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Overview
About Me
As of 12/2024, i am no longer in Johannesburg and have decided to backpack southern Africa: Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia! I have also added Pakistan to this list of travels!
Hello all! A brief intro about me:
I am from Chicago, USA and my travel adventures began with me studying abroad in Barcelona from December 2016 to May 2017 and had the pleasure to travel all over Europe; 18 countries to be exact! All in 5 months! I love love love to travel, meet new people, and am a very easy-going and social person.
Then, I graduated uni in 2019 and I backpacked China in 2019 before starting my job.
My job out of uni was in consulting and I was living in NYC before the pandemic. After the pandemic, my work became remote and I was traveling the states while working remotely.
In Aug/Sept 2022, I backpacked Albania for 2.5 weeks and during this time I had the realization that I need to do what I love.
Consequently, as of 11/22, I quit my corporate job to start my career path within the humanitarian sector. I started working for an Italian NGO in Moldova and was in Chișinău, MD until 06/23. During my time in Moldova, I got to explore Moldova and also the surrounding countries in eastern europe.
I also volunteered for the American Red Cross in various capacities, a hospice, and a local food pantry during my time in the US.
As of 08/23, I started with a Swiss ngo based in Dnipro, Ukraine and continuing my work on the humanitarian sector. And for my 2 weeks vacation, I went to backpack Iraq on 11/2023.
On 01/24, I returned back to the US and spent time at home, traveling, learning cooking, learning french intensively, and volunteering with the American Red Cross. After a long job search, I have landed a job with the International Red Cross based in Johannesburg, South Africa as of 10/2024.
I'm big into mindfulness, meditation, talking about life and philosophy, and the whole personal/spiritual development journey. My passion is helping others and spreading my love and positivity to others.
I also love snowboarding and mountain hiking. I'm a big outdoors enthusiast and love extreme adventures as well. I also attend salsa and bachata classes and go bouldering and rope climbing whenever I can.
Why I’m on Couchsurfing
Want to get to know people from different countries and backgrounds and learn from them. Because of using couchsurfing, I have made many lifelong friends and want to continue to do so.
Interests
- dancing
- cooking
- running
- meditation
- hiking
- snowboarding
- sports
- philosophy
- volunteering
- spirituality
- mindfulness
- outdoors
- climbing
- philosphy
- backpacking and hitchhiking
Music, Movies, and Books
Mystery, drama, action, adventure, crime, personal development
One Amazing Thing I’ve Done
My decision to study abroad in Barcelona and travel to 18 countries in Europe during my study abroad time.
Teach, Learn, Share
I love to hear about peoples' experiences (of any kind; I like to listen) and I can definitely share my experiences on a wide range of topics. Teaching someone about anything that I can would be an honor! I also know a bit of salsa and bachata haha so I could attempt to teach that.
What I Can Share with Hosts
I can share anything that the hosts wants, from my personal experiences to helping the host around with tasks or anything else.
Countries I’ve Visited
Albania, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Malawi, Moldova, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Countries I’ve Lived In
Moldova, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, United States