I'm an introvert who loves travelling the world. I've lived in Paris and Amsterdam and did my semester abroad in Paris as well. I went to school for Philosophy and French and ended up owning a nanny business abroad and am now a Legal Secretary in ATL, GA, USA, which is interesting and fulfilling as a day-to-day job. I love reading (mostly non-fiction), music, and binging TV shows. I don't actually like to discuss Philosophy. I like to think about it in my brain and not talk to others about it, which is v annoying for some people. I do still read it.
Currently I have a sign in my front yard that reads 'Presidents are Temporary but Wu-Tang is Forever' and am rewatching all of The Umbrella Academy before I watch the new season.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've stayed in everything from fancy hotels to 12-person-bunk-bed hostels. I feel too old for hostels now. I love studio apartments w tiny kitchens. But I also think that I could make friends w like-minded people. My best friends are French, Dutch, and Italian and we just had a wonderful summer reunion in Lille, France and then I spent 3 weeks with my aunt in Rouen, France before going to my aunt's sister in Munich before coming back to the US for work. Boss was cool bc he vacations a lot and is about to cruise to Greece.
I do not want to be on a cruise ship ever.
I do want to make new friends around the world and offer hospitality back. And learn to cook a lot with local market ingredients and recipes.

Music, Movies, and Books

One Hundred Years of Solitude made me non-verbal for a few days. Isabel Allende, most everything. Douglas Adams ( I believe in 42)- I have a signed compendium.
Otherwise, I read NYT, science journals, and Hollywood gossip sites.
Aristotle's writings are v important to me despite the misogyny.
Most non-fiction, autobiographies and biographies. I like to know how the world works and how the important people in it think.
Historical non-fiction. Who and how shaped the world we live in now.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I guess I can say that I explored a cave 40 feet underground in Alabama, US. Some bits were hard-squishing my face into mud to army-crawl through tunnels.
But rewards were great in the giant open cavern with a river of mica forming a waterfall that looked like rainbow gold in my headlamp and flashlight.

I've also sold everything in my life to take 2 suitcases and move countries. I still really miss a pair of 1990's Doc Martens that I jettisoned in one move.

Teach, Learn, Share

US Southern. Main cuisine I'm great at. US Tex-mex- I've got you if the ingredients are available and generally, they are not.

Dat is de druppel (Dutch colloquialisms). If people bluntly telling you the truth about your haircut/outfit/cheese selection will make you sad, then do not go to the Netherlands or your feelings will be hurt. I agree with the Dutch.

Order the house wine and the carafe of water no matter how fancy the restaurant. Don't be loud and entitled in France or there's an upcharge. Also, The Cluny is one of the best museums in the world.

If you use actual cash money in Europe, put it on the counter instead of touching hands.

French pharmacy workers are awesome. They know everything and will fix you right up.

Cops in The Netherlands are friends- way different than in the US. Do not be scared of them.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Cooking, languages, best places in Netherlands, France, and US.
Friendship! Learn from and like each other.

Countries I’ve Visited

Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Netherlands, United States