Ciao everyone! 🪷🥰🐱🌍✨

I am - wander_girl_travel - on Instagram where I share a lot about all my adventures around the world!!! 🌎✨✈️

And my travel blog is wander-girl-travel.com !❤️

I'm Elisa, a 26 years old Italian girl from Imola, near Bologna. On September 15th 2023 I've graduated from the University of Bologna in a magistrale (5 years) of Foreign languages (French, English and Spanish) and Modern, comparative and postcolonial literatures. 

I'm currently backpacking through Latin America and l've been living the life of my dreams for 2 and a half years! After 3 months in Brazil and Costa Rica, a wee pause of 2 months between Italy, France and the Maldives, then I've spent 9 months travelling in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Oman, India again, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates... then I went to Guatemala and Belize for the Christmas vacations, then I volunteered for one month in the beautiful Zanzibar, Tanzania, then in March/April 2025 I travelled in England, Malta, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Iceland...

And now it's been 10 months that I'm in Latin America! 10 months that I don't go back home... :')
I'm currently in Ecuador for 3 months (after one month in the mainland I'm now in Galapagos for 2 months!) after spending one and a half months in Panama, another one and a half in Costa Rica, one month in Brazil again (with a one day trip to Argentina for the amazing Iguazú waterfalls), 10 days in Paraguay, more than 2 months in Bolivia, 1 month between Chile and Argentina, 3 weeks in Perù, one month between Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis and more Caribbean islands, 3 weeks between Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil... And then, who knows!

Since February 2020 for 5 years I worked with continuity as a journalist (I used to write cultural articles, I interview artists, writers, dancers, musicians...) for a local newspaper called Il Nuovo Diario Messaggero.

I lived/worked abroad many times: 

-England: for 6 years I went to a language school every summer to learn English and I lived with host families or in college for 3/4 weeks each time

-Ireland: 3 months as au pair girl taking care of the 3 children, the cats and the house of my host family in the countryside of Bray, 2018

-India: 2 months of volunteering. I lived with a host family and worked as a English teacher in the family's primary school Mary's School in the small village of Tindivanam, Tamil Nadu, 2019

-France: 8 months of Erasmus in Aix-en-Provence, 2019/2020

-Scotland: 3 months of Erasmus in Glasgow, 2022/2023

-Brazil: end of 2023, hosted by Brazilian families for two months working as a social media manager in the ONG Prossica that helps the kids and the adolescents of the favelas of Fortaleza. I went there as a volunteer for the international volunteer association AIESEC

-Costa Rica: my first Workaway experience, 2 weeks in December 2023, I worked in the Bolita naked hostel in the tropical Corcovado forest living in full contact with nature and animals, having the opportunity to meet everyday people from all over the world and collaborate with the other volunteers to keep the hostel running great!

-Sri Lanka: English teacher with children of about 10 years in a Buddhist monastery in the rural area near the sacred city of Anuradhapura

-Malaysia: I worked as a social media manager for 3 weeks in Nomad Adventure Camp in the forest near Gopeng

-South Korea: receptionist and housekeeper in Time Traveler Relax social hostel in Seoul for 3 weeks

-Zanzibar: volunteer in the school Amici di Zanzibar e del Mondo with children from 2 to 5 years old for one month

-Panama: volunteer in the Bodhi hostel & lounge en el Valle de Antón for 2 weeks organising activities for the guests, like hikes, games, movie nights

-Panama: volunteer for 2 weeks at Discover Coiba Panama, as a translator from Spanish to English of the guide during the snorkeling tours to Coiba National Park, and as a painter for the company

-Panama: volunteer in the reception for 2 weeks in the guesthouse La Lune Topaz in Boquete

-Costa Rica: volunteer as a receptionist at El Clan Hostel in Puerto Viejo on the Carribbean coast for one month

-Bolivia: one month of volunteering in Cochabamba at the Asociación Adelante Mujer, which creates events, cooking classes and empowerment classes for local women victims of violence. My tasks were to keep the association clean and tidy, help and participate during the events, play with the kids and create connections with the warmis, the local women

-Ecuador: volunteer for 8 days in Cinnamon House hostel at the reception

-Galapagos: 2 weeks in a horse farm called Horse Friends Foundation in Santa Cruz Island where I would help taking care of the 22 rescued horses and 9 rescued dogs. Main tasks, cutting tall grass with a machete to feed a horse and a mule, assist in the medication of injured animals, spending time with the horses and brushing them

Plus, I worked as a babysitter and language teacher for several months, but without continuity, in the past years, in my hometown, Imola. I also have some experience as a travel guide and kindergarten teacher. 

