Update 18/10/19: I haven't swapped in quite a while but I miss it like crazy. So hello friends, I'm back and ready to get back into it. :)

Last profile update: August 2016

Hei everybody!

My name is Sophie and I'm a 27-year-old PhD student from Germany. I'm originally from the South West but have been living in Munich, Bavaria, for the last 7 years. I'm doing my doctorate on the reception of continental literature in Medieval Scandinavia.

I'm very much into music and when listening I enjoy mostly Metal (like Black, Folk, Death or Pagan Metal) and Industrial music, as well as Jazz or any really special kind. I'm an avid piano and cello player always looking for new challenges and I'm also very fond of singing - especially classical songs. Music has been by my side during the ups and downs of life, always. I often associate certain songs or musicians with a certain period of time in my life. I've always been a concert goer, too, so I've spent many summer nights out camping on a festival's camp ground and still love to do so (although I have to say, as a University student these things do become less affordable :-/).

I love reading and I'm open to any genre except teenie novels or trashy romance novels - I like the classics as well as thrillers/crime or fantasy or poetry or dramas or some real weird stuff. I am not a picky reader but a picky judge. If you haven't read it, you can't have an opinion on it, right? So, send me books! They will be cherished and loved, however old they might be - but they'll have to be downright brilliant to find their place in my row of favourites. ;)

I'm a film lover and a comic book reader. I'm a lot into unusually drawn comics or weird stories, but the classics like Batman or Thor will always be as awesome as in their first hour of existence. Warren Ellis is my God and I often wish I could have a look into Neil Gaiman's mind. My favourite graphic novel/comic (I don't really make that distinction, anyway) ever is "Transmetropolitan", since it has everything: Action, amazing drawings, science-fiction, dark humour, criticism - and it's just so unbelievably COOL!

I'm quite a cineast: I'll go to the cinema alone on a Sunday afternoon sometimes, because I want to watch that particular film and not because of the sensation of going to the cinema together with someone (which nonetheless is something I love very much - Netflix just can't replace that!). My heart belongs to the thoughtful, fantastic films, using beautiful pictures and beautiful words and beautiful music. Or the really unusual films that seem to have an ugly look, but have a lot to express.

But all this might sound like I'm oh so serious about art and literature: I'm not! I'm a huge trash fan! If the title of a film is something along the lines of "Arachnopod vs. Giant Dinocroc" - be sure I'll turn on the TV for it! If a comic book has zombies and brain splattering or goes by the name of "Vampirella" - it's probably in my library. I love 80's action films, I adore Arnold Schwarzenegger, I would watch any trashy horror flick, no questions asked.

I'm quite a creative person (at least I thought so until I got to know swap-bot :D): I play two instruments (cello and piano) and sing, but I also love drawing and painting, doing handicrafts or writing (for example letters - I like beautiful long letters!). I'm always jealous, when I read what people on here can do with their hands, so anyone who can teach me any new crafts is encouraged to do so and will be rewarded. :D I've also started to violate my guitar just recently, but it still sounds so horrid, that I mainly use it as a tool of control, when I want to punish my flat mates for not taking the bins down (when updating my profile I noticed that this passage has been true for 5 years ... wow!).

I'm a collector type of person. Some of my collections include beautiful postcards, fans, mugs, dice, striped socks, requiem masses, stamps and foreign coins. I know ... my room looks like a hoard.

I prefer darker shades of colours: black, red, violet and especially green! Yes, I did have my goth phase as a teenager and am not quite over it. However, I've got a thing for neon colours in combination with black! Black things with little spots of bright green or orange are really cool. :) I'm a vegetarian and sometimes a "do-gooder" - I'm into organic food and fair trade (I worked in a tiny organic food shop for a while before and in the beginning of my studies), but I'm not someone for demonstrations and accusations. I just like fresh food and I like to think of the producing people as happy people, who don't feel pressured by big enterprises. And I do think preserving the planet is the job of my generation - nature will probably always find its way no matter how many species we exterminate or how much rain forest we deforest. The question is: Could we still survive in that self-dug grave?

I love handmade! I think, I need to put this here, because lots of swaps require "only storebought". So, here it is, as explicitly as possible: Handmade is always fine with me! If you're good at making something and you want to share it, I'm happy to see your creations, even if the swap states you should go out and buy something.

I'm an active person, too active at times, as people have pointed out to me. ;) I'm a runner and a fighter: I used to train in a boxing club and am into Karate currently. When it's possible at all I'm out running everyday. I love the outdoors! I'm super lucky to live in München, with the Alps in direct reach. Hiking and climbing mountains is something I'm very fond of and I enjoy being able to do that with a 1 hour car ride and relatively fuss free. I love climbing up on mountains and hate going down again. :D

I've got a raven tattooed on my right forearm.

I swear. A lot. I laugh at childish humour. I'm the girl in a University lecture who starts giggling when the lecturer says "penis". I've got a dry sense of humour and I laugh at a lot of bad jokes - if I'm not the one making them. ;-) I don't like "political correctness" - terms like that don't change anything except raising barriers in people's heads. If it's offensive, I'll probably find it funny... ;-)

I'm not a religious person, but I'm careful with terms such as atheist or agnostic. I still haven't figured out quite what I know or don't know, so I don't want to put a label on my "non-believing". I do consider religion a very important topic and I actually care what people think or believe in and like to share a good discussion. But I don't like to be proselytised by someone and as I respect people who believe in a deity I expect them to respect my view, too.

I love travelling! If I weren't a poor student I would be up and about all the time. As for now, I can only afford trips to Europe - the only time I've been out of Europe has been the awesome experience of a 3-weeks-trip to Texas. In the future I hope to see places on all continents - and I'm currently saving up for Japan. I'm a UK fangirl. Obviously a Scandinavia and Japan fangirl, too, but the UK has been my home for a year and when I think of the future, I always see myself in a little flat in London or a little cottage in the country in Great Britain at some point. My heart bleeds a little for them leaving the EU, but the decision hasn't killed my love!

I am not exactly a girly girl, but I'm not a guy trapped in a girl's body either, and quite happy to be a woman. I like dressing up when going out, I like jewellery and cosmetics and I like spending time in the bath room to wash my hair excessively (it's very long and I'm slightly obsessed with it) or take a bubble bath. I love decorating my place: Living in my first own flat (but still sharing - otherwise it would be boring!), I feel like I have to give the place my own touch.

Another info about me, because in some swaps it's needed: My shoe/socks size is a European 40, so I think that would make me a 6 1/2 in US sizes? As for clothes, I'm wearing a US-size S (34/36 in European sizes, 8/10 in UK sizes).

So, folks, that's all I can think of right now. If you want to know more you'll have to send me a message - or write me a letter. ;-) I look forward to swapping and penpalling and meeting all the lovely people here (those I haven't already met). Swap-bot is a marvellous place!

**** If you seem to be waiting and waiting for a swap from me, please contact me before rating. Post running times from Germany to countries in Europe are normally no more than 10-14 days (usually less). To other countries it might take 3-4 weeks, but usually around 2 weeks. When sending to me, please be so kind to put a custom declaration sticker on each piece of large mail if you don't live in the EU. Without the sticker they send the parcels through customs and it takes them ages to get to me, plus they are sometimes damaged. Thank you! ****

PLEASE NOTE! Please package your items well before sending. I sadly had two damaged swaps in the mail recently and it's such a shame if items you picked with love go missing or get damaged. International mail handles things rough, apparently :-(

Here's a general list of things I enjoy, so if you need ideas of what to send me: you're safe with anything even remotely related to this list. For some more specific ideas or if you get stuck check out my wishlist towards the bottom of this page. :) As a general rule of thumb, I always prefer quality over quantity. One carefully picked item I really love beats the hell out of a whole bunch of things I only vaguely like - and you save postage costs. ;-)

Also, please don't feel like you have to slavishly stick to this list. I do like surprises and new discoveries! Get inspired by my likes and send me something I wouldn't have thought of! To me it's just important you respect my dislikes, but other than that I'm really happy to see new things!

Here goes!

• dice (I just started my collection of dice and I'd LOVE some cool, unusual, colourful, interesting, strange (...) dice - you'd absolutely make my day with some really outstanding dice ;))

• fans (I have a collection which becomes larger and larger, partly thanks to the lovely members of swap-bot - thank you!)

