Hello! I'm Amy from Los Angeles, now living in Oakland, California.

I've been on Couchsurfing several years now and it's been quite an adventure! Apologies for not being verified, I had been for a year but ended up not using it and thus am no longer verified anymore. ><

I speak, read, and write intermediate French, and know some basic Spanish. I also speak a little bit of conversational Mandarin. I'm the director of a small student production company that focuses on telling stories of people of color and marginalized communities. Currently, I work at an educational start-up in San Francisco.

I've explored a lot of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. I also lived in France for a short while, studying abroad. I'm pescetarian which means I only eat fish + vegetarian, and I love practicing photography, traveling, hiking, enjoying nature, and drinking beer and coffee.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It's not traveling if you don't meet new people and gain new experiences. :) I've only ever had amazing experiences here. I love the tight-knit travel community. Really hope to make friends, meet other couchsurfers, and continue the cycle of respect and friendship.

Interests

I blog/write poetry and short stories here: www.diversecitythoughts.com.
and my film site is here: vimeo.com/divercityproductions.

Love taking portrait photography, playing around with my GoPro and DSLR, and always being creative while I am traveling.

• writing
• poetry
• photography
• movies
• traveling
• blogging
• languages
• filmmaking
• film

Music, Movies, and Books

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lorde, the xx, Florence + the Machine, Queen, Yuna, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Denitia & Sene, sosupersam, Kehlani

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Notre Dame de Paris, The Bell Jar, depressing research material about how prison is the new slavery, well-written erotic fiction, travel guides and how-to's.

Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, Inception, Blue is the Warmest Color, anything with Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Marion Cotillard in it. Also anti-rom coms, Oscar baits and period pieces, non-linear narrative, character studies, and black cinema.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Travel:
Slept in an unheated tent cabin in the snow in Yosemite for two nights. I wore everything I brought with me and it was great though I might not do something like that again! :D

Non-travel:
I shot, directed, wrote, and edited a 22-minute short documentary all by myself. You can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/154809108
Since then I've learned the valuable art of asking for help.

Teach, Learn, Share

You can practice French and English with me! I also speak some Mandarin and Spanish albeit not very well.

Let me know if you have any questions about the West Coast of the USA, or anywhere I've been. Know quite a bit about beer, American college, navigating public transportation, what apps to use and download, and how to introduce yourself to people and ask them for help in non-awkward ways. Ask me!

I also like to take photos of people when I travel and I make some pretty snazzy Facebook profile pictures/headshots.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Lots of friendliness and enthusiasm to learn about local spots, history, and microcultures. Knowledge of where I've been or seen. Willingness to meet new people and immerse myself in community.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States