Hi I'm Mariana, I invite you to read my profile and then make your judgments and decisions. :)
Grew up in Odemira, in a small valley of white houses and a river in Southwest Portugal.
I studied Architecture and it was when I finished my Master's that I realized the importance of creativity. Eventually, I surrender to a postgraduate degree in Drawing, and now I find myself on a journey to find a new path towards my artist side. Even though this was the last year 2023, I pretty much feel like I'm still on some kind of journey!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm trying to find a new path as an Artist and also as a human being, my plan is to take a Gap Year where I will probably find some answers through the cities and countries that I will cross, and of course from the people and stories that I'm going to encounter. My general goal with this journey is to grow as much as I can as a human being. So my first mission is to find a friendly roof that can be a part of my journey by sharing their beliefs, ideas, cultures, food, and great stories! Again last year's plan, that in some way, has extended to this year's plan.

Interests

• architecture
• yoga
• gardening
• sports
• art
• cinema
• urban sketching
• stop motion
• saving water
• anything related to climate crisis

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - Nascer, Viver, Morrer, Tim Bernardes
Movie - Foe, Garth Davis
Books - A máquina de fazer espanhóis, Valter Hugo Mãe

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2023 I hiked to the highest point in Portugal, "Monte Pico".
Was the experience amazing? I'm not so sure about that.
But if it was one of the most amazing things I've done so far? Definitely!
On that day, I did something that I didn't imagine being able to do, even just surviving it was unbelievable.
That day, was also the day where I discovered that my aerobic capacity sucks. I need to start running...

Teach, Learn, Share

In my opinion, It doesn't matter in what stage of our lives we are, growing and learning is always something that will be natural for human beings. It never stops. And the beauty of it is that we don't actually need to do anything for it to happen. We just need to be available and open to it.

I consider myself a very flexible human and available to learn anything.
(At this particular moment desperate to learn French.)

I can teach you how to make beautiful cinnamon buns (they are very good!)
I can teach you how to paint watercolor (it takes a lot of patience for this one)
I can (try to) teach you some phrases in Portuguese (I don't promise anything, it's a difficult language)

What I Can Share with Hosts

language
food
spontaneity
sense of humor
ideas and projects
secret missions (about climate action)

Countries I’ve Visited

Denmark, England, Faroe Islands, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Portugal