• mugs/tea pots (I'm collecting them, so I love mugs with great, extraordinary motives)

• postcards!!! (If it's not just a boring photography of a cute little kitten in the grass or the Sao Paolo beach, but there's an artistic touch to it or it depicts something special or it has to do with a film or a book .... send it to me! Anything out of the ordinary will be perfect for my collection.) -> I only collect unwritten postcards, however, I'm excited about written postcards, too. They'll go to my wall.

• myths, legends, fairytales

• William Blake (probably my favourite artist)

• anything British!! :)

• tea (there's almost nothing I don't like, so feel free to surprise me! My favourite is green tea - flavoured, non-flavoured, Jasmine ...)

• socks (I LOVE striped, kneehigh socks > EU size 40, American size 6 1/2)

• handmade things - whatever you put your heart into must be beautiful

• requiem masses - I collect CDs of requiems and will love any new suggestions :)

• my bicycle! (Take me to the horizon, baby ... :D)

• jigsaws (I love the challenge of a jigsaw puzzle with over 500 or even 1000 pieces)

• comic books, graphic novels or even some mangas (I just adore serious, well-drawn, surrealistic, violent, awesome ... comics :)) ---> Vertigo, but anything else goes, too!

• robots, cyborgs, artificial intelligence - technological progress! (terrifying, yet exciting)

• Punch Studio Stationery ... it's just the prettiest! :)

• zoos

• museums (especially palaeontological and natural history ones - the palaeontological one in Munich is the most beautiful museum of all :))

• used postage stamps

• Hanuta (and other sweets from Ferrero)

• airmail stickers

• coins from your country

• ravens

• big cats

• penguins

• polar bears

• the woods

• beautiful clothing items (size S) - jumpers, T-shirts, skirts ... I prefer black, but am not 100 % set on it. I also love to wear dark shades of grey, green and red.

• scarves / gloves / beanies and everything else I can put on and feel happy about :)

• political incorrectness

• vanilla (flavour/smell...)

• board and card games

• medieval times

• vikings

• the colours green, black, red and dark violet

• stationery/lettersets (as I'm one of those "less than 3 pages is not worth the postage"-writers, I usually only use A4)

• food (a random list of things I like): chocolate (all except white), gummy bears, peanuts, dried fruit, cheese, spices, marzipan, mint, licorice, caramel, salty snacks (especially salt&vinegar or sour cream&onion flavours), honey, brave combinations of flavours (like honey & mustard or chocoloate w/ chili or strawberries w/ pepper ...), tomatoes, mediterranean food, African food, Middle Eastern food - I really like to receive savoury food items, so don't stop at chocolate and sweets! :D

• all kinds of neat accessories for my desk or my flat in general

• fan stuff (you'll find my favourite fandoms sprinkled all over my profile - I love fandom-related things :))

• LucasArts computer games (particularly Grim Fandango and Monkey Island(s) - I own far too few of these awesome games!!!)

• old cemeteries and stone angels

• etsy (who doesn't? :) Check my favourites!)

• elegant stickers

• your drawings!!! If you draw/paint/doodle/splash/sketch ... send it to me! :)

• beautiful rubberstamps with unusual/pretty motives and ink pads in pretty colours

• big candles

• cocoa, coffee, drink mixes (I'm a caffeine junkie, but I do like hot drinks in general - they make me feel comfy-cozy :))

• CDs (see my "favourite music" section - but actually, I also quite like to be surprised with something extraordinary)

• drawing/painting supplies of all kinds (especially copic markers/brush pens etc.)

• any jewellery making supplies/pendants (I recently started to get into making it myself, so I appreciate all sorts of good advice/new ideas, too :) - I love Murano style beads!)

• tasteful jewellery (bracelets, necklaces, rings ... everything except earrings, really! I prefer small pieces, but they can be crazy or unusual, too!)

• DVDs (check out my "favourite movies" section! Preferably regional code 2 for Europe, but others work for me as well.)

• good writing pens

• books - Send me books! If they have anything to do with what I wrote in my Favourite Book section, I'll be thrilled. Languagewise goes: German, English, French, Norwegian/Swedish/Danish - maybe also Icelandic and Japanese, if it's not too hard

• snow globes

• music boxes (the nostalgic ones, especially)

• Scandinavia and East Asia (and really ANYTHING about it ;))

• photography art books (tasteful nudity/people/aesthetic photos)

• Minami Ozaki (also her art in general, not only the mangas/anime - I have to admit, that I'm a massive fan of hers!)

