I am currently meandering around the globe after graduating from my PhD in Physiology. I am interested in pursuing a career in science communication, but at the moment I am just tutoring English online while I travel. I love hiking, playing board games, animals (I have an orange tabby waiting for me back in Canada), cooking, and laughing.
I am a laid-back person who loves being outside (when it's warmer than -10C), drinking a good cup of tea, learning new things, and meeting new people who enjoy living life.
I teach English online to 5-9-year-olds for a couple of hours a few days a week which involves needing a quiet-ish space. Ideally, access to dependable wifi is appreciated, but I do always get a data plan wherever I travel so that I can tether my computer to it, so if there isn't wifi, it's not a big issue.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on couch-surfing because I have met a few people in my recent travels that have had such wonderful experiences. I thought I would try it out because it interests me, and my favourite local AirBnB Experiences have been hanging out with the locals and learning from them, so why not stay with locals too?

Interests

• animals
• music festivals
• cooking
• reading
• hiking
• skiing
• swimming
• science
• nature
• laughing
• cosplay
• biotechnology
• boardgames
• ice cream

Music, Movies, and Books

Favourite Movies: The Fifth Element, Tangled, Hidden Figures, Stardust, Wonder Woman
Favourite Music Artists: Florence + the Machine, Lindsey Stirling, Zhu, Knife Party, Chuck Berry, ZZ Ward, Evanescence, Louis Armstrong, Stromae, Chase Holfelder, grandson, Weird Al Yankovic, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, The Temptations, DNCE, etc....
Favourite Books: Perfume by Peter Suskind (way better than the movie). I also love the Harry Potter series, nearly anything by Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, and Neil Gaiman. I am also a fan of anthologies, mainly science fiction/fantasy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Although earning a PhD was a very significant achievement in my life, I feel more proud of a recent accomplishment. I saved a puppy abandoned on the side of the road in Malaysia. I carried the tiny puppy 45 minutes uphill to the hostel I was staying at and then arranged for it to get transported to a shelter where I found out it was taken to a Buddhist temple to grow up. Although I have volunteered with humane societies before, this felt like I had truly made a difference and saved a life. I can also turn any beer into ice cream, if that's more your cup of tea ;).

Teach, Learn, Share

As a scientist with a focus in the medical field, I am very open talking about novel scientific technologies and discoveries. I am able to take complicated concepts and make them understandable to those with limited scientific knowledge who are curious about what is happening in the scientific community. As mentioned before, I do love cooking and can make ice-cream, and am quite confident in the kitchen making all sorts of scrumptious food. I also have some dance training, I'm not the best, but if you are interested in learning some raqs sharqi, I can show you some moves!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I travel with three small tabletop games. As an avid tabletop game player (with >60 in my at-home collection), I absolutely love playing with others and teaching them about new games. The three I travel with are Saboteur - players are gnomes creating pathways to potential treasure but there is a hidden role of a saboteur involved; Hatami - a cooperative game to build a spectacular fireworks show; and Pirate Fluxx - a competitive dynamic game with ever-changing rules and goals based around a pirate theme.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, England, France, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada