CURRENT MISSION

mastering the art of French: cooking, language, fashion, basically anything French. Also I like to capture the beauty of the world in photography.

ABOUT ME

I'm a francophile, I live for the French culture. I'm somewhat of a French language geek. I like to read word etymologies and linguistics between French and English sometimes. I love the challenge of learning all the subtle nuances and jokes. I love traveling--favorite place: Paris, France (big shocker!) I really love digital photography and especially love using Photoshop for abstract color (though occasionally black and white) renderings. I'll show you some of my work online if you want, just message me.

I love to be active so I play soccer, tennis, run, hike, snow ski, SCUBA, whatever works.

PHILOSOPHY ---(shout out to Einstein and his Theory of Relativity as well as Stephen Hawking and Michio Kaku. Astrophysics and related physics fields such as theoretical physics blows my mind away and is eventually the field I want to spend my life works in)

Come what may. Advienne que pourra

I'm very spontaneous, but I do like to be able to plan things as well. I like life that has a mixture of unpredictability and predictability. I love the city--like Paris or NYC, but I also love NATURE, oceans, lakes, mountains, canyons, etc. Meeting new people and having new adventures is def something I love to do.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

this is how I have met so many amazing people whether they were my hosts, or just people I met as a result of CS, such as meeting at trivia in Paris, or at the massive picnics in the summer. I love that young people especially can take advantage of couch surfing to meet people and new places because you don't have to be rich to do it. I like that it's about cultural enrichment and being open minded to things you may not know or me familiar with. You sometimes might have to leave your comfort zone a bit. I did when I had to use the EMERGENCY COUCH REQUEST FORUM in Paris, but I am SO glad that I did. I evolved so much as a person in those 3 months. CS keeps things interesting. Life is boring when everything is so homogenized. Culture is everything, and in the day and age of technology and some people being so glued to their phone or computer that they miss out on human interaction, CS offers a way to make the social again without the crutch of technology. I can't wait until I can be able to host people here, but I can try to find time in my schedule to meet people!

Interests

French,
digital photography,
writing poetry in French and English
cooking,
music,
cinema
traveling,
running
sports (soccer, tennis snow skiing, hiking, swimming)
NATURE
SCUBA
poker
billiards/pool
I like fashion, but I wouldn't say I'm overly concerned about it all the time. Even when I'm not intending to look "French," I'm told I do (as a compliment), which is cool with me bc I feel like on the inside I am French!
I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to astronomy and astrophysics. I love to chase down meteor showers and fall asleep while star gazing. I also love the HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS documentary series, any way to absorb that information.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• poetry
• fashion
• photography
• documentaries
• coloring
• beauty
• cooking
• running
• working out
• modeling
• flying
• technology
• trivia
• movies
• traveling
• billiards
• socializing
• poker
• music
• hiking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skiing
• sports
• soccer
• tennis
• swimming
• astronomy
• physics
• au-pair
• lakes
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Inception, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (series), The Shawshank Redemption, Chocolat, Les Choristes, Les Poupées Russes, The Bourne series, The Fugitive, The Hangover, Anchorman, Analyze This, Analayze That, The Lion King, The Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Toy Story, Star Wars, Indiana Jones....

The Beatles, Kanye West, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Jay Z, Imagine Dragons, John Legend, B.o.B, Drake, Coldplay, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Roberta Flack, The Four Tops, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, QUEEN, Journey, Zaz, Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Counting Crows, Train, Kid Cudi, Guster, Green Day, Rihanna, Florence and the Machine, Nora Jones, Don McLean, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, CCR......

Harry Potter series, 1984, The Hunger Games, Leaves of Grass, The Scarlet Letter, The Jungle, The Hobbit
Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Devil Wears Prada, Walden, The Giving Tree, Patriot Games....

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went to Paris in April 2011 to be an au pair in Garches (suburb of Paris) for this family I had never met. The interview for the job was on Skype. It happened quickly and before I knew it I was landing in Paris to be on my own for the first time. The other times I was with a group or had a French boyfriend to rely on if i had problems communicating. I was fluent before I went there, but my listening comprehension wasn't as good as my written or non verbal French. I decided I wanted to rely on myself this trip and grow. So after one month with the family, things didn't work out and it ended badly with a misunderstanding. The family wanted me out of the house ASAP. The mother wanted me to change my ticket so that I would fly out right away, however, I had other plans. I wanted to stay. I did have a challenge though...I was now being kicked out of a house with nowhere else to go and no job. I decided to go into Paris and get a hotel for a night until I could figure out what to do. I used the EMERGENCY COUCH REQUEST FORUM and got many responses. ALL of them were guys. I had only had one host before that and she was a girl. However, I had no choice, I couldn't afford to keep a hotel for long. I filtered through the many replies to see who sounded immensely creepy, and who sounded ok. I had certain parameters too, like separate sleeping surface for sure, enough space to hold all my stuff (3 months worth of stuff so it was a lot), and ideally someone who would let me have a way to get in on my own, like my own key. Anyway, I selected someone and ended up staying about a week with him before he suggested that I house-sit his sister's apartment as she did not live there and was in the process of moving out and in with her boyfriend. I was there a couple of weeks and that ended up being a sticky situation which I will not get into on here. Where she lived was at the terminus of line 8 "Creteil Prefecture." It was largely an immigrant population there, but the fact that it was out of my comfort zone at first was probably good for me. After that I met my new host who is still probably one of the coolest people I know and we keep in touch as friends. I stayed with him about 10 days I think. Well, in interest of time and space, I'll say that I learned that I could rely on myself for everything. I was never scared being alone, and sometimes it was just nice to be alone doing my usual stroll by the left bank and taking picture or whatever. No one thought I was American. My accent is not perfect French, obviously, so if I was talking long enough, someone would know that I wasn't native, but everyone thought I was British or German. They had a hard time believing I was american when I told them. Anyway, my confidence in my French grew, and my conversations could go on much longer on just about anything. It wasn't like I could only talk about where I was born, what it's like there, and how I like France. I could keep up with everyone, it was amazing! Honestly, in part I think some of it was subliminally hearing French people talk all around me that made me say certain things correctly that I never remember learning. If I wasn't alone, I might not have gotten that good. But even when I say alone, I had friends, besides my hosts, I met people one way or another. I loved that a lot of my friends were from all over the world. I was almost mugged one night--I had to foil the the mugging by pushing him off in the deserted metro corridor at night. Lesson learned there. It was the best of times and the worst of times. I learned so much about myself and what I was made of. I was determined to not change my ticket and survive. I even got two little modeling jobs while I was there. So there's more to the story, but basically, traveling alone, and going beyond your comfort level will do so much for you if you decide to embrace it. I knew if I HAD to, I could come home, but otherwise, Paris was home until it was the end of July. I've made lifelong friends from that trip, and when you're at your lowest, and you see the people who help you, you know those are GOOD PEOPLE. I'm so grateful to all my hosts. My dad even told me later he was really proud of me for surviving alone in a city whose language isn't my native tongue (even though I do speak it). Knowing he said that meant a lot to me.

IN SUMMATION, IF YOU CAN TRAVEL ALONE FOR A LITTLE WHILE, DO IT! And listen to whatever you want to do, say, or go on impulse. You don't have to worry about compromising or someone in the group being too tired to go where you want to go. Then meet up with people at night--strangers or someone you messaged on CS. There are so many opportunities.

This is one of the most terrifying and liberating things I've ever done.

Teach, Learn, Share

language!

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Cayman Islands, England, France, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States