• Chiara Bautista

• typical things from your country (surprise me, show me where you live! I love to discover the world)

• skin/body/hair care products, preferably organic (big fan of LUSH and that kind - I could literally bathe in those smells) and really anything for my hair -> slightly obsessed with it ;)

• eco/fair trade products

• Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

• Harry Potter

• vegetarian cooking books

• Batman

• sheet music (I play piano, cello and sing - so if there's anything you'd like to share with me, I'd be happy!)

• paper craft items (I have always use for stuff like glue and would love washi/deco tape or pretty scrapbooking papers)

• leather (yes, I know, I'm a bad vegetarian!)

• craft supplies (I'm open to trying new things, so if you can spare some of your stash I'd love to see, what I can make of it.:))

• Disney

• Winnie the Pooh (both classical and Disney :-))

• The Wind in the Willows - my favourite book of all times

• decorative things, that don't jump in your face screaming "I'm kitsch!" - though it's quite a funny picture in my head. :D

• Christmas (I'm guilty of loving just the atmosphere, not the religious connotation of the holiday - plus, around Christmas the kitsch monster in me comes out. Nothing can be too red and green and golden, no card too glittery, no sweater too Bridget Jonesy! :D)

• maps (especially the big fold-up ones :-))

• elephants

• London

• reindeer & moose

• red plaid

• things that combine the pretty with the useful

• decorative boxes (preferably of a size in which I can fit at least postcards/letters)

• pretty cushions and soft blankets

• amber

• dictionaries (because I love foreign languages so much!)

• anything to do with knitting (knitting needles, wool, patterns ...)

• Hot Topic

... and surprises! :)

UPDATE 24.11.2019 At the moment I would not like to receive the following although I usually like those thing - I just have too much of them right now or can't use them at the moment:

• items for the bath tub like bath bombs or bubble baths (unfortunately I don't have a bath tub in my new flat :-/)

• face masks

• journals/note books

If you send me clothing items: Please send only items in size S - if I receive a T-shirt in L, I will most likely only wear it as a PJ top and that would be a shame if you picked a pretty design! Thank you!

PLEASE DO NOT SEND:

• anything containing meat, fish or gelatine (I'm a vegetarian) -> other food dislikes: paprika taste in salty snacks, extremely sticky/sugary hard candy, peas, corn, extremely spicy food (like, when you can't discern any taste anymore except for "Hot, hot, hot, sh*t, I'm gonna die!"), white chocolate

• water (this is my weak point phobia-wise ... but as you can't send me the ocean it wouldn't really affect swapping ;))

• dogs

• thrifted clothing or accessoiries - everything else gently used is fine, but when it comes to those things I'm a little particular ;-)

• overly cute kitty cat things - they remind me too much of Umbridge :D It's okay if they're drawn, but photos of cats with lots of pink and purple around just make me go brrrrrr .... please, spare me the thought. ;)

• other cutesy stuff - it's really not my style. Some kawaii is fine, but generally you could say: If it looks like something a 13-year-old girl would like - I wouldn't!

• H&M

• teen comedies (in books and movies)

• colours pink and yellow - and when it comes to clothing: no blue, please, either! I look weird in blue!

• Soccer! Hate it from the bottom of my heart. For real!

• cheap cosmetics, carelessly treated stuff, tasteless deco things - anything that screams: I didn't want to put effort into this swap!

• earrings (I don't have pierced ears or anything else pierced)

• pop and hiphop music

• lipgloss & nail polish

• scented tea lights (big candles are okay!)

... you see, I don't have a huge "Not to send" list, so things are not getting too difficult for you. I'm basically happy about everything that shows you put some thought into it. :)

... are more than welcome! If you think, we could have a great private swap together, send me a PM. Similar interests or likes, a mutual desire to get to know each other and to write letters, things you think I could get for you from Germany ... whatever your motivation is, feel free to tell me and we can figure something out! I prefer proper parcel swaps (type 3), but I'm also interested in exchanging handmade items that fit in an envelope or of course penpal swaps. Hit me with your ideas, I'm open for quite a lot of different things.

Also, I'm always looking for swap partners from far away countries with another cultural background to exchange a local parcel with. You know, brochures and maps, photos, postcards, local items and foods ... just to share each other's culture. Read more about it in this thread!

