I'm a university student who just completed a 2 month Italian language study in Palermo, Sicily, and is looking to spend a couple of weeks hopping around Europe! I'm halfway through my BS in environmental science, and I'm really really REALLY excited about sustainability and ecology and biological evolution. My two favorite hobbies are martial arts and swing dancing, but I really love any kind of partner dance. The excitement and spontaneity of dancing with someone you've never met before and constantly communicating with each other and adjusting to each other's styles and abilities is one of the most joyful experiences I've ever felt in my life.

I also really love linguistics! One of the things I'd love to get out of the couchsurfing experience is a bit of a language exchange. I have an upper intermediate fluency in Italian, and went really hard into French a summer ago, but have since forgotten most of the vocabulary. I really love comparing grammar structures and figuring out how languages work.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've found that I love traveling alone for the most part, but being a very social person, I love the idea of being able to meet people as I go along! I have to say that some of the most amazing experiences I've had during my travels have been in meeting fellow travelers and deciding to go on adventures together, grab a meal, or just swap stories. I've learned to really cherish the kind of connections that happen in those kinds of cultural and personal exchanges. When I found out about couchsurfing, I was super excited to find an organized platform to make this kind of thing happen! I can't wait to meet people as I go along, and when I get back to Chicago to host others and show them the city!

Interests

• theater
• salsa dancing
• swing dancing
• wine
• reading
• classical music
• opera
• hiking
• backpacking
• sailing
• skiing
• martial arts
• tv series
• horror movies
• playing piano
• choral singing
• listening to stories
• blanket forts

Music, Movies, and Books

For music: James Blake, Modest Mouse, Citizen Cope, Eels, Pond, Bombay Bicycle Club, Soundgarden, Smokey Brights, Moses Sumney, L'Impératrice, J Fernandez

Books: The Gone-Away World, literally everything by Neil Gaiman, the Hyperion series, Isaac Asimov, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Catch-22

Movies: Tucker and Dale VS Evil, Kung Fu Hustle, Wonder Woman, Into the Woods, Iron Giant, The Intouchables, The Arrival, Mad Max: Fury Road

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I took (and passed!) my black belt test and hiked Half Dome in Yosemite all in one weekend. Talk about EXHAUSTING. But I have to say that it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and whenever things are looking bleak I like to look back and say "if you did that, you can pull through this"

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can teach you to swing dance! I can also give a crash course in self defense, and if you'd like talk about current American politics I've also got that covered (since so many people here in Europe seem to want to know what Americans thing of the whole thing right now)

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States