I just finished up my MA degree in English linguistics, and I'm currenctly planning a 12-month long world trip with my boyfriend Frank (he's a translator). We live together right outside Amsterdam (you can literally walk to Amsterdam in a minute or two). We are extremely excited to finally be travelling for a long time again. Frank lived in Japan for about a year and a half, but I've only been away for 3 months at a time. We've both seen a lot of Europe, a fair bit of Asia, and Frank has been in the US a few times as well, although I've only been to New York once. We are both huge food lovers, and our aim for the trip is to go to the countries with the best food and try all the local dishes. If you're staying with us, maybe we can cook together sometime and you can teach us your local dishes (Not Dutch quisine though, because it is horrible). We are super excited to meet new people!

PS I realize this whole piece sounds like a bunch of "we" stuff, which I feel is something that makes couples sound kind of icky. Don't worry: we're not conjoined at the hip, and we're perfectly competent individuals :p The "we" is mostly because we'll be travelling together (and we're living together) and you can't make a mutual profile:)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

There are probably few better ways of staying somewhere that really allow you to blend in with the locals. Although I made this profile ages ago (wishful thinking for the future), I'm only just starting to use it (the future is here!), and I'm really excited about staying with fellow couchsurfers and seeing places through their eyes. I've heard of people having crazy adventures together while they only just met, which seems really great. I also hope to give people a nice view of my city. People often see Amsterdam as a place to waste all your time and money on drugs, but it's so much more than that. So I hope we can help each other find beauty in our cities.

Interests

I love doing karaoke in Japan, surfing in Bali, eating amazing food in the Tuscan countryside with some wine, or eating the most amazing things right on the side of the road in Vietnam or Thailand. Eating in general is pretty good. I loved the roadtrip I did last summer in Romania, I love trying new things like eating bugs or jumping off waterfalls.

Unfortunately I'm usually not travelling.

At home I love cooking for friends, playing games, walking my dog, going out for food/drinks/movies or watch my brother's band play.

Frank is a translator (English-Dutch and vice versa), and studied English linguistics. Frank also speaks a little Japanese, and I speak (aside from Dutch and English) French and Italian, and I'm learning Spanish. We're both really interested in languages and how they work. I am also very interested in learning new languages. Although I already speak for (I have a weird family, very long story), it'd be cool to speak even more languages.

• writing
• reading
• traveling
• languages
• food

Music, Movies, and Books

My brother's band, Canshaker Pi, is probably the best band of all time, but I might be biased. For movies, books and series: I love so many different things, I watch and read so many different things. How about we talk about this over coffee/wine/beer/tea?

Oh wait. I absolutely loved "A little life" by Hanya Yanagihara, and everyone should read this.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I saved someone from drowning once. I completed my master's degree. I made an 8 course dinner for 14 extremely picky eaters (one of them doesn't eat red colors. Not kidding).

I once punched myself in the face by accident while trying to make the bed. twice. Does amazingly stupid count?

Sounds a little boring. Hope to be doing a lot of amazing things on my world trip.

Teach, Learn, Share

Maybe we can cook together and learn about each other's lives and cultures. I speak 4 language quite well, so maybe I can help you develop in a language you want to learn, and you could teach me your language?
Let's have an adventure together! Or just some tea:)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food. Exciting stories. Much "gezelligheid".

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, Netherlands