... are a "beautiful thing". I'm currently on a quest for new, exciting, long-letter-loving, weird, wonderful, sometimes unwordly penfriends from all around the world. I love to share my life, a good discussion, recommendations or rants and whatever else moves you in your life.

But, although I'd love to write to people from everywhere, there are three countries I'd be particularly happy to find a penpal in: Norway, Iceland and Japan. Im studying these three languages at University, so it would be most amazing to have someone, who could add some short paragraphs in these languages to his/her letters and endure a few lines (which will hopefully become more and more lines as time passes) of my horrible first steps. My Norwegian is rather fluent, my Icelandic faulty but it's there, but Japanese writing still puts me in front of bigger problems (obviously because of the Kanji). I hope this will become better and better!

But wherever you come from and whatever you're doing: If you'd like to exchange letters, please don't hesitate to message me. :) Here is my forum thread concerning penpals.

There's always some stuff I'd be particularly happy to receive, especially things I can't get here in Germany or only with great difficulty. So here's a list of some things that would instantly put a huge smile on my face and would make me forever grateful and indebted to you (well, maybe not forever ... but I might drop your name in my Oscar acceptance speech!:D).

Also, a note about my amazon wishlist (or rather two notes): It is divided into different categories, so actually it's several wishlists - please check out the options on the left when looking through my wishlist, so you also get options for books, DVDs etc. Also, I use it not only for swap-bot, so there are pricey items on there, which I do not expect you to buy for me, obviously. There's plenty of options under 10€ or under 20€ on there as well and you can filter the lists according to price if you want. Thank you for noticing this notice! :D

• Clipper raspberry & mint green tea

• knitting utensils of all kinds (what you need as a beginner, I guess - I would like to learn how to knit!)

• yarn/wool - I prefer darker colours and natural materials, but everything is welcome

• 10-sided dice

• Tulipop goodies from Iceland

• Snyder's of Hanover pretzel pieces (especially Honey/Mustard and Cheddar - holy shit, those are good!)

• Stuff from Hot Topic

• Anything raven-themed!

• Knitted goods - especially a pair of wrist warmers

• Stories! - If there's any local legends or myths or ghost stories or whatever in your region, please share them with me! I love a good story and I love to think about how such local legends might have come into existence.

• Issues of the "The Dark Side" magazine - it's an awesome UK magazine about horror movies

• CDs of requiems - I collect them and would love any requiem from anywhere in the world! You'd make me extremely happy with a new one for my collection.

• accessories for my (very, very long!) hair such as pretty hair sticks or hair forks

• Any merchandise/books/doujinshis/art by Minami Ozaki from Japan/East Asia - it's incredibly difficult to come across anything but the mangas here

• Anything from my Etsy or Amazon Wishlists ... obviously ;) It can also be just inspired by those list!

• Disney films on DVD! All of them ... particularly the classics. We used to have them on tape as children, but so far my DVD collection contains only the following: Sleeping Beauty, Home on the Range, Cars, Mulan, Cinderella & The Hunchback of Notre Dame - so all other additions are welcome! :)

• Fazer Dumle (sweets from Finland and Scandinavia)

• Fazer pätkis (also Finnish)

• Tony's Chocolonely Karamel & Zeezout (from the Netherlands, I believe?!)

• Anything Punch Studio

• CDs with Klezmer music or folk music from your area! (This is quite a big wish ;))

• "The Boondock Saints" on DVD

• Murano/Murano style beads

• Charles Worthington hair care from the UK - best stuff I've ever tried!

• Kenji products (from the UK) - I love their style

• T-Shirts/Tops with cool motives/regional slogans/pretty designs - size S and preferably in darker colours (but I won't fuss about colours! :D)

• anything music themed - for example items with musical notes printed on them

• cosy or funny or cute pyjamas!

• DVDs of crime series from all around the world (any languages with subtitles in German or English are fine)

• Arnold Schwarzenegger films on DVD (I'm not ashamed to admit it: I'm a massive fan :D)

• syrup waffles from the Netherlands or Belgium

• USB flash drives in fun shapes

• fcuk sugar scrub (for me it's the scent of my time in the UK ...)

• "Sentimental Circus" stuff - I discovered this is my kawaii guilty pleasure ;-)

• penguin or icebear socks

• DVDs of creature features! (I can't help it ... just love them :D)

• wooden hair accessories, especially hair sticks

• a fun pair of slippers for indoors (size 40/41 or 7)

• merchandise from your University

• fun & practical household helpers

• jewellery making supplies other than beads, like chains, different kinds of clasps, hooks, stringing material, jump rings, head pins ...

