Hi, I'm Rebeca!

I was born in Brazil but lived 15 years in Europe between England, The Netherlands and a bit of France. Half of me is European, and the other South American. Recently I’ve made peace that I will never belong to one place, so I'm content with just being an Earthling for now 😅

I'm an Astrobiologist and Space Agriculture specialist (I work on developing technologies for cultivating food on Moon and Mars, and how these technologies can benefit our own agricultural systems on Earth). I've worked at the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and I meet weekly with the astrobiology people at NASA to discuss space plants :D I've met several astronauts along the way and can definitely share some cool inside stories about the space sector!

I'm also a science communicator in Brazil, I host Brazil's largest science podcast 'Ciência Sem Fim', as well as make content on my own instagram account (@astro_rebeca). I also lead a social project where I give talks to kids and young people from public schools from all over Brazil, bringing space science within reach for those who have always dreamed of working with space. I've given 100 talks in this past year alone and each one is an amazing experience, it's really cool to see the kids (especially the girls!) inspired and excited to follow their newfound careers in STEM.

Personality wise I'm really positive, talkative, easygoing and love sharing and learning about new cultures.

I love to have philosophical conversations and I aim to have a balanced and informed view on any subject matter. I'm really interested in religion and spirituality, and I'm always seeking to become a better person, physically and spiritually, always awake to what life has to teach me!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As a host: My house has always been a place where people come and go, I love having people from different countries and cultures staying with me, it's like travelling without leaving home! I also love how each person that comes renovates the energy in my house and always leaves a piece of wisdom behind!

As a Couchsurfer: One of the reasons I love travelling so much is because when you are travelling, every act of kindness is multiplied by 1000 in your soul. I find it so beautiful when someone opens their house to a stranger, and even more beautiful how there's always so quick a connection. So I love to meet these open hearted, open minded people. I also like to experience a country and culture from the local's point of view, which is always so much richer and more interesting!

Interests

I play and love capoeira.
I like to put religions together and find my own spirituality.
I love the sky and the universe, I find it mysterious and fascinating.
And of course I love travelling, specially on my own. I find that all my most important life lessons I learned in my travels, I'm sure you know what I mean ;)

• capoeira
• traveling
• religion
• solo travel
• spirituality
• space

Music, Movies, and Books

Favourite movies include Life is Beautiful, Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars... Series include Doctor Who (by far my favourite) and Friends.

Favourite books: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Power of Now, A Brief History of Time, Lord of the Rings... I was of course a Harry Potter fan when younger!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- I was attacked by 4 tigers and won the battle!
- I have a Native Brazilian name from when I lived in the Amazon, I'm called "Red Dolphin" (Ianin Pitani).
- Hearing astronauts talk about Earth from space is always so deeply amazing.

I'm happy to tell you these and many more stories when we meet! :))

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach Capoeira and Pandeiro (you can learn the samba rhythm :)) ), and I can share about the Steiner philosophy if you're interested, and some digital marketing tips (I owned a digital marketing company back in Brazil). I can share many travelling tips and my "cool things to check out in life" list that I've been building up over the years!

I can talk about space forever.

I would love to learn about your culture and how you see life!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share anything you'd like to know about Brazilian or British (or Martian?) culture. I can also cook special Brazilian dishes for you!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, England, France, Netherlands