evening at a proper sauna.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Couches and beds are made to be used by people. I want all my furniture to feel like they are contributing to the apartment - no piece of furniture should be made to feel superfluous, and I am committed to helping mine achieve their goals and lead fulfilling lives.

Also, meeting people is cool. Especially Couchsurfers! Even though my Couchsurfing experience is limited, I've had some of the most memorable experiences ever with the people I've hosted.

I live in an apartment in Aalst with my boyfriend, which is 30 minutes away from Brussels by train; it's not Brussels but it is still well connected and I commute almost every day.

Interests

Tea and Coffee, Graffiti, Languages, David Lynch, Adam Curtis, forests, hammocks, psychedelic art and music, books
I used to do a lot of BP debating :)
I am a Duolingo nerd! Don't follow me if a 2,000+ day streak would demotivate you :P

• culture
• traveling
• drawing
• languages
• translation

Music, Movies, and Books

Hallucinogen, Shulman, Monk on acid, Etheogenic, Emancipator, Ott (never gets old), Tripswitch, Sphongle, and then I also like metal and stuff (All them Witches, Naxatras, Rammstein, Agalloch, A Perfect Circle, Katatonia)

Apocalypse Now must be my favorite movie of all time. More recently: Poor Things. Lanthimos is worth checking out.

Books: I mostly like non-fiction. Chaos by James Gleick, How to think straight about psychology, The world of wisdom by Gaarder, The global minotaur... Irvin Yalom's books are also nice.
Steppenwolf is a literary masterpiece to my mind.
A few years ago I tried to read a book on the prehistory of mankind in German. Learnt some German, but the history stuff didn't register as easily in a foreign language :)
Here in Brussels, The other side by Alfred Kubin really spoke to me. Also, Nostalgia by Mircea Cartarescu

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Existing while not regretting my decisions most of the time.
Running a half-marathon of 21km
And half-running/ walking 100km as part of the Dodentocht in Bornem, Flanders.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I sometimes make portraits or pixel art for my friends. You can find my art on Instagram (christine_ren).

Countries I’ve Visited

Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Finland, Greece