Hi there, my name is Katrien Menten and I'm 25 years old.

Who am I and why am I writing this down here?
I'm a tiny little young woman, only 60 inches tall, but tons and tons of energy!
I love all kind of sport activities, different cultures, beautiful landscapes, wild animals, kids, learning and teaching but most of all, discovering the world!

Together with my boyfriend, we're about to leave everything we have down here in Belgium behind, to discover the world with our backpack! Side by side, and never leaving a memory behind, during 475 days!
My boyfriend, Mikel (27 years old), is a very enthusiastic, easy going and empathetic person. He has a Master Degree in Tourism Management and Sciences. He loves sharing his knowledge and experiences.

For us, life is so much more than just work and possessions, it’s about accumulating memories and connecting with people and cultures from around the globe.
We are a young couple, excited to MEET and HELP YOU and share with you all our adventures and knowledge.

Our trip will start in Colombia and will go on through Peru, Bolivia, Chile, French Polynesia, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Australia and finally Southwest Asia.

Cities/countries we already visited in the past: France, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Iceland, Copenhagen, London, USA (West Coast), Jordan, Jerusalem, Egypt, Bali, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and off course BELGIUM :)

What we expect from this trip?
Continue exploring the world, sharing what our hosts want us to share and making forever living memories!
❤

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

During our world trip, we’d love to spent as much as possible time with the locals to really experience the local lifestyle and get to know the different cultures.
We love helping around in the house, gardening, cooking, taking care of the pets and of course taking care of the children and helping them out with their schoolwork.
We’ve heard so many positive and fun stories from our friends when it comes to Couchsurfing. It turned out they really had the best of their time and fun with the hosts and got to learn so much from them.
We are so excited for this amazing adventure to begin and hope to meet you soon!

Interests

• animals
• animal welfare
• cooking
• gardening
• hiking
• sports
• travel
• learning languages
• adventures
• learning new things
• teaching languages
• kids
• landscapes
• sharing stories
• helping out
• sharing experiences
• culture sharing

Music, Movies, and Books

We really love all kind of music and are very open-minded and curious to get to know a lot of new stuff.
Regarding movies, to be honest, we don’t have much of time to spent in front of a television screen, but when we go to the movies once in a while, we love the Marvel classics and oh, Mikel is a big big fan of the Star Wars trilogy! Should you be interested, believe me, he can tell you everything about it.. 

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The time we've spent in Jordan was mind-blowing and most of all, unforgettable.
Having tea with the most amazing and friendly Bedouins down in the Dana Valley, was one of these unique moments we’ll never forget.
The total silence, the magnificent endless kilometers of red sand of this unreal place “Wadi Rum” were beyond our expectations.
But still, we are convinced there are more of these amazing placed out there, waiting to be discovered!

Teach, Learn, Share

What we do for a living?
I work as a sales assistant in a financial company managing assets for institutional entities in the capital, Brussels. I’m used to helping the sales with all their administration, and manage my boss’ agenda from A to Z. I work very closely with the event department and collaborate to organize the greatest corporate events every year.
Next to this, I teach Dutch and French to kids from all ages during the weekend.
I also work extra hours in the evening in a nice small restaurant in the capital and used to teach dancing- and gym classes to children from different ages.
I do love my job(s) and colleagues very much, but I’m way to curious about everything what’s going on on this lovely planet of ours!

Mikel has a master degree in tourism management and sciences. After having worked in several hotels, he now works as an account and marketing manager in a small company in Brussels, organizing amazing corporate incentive trips with always an eye for local enrichment for their clients. Mikel travels a lot for his job, has tons of knowledge regarding different cultures, geographic, environment, marketing, and has very good organizational and social skills. When he travels with his clients, he has to manage a lot of stress and in this way is able to adapt to any environment beyond his comfort zone.
Although he loves to amaze his clients with the most unique off the beaten track travels, he just can’t stop thinking of exploring the globe with a backpack, his camera and myself :) ❤

We would be more than pleased to share some of our skills with you during our adventure and eager to learn a lot more!

What I Can Share with Hosts

As we already mentioned in the descriptions above, we’d really love to help out around the house, spending time with the kids, in the garden, with the pets and whatsoever.
We hope we’ll be able to share some great (positive) stories and experiences from the past months and would be very pleased to tell you more about our lovely Europe and its capital and our culture.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium