CURRENT MISSION

On my way to India to learn about alternative education strategies to reach children from construction workers, pavement dwellers and street children!

ABOUT ME

I am a very open-minded, optimistic and outgoing person, who loves backpacking and going on adventures! I really like meeting new people and learning from other cultures and parts of the world. Also, I love to learn how to cook food from all over the world!

I spent most of my life in Peru and always new I wanted to work in the development field. So I decided to go to the US for my bachelors, where double-majored in economics and government. Only after college, during my one-year in Latin America, I discovered how amazing nature and outdoor activities are. So right now I am in Utrecht doing my masters in sustainable development, where I am specializing in developing countries. Through my program, I got to go to India to do research in child laborers and non-formal education. I fell in love with the country and the people....so now I am going back!

PHILOSOPHY

Life is one, and it is short...so take risks and give it a shot, be who you wanna be, do the things that make you happy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am happy to have over couch surfers when I am in town, and I am quite excited to show them around (wherever in the world I happen to be living)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have not been able to coach or surf as much as I would have liked to. I surfed in Delhi many times along my travels and my host and I became good friends and still keep in touch quite often.

Interests

I really enjoy traveling, especially for a long period of time (6months-1year). I also love cooking, riding my bike, hosting potluck dinners with friends, going to the movies and good concerts. I like going out for beer and dancing as well. During my time in India, I got into photography, singing and playing the guitar....still trying to manage to play and sing at the same time (I haven't mastered the skill yet!)

• singing
• photography
• concerts
• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• potluck
• coach
• movies
• traveling
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• backpacking
• economics
• teaching
• emergency services
• forestry

Music, Movies, and Books

I like all sorts of music, from jazz and bossanova to indie rock and bluegrass. I really like the Strokes, the Shins, Jakob Dylan, Vampire Weekend, the Beatles, Miles Davis, Bob Marley, Bossacucanova, Bebel Gilberto, and many many more.

As a Peruvian, I also got my latin side, so I also enjoy dancing to salsa, meregue, bachata, forro, and samba.

Movies: I like international films. Violeta se fue a los cielos, all about my mother, talk to her, la teta asustada, motorcycle diaries.

Books: I really like traveling literature and good novels. Nine lives, Shantaram, las venas abiertas de America Latina, Patagonia Express.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- After college, for one year I learned about the ethnic discrimination and social exclusion that indigenous people face in Latin America, and the constructive solutions they propose to reverse this situation, while their cultural identity.

- Celebrating Inti Raymi in Otavalo with my Quichwa host family
- Went to Mapuche radicalized communities in south of Chile and learned about their constant fight to their right to land and the never-stopping violence between them, and the forestry companies occupying their ancentral territory and the police.
- Tended 100 goats and 14 cows in Quechua community in Potosi, Bolivia
- Participated dancing in the Oruro Carnival, in Bolivia
- Sunrise at the largest salt flats in the world, el Salar the Uyuni, Bolivia
- Learned how to play guitar in India and Sri Lanka
- Sunrise at the Taj Mahal
- Third class-7hr-train ride from Sri Lankan Tea Plantations Ella back to Colombo
- Ice skating on the frozen cannals in Utrecht, the Netherlands

Teach, Learn, Share

I think it is important to be able to get out of our comfort zone, be excited to try new things and learn to trust people, and relax and enjoy it.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Spain, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, India, Netherlands, Peru, United Kingdom, United States