Hello, I’m Marco, 24, Italian, and… ok, I can do better.

I “discovered” traveling quite recently, in mid-2021, before that my life was almost all around working, which in my case meant building websites, doing online advertising, launching small projects, and so on. Long story short, I spent about 4 years staring at a monitor for 8-14 hours a day... not so adventurous.

Then I would say that something clicked in my mind after going for my first time in a hostel, it was by chance, just cause I wasn't able to find any other place to stay. Boom... I met so many people, started to have a glimpse of what travelling really meant, and you know... you've probably been in a hostel as well.

From that moment on I:
🇮🇹 Lived for 2 months in Florence working in a Hostel ('21);
🇪🇸 Volunteered 2 months in a Hostel in Cadiz ('21);
🇦🇱 Backpacked in Albania for 10 Days ('22);
🇮🇹 Came back for 3 more months in Florence, I love that city 🥰 ('22);
🇪🇬 Couchsurfed in Egypt for a month ('22)
🇮🇳 Backpacked in India for 50 days ('22)
🇹🇭 Backpacked and Couchsurfed in Thailand for 45 days ('22 - Jan '23)
🇻🇳 Backpacked and Couchsurfed in Vietnam for 15 days (Feb ‘23)
🇲🇾 Been sick in Malaysia for 10 days 🤒 Didn’t really see that much, though I’ve enjoyed the little I’ve experienced 😂
🇮🇹 Got back home 🏡 (Mar ‘23)

I'm currently:
🎭 Studying Recitation (Sep ‘23)
🕺 Learning Salsa (Jan ‘24)

🔮 I'm probably gonna:
… no plans at the moment, I’ll rest first and then wait for the next kick from my inner child to know what to do next ⛹️

👩‍❤️‍👨: Straight

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because hands down it's the most amazing way of experiencing really a place, how could I dare to know more about a place than someone who has been living there? 🤪

But of course, CS is not only about tourist purposes, for me, it's more than anything else about exposing ourselves to other realities, different ways of living, different choices and ideas... and by keeping our minds open we really delve into another person's life. And that's so freaking fascinating 🤩

Lastly, I'm here to chill. I don't like to rush through the interest points, I like to have a balance between doing tourist stuff and just feeling back home with new friends and similar-minded people, and CS is the best for doing that.

Interests

• theater
• salsa dancing
• yoga
• language exchange
• watching movies
• reading books
• gym
• local food
• new experiences
• healthy lifestyle
• nature walks

Music, Movies, and Books

I refer to myself as a heavy book reader (probably just to engrave in my mind what I would like to do), even though I read 1-2 books per month sometimes, but other times I go for 4-5. It depends on which problem I'm looking to solve. I embraced the definition that books are like medicines, you need to use the right one at the right time.

About Movies, it depends on the night. I'm usually up to everything that doesn't seem too boring or too clichè. Sometimes I watch comedies, sometimes I prefer movies that force you to think, and other times I just want a rough action movie to relax.

I'm a casual music listener aka I don't have a favourite song or artist or band or whatever. I usually scroll through Spotify Playlists trying to find something that appeals to the moment.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

After being a very hotellish tourist, less than a week after discovering the hostel-backpacking lifestyle I was already sending emails to find a hostel to work in and I started doing so 2 weeks later.

I went through a 10-Day Vipassana Meditation retreat, which has been the most mentally and physically challenging thing I've recently done.

Teach, Learn, Share

My background is in marketing and website building, so what I can share are basically my skills. If you have a business and are looking for an outsider's opinion, I can help with that.

I'm always ready to learn something new, but I go with my gut when it comes to that, so I can't tell beforehand in what I'm gonna be interested next 🤪

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Egypt, Hungary, India, Italy, Scotland, Spain, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Spain