 Hello! My name is Margarida. I'm 28 years old. I'm a Portuguese architect traveling in my self-converted van with my dog Koeh. We are currently in Sweden and we are here today to share with you a little little adventure. I was still in college when I first thought about exploring Scandinavia but it took me a while until I felt ready to do it and to understand how to do it with my dog because I didn't want to put her through an airplane so I needed to figure out the best way to do it with her. After working in an office for about two years I realized that I wasn't living my best life. I wasn't on the right path for me so I decided to change that. I bought this van, a Nissan Vanette from 1999, in December 2017 and the conversion process was quite slow because I was working almost all the time to save some money for the travel and also for the conversion. So I was very happy to have all my family helping me with the van. I'm lucky enough to have a mechanic brother who took care of that part. My father and I, we work in the interior of the van and my mom and I, she helped me with all the little details and the suing so it was very very good and I'm very grateful for the help. While building the van I tried to reuse as much things as possible. I tried to buy new just the things that are really really needed new. For example the drawers, if you notice they have a completely different route from the rest of the van because we used some wood that my father had. The mattress they were offered by the owner of the hostel where I worked at the time because he was going to replace all the mattresses in the hostel and they were pretty good so he just told me to choose the best ones and after they were cleaned and washed they were perfect for the van. Coas Bed Frame is made from an old cabinet door and her mattress cover is made from an old sleeping bag that I had and because of the zipper is very easy to take it out and wash and put it back again. The curtains are made of some leftovers of some curtains in the house that they were too tall for the windows so we just cut it a little and we could use the leftovers in the van. When I first designed the interior of the van I knew that I wanted to fit two people inside sleeping, a cabinet along the bed, kitchen model and some drawers under the bed. In the end I could fit all of that but I could also figure out how to have a table where I can work or have dinner looking at the view and I could also figure out how to shower in the back of the van with a little bit more privacy if I open the back doors. Initially I made a bed frame for two people but before I left Lisbon and because I was traveling alone I realized that I didn't need a big bed like that but I needed some more space inside for me to sit or put my shoes on or getting quickly when it's raining so I decided to make a single bed frame and it was a very good addition and I really feel that improved my living inside. The cabinets beside the bed they are divided in two parts the upper part has everything that I'm using at the moment like my books, my clothes, my hygiene products and the lower part has all the winter stuff that I'm not using at the moment and I will need in the next winter. The drawers under the bed they have all my gear for example the front drawer has my beach towel, my umbrella, my clean sheets, my hammock and the back drawer has my chair, barbecue, my yoga mattress and in the back drawer I also have my battery and my inverter that are connected to the solar panel on top of the fan. It's a very very small electric system but it's perfect for me and for my needs. The cooking area is very very small but it's also very versatile and portable. I can cook inside the van or outside the van with the stove inside or I can cook totally outside. Because I left the house I was living in. Everything that I do have in the van came from the house and all the other stuff that I couldn't use in the van or I didn't fit or I didn't need it I just left in there or I just sold like I did with all my furniture and even the lights they were the lights that I had in my bedroom and they fit perfectly here in the van. This table was the last addition that I made to the van but I'm very happy that I did it because I really needed the space to work in the computer inside the van and to have dinner when it's raining or it's too cold to be outside so with the table in this position I can just sit and eat or work looking at the view and feeling that I'm outside even when I'm inside. I also figure out how to shower in the back of the van with a little bit more privacy because I use a portable shower bag for about eight liters of water that I can warm up in the sun or I can just boil some water in the stove and put it inside the bag to have a very good hot shower. I'm always very careful with the products that I use because I don't want to pollute all the places where I shower or do the dishes so I only use biodegradable products. And last but not the least cause space is in the front of the van. I built her a bed frame in the front seat so she can have her own space in the van and is where she travels or she sleeps at night and under the bed she has all her stuff like her food and her toys and it works very well that she has that space just for herself. I really really love this space that I created for myself although this is a very small van I really feel that I could fit everything that I need inside and it gives me all the freedom to enjoy these places in nature and to not be dependent of anything else. Sometimes I go to campsites but it's only if the weather doesn't allow me to shower for a long time or for some reason I can't fill her up my water tanks and I need to do it so it's just once in a while that I go to a campsite but otherwise I will stay in nature in free spots. I left everything I knew behind to travel and to discover which way and with what purpose I want to live this life and for me van life was and still is the perfect way to do it. I'm still learning and searching and growing but I hope I could inspire you to build your own little space and go enjoy life on the road.