I could be summed up in a matter of three words: travel, learning, and writing.

Ever since my first international trip to Armenia when I was thirteen-years-old, I had caught what is widely known as the travel bug. I loved everything about it. I loved how different their culture was compared to mine, the different environment, and I even loved the initial fright I felt when arriving into an unknown place. Almost nine years later and I am still chasing after that bug, never feeling satisfied with being stationary.

I feel traveling and learning go hand-in-hand. I don't think you can travel without learning anything. That is primarily what travelling is. It's exploring outside of your boundaries, taking risks, and lastly, being open. I always try to be open in everything I do, because to learn effectively, you have to be open. How can you learn when your efforts are being wasted on judgement?

With travel and learning, I also take a big interest in writing. It helps me to powerfully convey what I have learned, what ideas I have accumulated, and experiences I have gained into story. Reading, is then akin to writing and I can't go anywhere without a book! Reading other people's work is like taking a glimpse inside their minds and I find that to be truly fascinating.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Out of the many places that I have traveled to, there is one experience in particular that really caught my attention and opened my eyes to the world of Couchsurfing.

When I went to Belgium, my friends and I had arrived in Brussels as a side-trip before we went off to a different country for a school class. We didn't have any plans made prior to leaving for Brussels, but figured we could find a hostel when we got there. However, we ended up getting there around midnight with no map and no access to internet to find a place to stay.
We were lost, to state the least of our troubles.

Roaming around the dark city of Brussels, the shadows of buildings, statues, and other landmarks were not the only intimidating things that night. Along our nightlong journey, we came across many challenges that made us become more hopeless in finding a place to sleep. We were approached by warning security guards of the city's dangers, not allowed access onto a train because we were American, and we also received scrutinizing glares from the sleepless locals.

However, right before we were going to settle ourselves on the hard concrete city grounds for a few hours rest, we were stopped by two local gentlemen. At first, we assimilated them to be just another challenge that the city has bestowed upon us. After a while though, we decided to take a risk and take up their offer of sleeping at their art studio. These strangers' invitation could have gone very badly, as common sense would advise, but our stay with them turned out to be a wonderful experience.

It showed us that not all people are bad in this world. If you put the effort into getting to know someone, you'll be surprised at how much you find about yourself in the process.

Interests

• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• environment
• reading
• traveling

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Belgium, China, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Russian Federation, Scotland

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States