My mother always took me with her to make amazing travels around the world, I'm very lucky and grateful for having had this great opportunity that opened my horizons and eyes.

I have many cats and I love animals and nature, I use to practice yoga and have walks in parks and forests, I love writing and reading books (in the last 5 years I read more than 200 books), swimming in the sea, I like to draw and paint, travel, visit museums, learn languages (I speak fluently Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese). 

I visited 73 countries till now, mostly Europe and Asia, but also Africa and America:

Europe: Italy, Vatican, San Marino, France, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia ed Erzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Malta, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Iceland

Asia: Turkey, Jordan, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, South Korea, Indonesia, Oman, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates

Africa: Marocco, Egitto, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania

Americas: United States (Florida and Alaska), Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, Panama, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia , Chile, Perú, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, Uruguay, Ecuador

One of my goals is to travel and get to know the culture of all countries in the world, little by little, so that's why when I finished University I started this journey to explore the world, live new experiences, apply for different jobs, learn new skills and expand my knowledge. 

After travelling for 2 and a half years in all kinds of situations and countries I learnt that the slower the better, that people count more than places, that I don't care anymore about ticking off the list all the attractions, that I prefer to make places and people special to me by really getting to know them, that to go with the flow and always being ready to change my plans is better than making lots of detailed plans, that through Couchsurfing and Volunteering with Workaway I make the most meaningful memories and experiences, much more interesting to me than just visiting places as a tourist, that everyone has something to teach, good or bad, that the real adventure arrives when I am open to challenge myself and go over my limits and prejudices, that the more I say YES to new experiences the more life gives me, that the more I travel the more adaptable, open-minded, resilient and mature I become, that the world is so big and full of surprises and life is short so I better make the most out of it following my dreams and trying to do my best to leave a positive impact on this beautiful planet we live on.

In the future I would love to become a travel journalist and a writer and many more things. 

Sometimes I do collaborations to promote places, organisations and other things... For example in Brazil I've done shoots to promote a boat tour company, and in Costa Rica to promote a brand-new forest lodge!

I don't smoke, use drugs or drink alcohol (except some red wine sometimes! For my grandmother's happiness I started drinking some red wine as a true Italian!). I prefer eating vegetarian but don't say no to fish or meat sometimes if it's good quality food. I am very calm, responsible, sweet, honest, curious, creative, flexible, intelligent, determined and polite. I'm really the kind of person you can rely on. 

My life philosophy is that I only get one life, so I am doing my best to make the most out of it, don't have regrets, follow my dreams, value human connections, do as many experiences as I can and live the most extraordinary and memorable life I can!!!

I hope to find beautiful people to connect with and grow together with life lasting friendships in the incredible journey that is life! 🥰🏞️🌄

See you soon! 🧳🌍💕🐾🏞️🐱🪻🌅🌈🐞🦋

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

'Cause my obsession is travelling the world, meeting people from every culture and learning everything I can!✈️🌏🧳

Interests

• animals
• camping
• journalism
• cinema
• hippie
• sea
• learning new languages
• nature walks
• hiking in nature
• travel,
• buddism
• food lover
• reading and writing
• travelling and meeting new people

Music, Movies, and Books

Ohhhh I read so much. I love big classics like Hugo, Balzac, Dostoevsky, Nabokov, Tolstoj, Hosseini, Gibran, Murakami, Terzani, Coelho, Allende, King, Follett... But really any kind of good literature from all over the world! I read a lot in foreign languages as well📚📖📝

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I worked in a naked hostel in the tropical forest of Costa Rica and saved the life of a poor French guy who was bitten by a poisonous snake!!!🐍

I'll tell you the full story and all my other crazy adventures if you want!🗺️💥

What I Can Share with Hosts

A lot of amazing travel stories! ✨🥰🐱

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Panama, Scotland, South Korea, Tanzania