Hello there!

I'm so thrilled to be joining this community of generosity, kindness, and weirdos. I am an experienced traveler currently on my first solo road trip across the US, and I'm loving it--stopping frequently to see things like The World's Only Corn Palace, serenading myself with reckless out-of-tune abandon, and listening to the books I was never going to read (Audible is the lifehack of the 21st century).

I'm a goofball, a writer, a romantic, and a mover--(very beginner) ballet, yoga, jogging, soccer, dancing after plenty of drinks, long easy walks, and brutally frustrating hikes all give me a strong feeling of aliveness.

I'm currently on a mission to learn about people and how they live. I have a college degree, have tried a few jobs, and I'm still struggling to find my "place". I love travelling and how it gives me the opportunity to experience and experiment with so many things. I look forward to settling down so I can start providing other travelers these same experiences.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I pretty much live for connecting with new people, trying new things, and experiencing new cultures. I'm excited to see how Couchsurfing contributes to and creates these experiences.

Interests

• writing
• dining
• cooking
• baking
• fitness
• yoga
• traveling
• hiking
• camping

Music, Movies, and Books

I think it would be a challenge to find a type of music I didn't like. Currently listening to a lot of Big Thief, Adrienne Lenker, old country and bluegrass, and always Queen and Adele for that good car ride scream-singing.

I love entertainment of all kinds--movies, dance, theater--so if the performance is good, I'm bound to enjoy it.

A couple of my favorite poems:
"Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other’s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.
We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what’s on the other side.
I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.
Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?
Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,
praise song for walking forward in that light."
-Elizabeth Alexander "Praise Song for the Day"

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

(The Laughing Heart, Charles Bukowski)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Taken this trip.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A hearty appetite for good food, conversation, and exploration.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Costa Rica, France, Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Costa Rica, United States