• a set of bookends

... and of course anything related to my likes. :)

I enjoy:

• Classics (some of them would be "Lord of the Flies", "1984" or "Brave New World" or "To kill a Mockingbird")

• Serious novels (I really like books with some story, it needn't be long, but it has to be essential and intelligent. I love Haruki Murakami, for example, or Osamu Dazai.)

• Fantasy (I love a good fantasy book! But it must be really good - nothing like Twilight or Eragon ... "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" is by far one of my favourite books and I'm sure, I'd enjoy similar books)

• Weird books (I've just finished Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake ... whoaa! Now, that's what I'm looking for in a book. It really made me shiver.)

• Provocative books (I like things, that seem out of order, because they often are the most thought-provoking. If you have ever read "Crooked Little Vein" by Warren Ellis you'll know what I mean. I'm not faint hearted, no matter if it's explicit in sex or violence or radical morals, I'll read it as long as it's a book with a thought and an intention behind it.)

• Books on myths, fairy tales, legends; Sagas, the Edda (well, the latter am I studying, so it would be a little pointless if I didn't love to read them ;-))

• Thrillers/crime novels (I like the old detective novels just as much as a good bloody thriller. I'm especially into the work of the Norwegian author Jo Nesbø)

• Children's books (illustrated books are great, but I also particularly have a thing for children's novels, which can be read by adults just as well and interpretated completely differently - two of my favourite books of all are "The Wind in the Willows" and "Peter Pan". You get the idea ;))

• Some of those amazing "Young Adult" novels - I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter, then recently got into the Hunger Games and Skulduggery Pleasant or Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell sure are some of the best, breathtaking books for young - and older people - ever!)

• mangas & graphic novels in extraordinary drawing style (some of my favourites are "BRONZE:Zetsuai" and "Ghostface" and especially "Transmetropolitan")

To sum it up: In general I like extraordinary books with a special twist. The genre is secondary to me, actually, books you can't put into one genre seem to be the best ones. I'm open to surprises, but I want books to be special in one way or the other - I hate the feeling of "somehow it feels, as if I've already read this ..." when reading a new book.

I enjoy:

• Metal (Black Metal, folk Metal, Death Metal ... preferably non-American bands, e.g. Scandinavian or Middleeuropean bands)

• Industrial (I like artists such as Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Velvet Acid Christ etc. - anything heavily electronic is welcome!)

• Classical (I really don't like Mozart! My favourites are L. v. Beethoven, A. Schönberg, C. Monteverdi, J. Brahms and especially E. Grieg. But I'm open to any less known composer from former eras!) - I'm especially into choral works/oratories. I collect requiems! I love baroque music and opera, but am not very much into opera other than that. Romanticism is another favourite epoque of mine.

• Jazz (I like the classic "oldies", the milestones of Jazz, such as Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong or Miles Davis, but also younger musicians, such as The Bad Plus, who do what Davis did more than half a century ago: Innovating)

• extraordinary/avantgardistic bands (these are mostly only nationally known bands, but feel free to introduce me to the very special artists of your country. To give you an idea, I love especially Tom Waits' music!)

• Klezmer - in all its variations! (I love traditional Klezmer, but I've found a few really weird varieties of it, too, which are great. The traditional versions are my personal feel-good-music, Klezmer makes me all happy and calm.)

• entertainment music from around the 1930's or music, that sounds as if it were (such as Max Raabe)

• extraordinary soundtrack (not the usual stuff by Hans Zimmer, but really special soundtracks)

I enjoy:

• Fantasy movies (either the epic ones, such as Lord of the Rings, or the rather special, beautiful ones, like "MirrorMask" and "Pan's Labyrinth" - I also enjoy Tim Burton's movies a lot.)

• Dramatic/serious movies (I really don't like kitchy love stories, but if there's some depth in a tragedy, I love to watch it. Some of my favourites here are "Closer" and "Lost and Delirious")

• Disney movies (I love all Disney movies, especially the old ones! My aim is to own all of them one day ^^ I also like movies similar to Disney, such as "Ice Age", but I'm really not into badly drawn movies.)

