I grew up in the midwest of the USA, but by the time I was done with high school I wanted to get away and try some new, so I headed to college in the south. While there I decided to study abroad, having had the vague notion that that was something you should do in while at university. So I headed to Europe for (what I thought would be) a semester; it was my first time outside of North America.

That experience changed my life. I liked it so much that I extended my time abroad for the full year, and I have been traveling as much as I can every since. I've now been to almost 50 countries across 5 continents, with hopefully many more to come. The people I've met and places I've seen have created some incredible memories and changed my perspective on life, and I'll always be glad I decided to give it a try.
Love seeing new places and doing new things.

My profile here is still pretty new, so if you want to see more pictures on IG or my 90+ reviews from Airbnb hosts, I've included links to those profiles below:

https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/16955631
https://www.instagram.com/ajaku3714/

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As a solo traveler, it can be hard at times to go beyond the typical tourist destinations or to get to know the local people. Things like pub crawls can help, but I'm hoping Couchsurfing provides another avenue to become connected to like-minded people in cities around the world. There are plenty of times I find myself wishing there were a way to find these people without some sort of large event going on, so I think the meetup options here are an awesome option for that.

Why join now? I've always used Airbnb, but their service fees have gone up a lot in recent years and it's no longer a good value. Moreover, many of the properties are now professionally managed and lack the personal touch that they initially had. And I don't want to sit alone in a hotel! So after learning a bit more about it and hearing good things from my friends, I decided to give CS a try.

Interests

• sports
• history
• travel
• tech
• grabbing drinks

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Killers, Oasis, 90s rap, & classic rock

Movies: 2000-2015ish comedies, such as Role Models, School of Rock, & Anchorman

Books: The Great Gatsby, Around the World in 40 Days, Harry Potter series, and Charles Bukowski short stories

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hard to pick just one! But riding an elephant in Thailand, trying out an Olympic bobsled track in Norway, petting kangaroos in Australia, and climbing to the top of a mountain for an amazing view of Rio de Janeiro are some that come to mind first.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: I'm pretty knowledgable about sports, investing and computer science :)

Learn: I always like to hear about about cultural norms and how they differ around the world.

Share: I love just grabbing drinks to talk and get to know people with interesting backgrounds.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm happy to share almost anything, but I would especially love to swap travel experiences/preferences with other members of the community!

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Laos, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, United Kingdom, United States