CURRENT MISSION

To live life fully, meet great people, and seek joy and fulfillment in my life!

ABOUT ME

I'm an American that's been living in Beijing, China for over 10 years now. I originally came out to teach/study/travel for a year after college, and ended up staying. Beijing has been great! I've met tons of interesting friends and have been able to witness the incredible change in this country over the past decade. For the past 8+ years I've been working in the communications business - handling Olympic comms for adidas, and outreach for companies like Lenovo, Nokia, etc - and I've recently decided to take a break, and start my own small freelance practice, which gives me the freedom to travel when I want. Travel is partly what brought me to China in the first place, and it's also one of the great benefits of living here. Over the past 10 years, I've traveled often through SE Asia, and all around China. This past year, while on break, I've been able to go further afield, to Peru/Colombia in Jan/Feb to trek the Inca Trail, and experience the culture there, and then to India/Nepal in May/June. Next up - EU in Sep/Oct!

PHILOSOPHY

To thine own self be true. Live life fully, follow your heart, and have fun. :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm new to CS, but have lots of friends that are involved, and have met lots of travelers too that have all had great experiences with it! I travel often, and am looking forward to surfing couches and meeting interesting people on future trips, and also hosting people when I'm here in my adopted home - Beijing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None yet. Looking forward to trying this out!

Interests

Travel, travel, travel. I love meeting new people, and experiencing new cultures, cuisine, and points of view. I'm on a sabbatical year, so am traveling roughly half the time in 2011. When not traveling (or while traveling), I enjoy trekking, biking, and running. Also playing volleyball and skiing when I can. I love reading (currently reading the Game of Thrones series), learning to play the drums, cooking, and going out with friends for dinners/drinks/live music/movies, etc. I'm also into photography, although I tend to pull the SLR out only when I'm on the road.

• culture
• photography
• cooking
• running
• drinking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• juggling
• music
• live music
• drums
• cycling
• camping
• surfing
• sailing
• skiing
• volleyball
• business
• communications
• freelancing

Music, Movies, and Books

Recent read/watched/listened to:

Game of Thrones series (book and TV), Jaime Cullum, Deathcab for Cutie, Muse, LCD Soundsystem, Jack Johnson, jazz/classical music too sometimes...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Trekking to Everest base camp rates highly. Also morning puja along the Ganges in Varanasi, India, and sailing from Cartegena, Colombia to Panama City via the San Blas islands.

Teach, Learn, Share

Hmm.. I can tell you all about China, and what its been like to live and work there for the past 10 years. I can share travel tips and experiences from the many countries I've visited. Could probably teach you a few useful phrases in Chinese too! I could share volleyball/skiing skills if we have the chance, and I know how to juggle a little too, by the way, if anyone cares to learn!