• Action/Martial Arts movies (I love especially those rather stupid, but great movies such as Terminator and other Schwarzenegger movies, but also those funny ones such as "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" or "Lock, stock and Two smoking Barrels". And I'm very much into any kind of martial Art movie!)

• British comedies (with that black, sarcastic humour ... I love it!)

• Old movies (also romances, with actors like Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn or Doris Day - at that time, romantic comedies were really sweet!)

• horror movies (I enjoy a good bloody zombie movie, such as "Braindead" so much, because you actually don't need any brain to watch it, which I find extremely relaxing^^)

• Science Fiction (certainly not everything, but I'm a sucker for Star Wars and films like "Planet of the Apes")

• Creature Features! Call me insane, but I've got a serious thing for anything that begins with "Giant Octopus vs. ..." or "Arachnozilla ..." or whatever else :D

• Western movies (I love especially the gritty ones - Clint Eastwood style -, but also love to have a good laugh at those which are just pure amusement and have more of a comic appeal to modern day audience. And I've just been to see the new Tarantino "The Hateful Eight" and was absolutely blown off my feet!)

• I ADORE British crime series! I loved Broadchurch, The Fall, Whitechapel, Happy Valley ... so much suspense and well constructed. If you have any recommendations: hit me!

Sadly, I feel like I have to add this section to my profile. As long as the number of swaps I've been flaked on was below 3 I thought, it would be stupid, but now I've been flaked on in several big swaps which is pretty sad; especially as in those big swaps it's usually not possible for coordinators to angel or do much about it. I'm happy about angels, but I'd be even happier if the people who flaked would make up for it. Some of the swaps are already old, but I won't lose hope! :)

4 gifts 4 winter by @Rose8990

5 little surprises - Europe only by @ragingrainbow Angeled on 06/12/16 in a truly lovely manner by @Welshgirlie

Meet My Country Swap - one person/one country ! #7 by @SuperMommy

:) ~ Surprise Your Partner ~ INT by @Tamim15 ... who actually was the coordinator :-/

A Disney Mix by @LibrarianBelle

Letter a week in January 2016 by @simplyswappin

Grant 3 Wishes by @lilannmill12

Your favourite Fandoms in a bag by @audio

✄ Indie/folk inspiration swap ✄ #7 by @Ktbug77

Day of the Dead by @merceidizzcg

Penpals for the Odd/Weird/Darker Souls #2 by @giddypony

Decorate an Envie - Partner Picks! by @Curzella - Angeled on 02/06/14 by @bstitched not only in a very generous but also stunningly beautiful manner. I couldn't have wished for anything lovelier!

Favorite Color Fun Swap by @Aubiegrl34

Beauty Swap (with a wishlist) by @MomZoo - Angeled on 04/04/14 by the wonderful, generous @FairyLady . I am so grateful!

About me and ratings: I'm a dedicated swapper and put everything I've got into a swap - I always try to make my partner happy. If I don't have the time for a swap I don't sign up for it. But I know that things in life can change quickly and that time management can be difficult. I've sent swaps a little late before and I was grateful that my partners were understanding and patient. I will always do the same! I think it's petty to rate down a beautiful swap based on it being sent 3 days late - far too often I have read ratings like "I would love to give you a 5 and a heart but I can't..." - YES, you can! Chiiiiill! This place is supposed to take us away from the daily stress of our lives and jobs and all the pressure. If you feel like you have to communicate the lateness, put it in the comments! I always feel sad when I read ratings like that and will therefore never EVER rate a 3 for being a late send if it's just a few days - I will only use that rating for swaps not fulfilling the requirements (unless it's really significantly late, along the lines of 2 weeks without communication). But of course I would appreciate some sort of communication! "Life happens", but there's always time for a quick "Sorry, I'll be late. I'll be in touch!". I can be talked to about everything so don't be afraid. :) I just want swapping to be a happy and hassle free experience for everyone, so don't stress yourself out but please be nice and do the polite thing! Thank you!

Also, a note at the end: For us European swappers (and I bet for Asian and African and Australian swappers and so on goes the same) it starts to get really frustrating browsing new swaps and 2/3 of them are US only. We pay high postage costs, too! But still, there's only very few Europe only swaps. Please think about this when creating your swap. Postage costs are high everywhere, but isn't it the beauty of swap-bot to get in touch with far away countries, the whole world?