Hi! I'm Clara and I am a student at UCT. My majors are Marine Biology and Ecology and Evolution. As you can probably already tell I love the outdoors and being in nature. I'm passionate about conservation, particularly marine conservation. I love to try new things, especially new food! I'm up for any kind of adventure and although I can be initially quite shy, I really do love meeting new people. I would love to be able to travel more to see new places and meet people of different cultures and backgrounds. I'm still very much finding my feet in terms of traveling, especially on my own, but I cant wait to see what is out there in the big wide world! I don't mind roughing it and I love camping. I'm also a big reader, I particularly love fiction especially fantasy such as Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell but I also enjoy any kind of non fiction whether it's history, politics or science - if it stay still long enough, I'll read it! Even though I'm very much an outdoors person, I can't deny that I do enjoy a good movie or series. I love any kind of animals even if they are not fluffy, although my love wears thin when it comes to spiders and snakes. I would love to see the aurora borealis and I have a secret desire to learn to skate board.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I think traveling is something that should be available to everyone and being a student Couch Surfing makes traveling so much more possible. I also think it is an amazing way to get people from different ends of the world and different backgrounds together, we can learn so much from each other. I think you can get so much more from your travel experience by actually staying with locals and totally immersing yourself in their lives and culture, plus you make great friends for life!

Interests

As I have already mentioned, I love the outdoors. I love to go walking and hiking, Cape Town and the Western Cape where I live plays host to some spectacular mountain ranges (you should come see for yourself!). I'm also very much a water baby, I'll swim at any time of year , in the ocean, in rock pools etc. I used to surf a lot when I was younger, my father taught me when I was 12 but unfortunately I have gotten out of the rhythm lately but I would very much like to get back into it. As I also mentioned, I am an avid reader, anything from fantasy to non-fiction. I love to dance and it doesn't take much persuading to get me on the dance floor.

• animals
• culture
• dancing
• dining
• walking
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• swimming
• biology
• ecology
• history
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite books are Black Swan Green and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I also love anything written by Kazuo Ishiguro and Haruki Murakami. I also thoroughly enjoyed Tales for a Time Being by Ruth Ozki as well as her novel My Year of Meat. I could go on but you will have to meet me to find out more!

In terms of movies and series I have really enjoyed this new Nordic noir movement featuring: The Killing, Borgen, The Bridge and Fortitude.

I love pretty much all music although I don't really enjoy hectic heavy/death/black/thrash etc etc metal. Otherwise whatever it is you are playing, I'll probably like it and I'm always open and hoping to be introduced to more artists, there can never be too much music!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my love of the outdoors and adventure, I can share a warm home, wonderful friends and my love of food! I can share my beautiful city and the wonders in and around it and I can share my time and my pleasure at meeting and getting to know new people.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, England, France, Namibia, Netherlands, Tanzania, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Africa