CURRENT MISSION

"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness"

ABOUT ME

I'm in athens for the summer with a small group from my school. It's more of an independent study/research trip and when I return I'll have to write a huge paper... so I've decided to write about what has made the biggest impact on my travels so far-- couchsurfing! I'll be couchsurfing all summer and talking to people about why they've joined, how it's changed the way they travel, meet people, understand other cultures as well as change their local community.

At home I study art history and psychology, taking art classes when I can. I love exploring, taking walks for hours through the city, meeting people and exchanging stories and learning new things... always changing my perspective

****UPDATE******
I am now back in the United States after an unforgetable time in Greece, Turkey, Hungary and Paris. Now I'm ready to buckle down and do some major research though books for my project. any ideas on literature that would coordinate with issues about couchsurfing values abroad would be greatly appreciated

PHILOSOPHY

You know those moments where everything feels harmonious and you're happy doing just about anything? I'm trying to make those moments as numerous as possible

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

So far I haven't been able to host because I had to move back in with my mother before coming to Europe but I plan to offer a room in my mother's house or a couple days staying with my aunt and uncle.

I spread the word about this project to people I respect and find interesting and i hope that my paper will not only show some of the professors and sudy abroad organizers that there are alternative methods from getting student housing and the benefits of being surounded by like minded locals who can teach you more about their culture than many books.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I stayed with half a dozen people in Athens which was great because moving around allows you to absorb a more complex and diverse impression of the city. I stayed with someone in Crete, Larrissa and Thessaloniki-- such warm and welcoming people. Then when I left Greece I travelled to Istanbul where I stayed with two different hosts. I feel that I've found family in Turkey. And finally, I stayed with two different hostsi n Budapest, who were both awesome and completely different from one another. Gabi was so kind to set up a road trip for myself and two other couchsurfers and Balazs and I drove around at night talking for a long time and laughing about our strange travel stories.

I attend as many gatherings as I can and love to bring people new to couchsurfing with me if I'm familiar with the people we're meeting. I like being a comfort when a person is

Interests

Driving by myself on a sunny day singing along to music off key... modern global history... indie/art films... reading memoirs and other nonfiction... oil painting, photography, drawing... small concert venues, road trips, hanging out with a small group of friends and connecting on a personal basis, flavored Shisha (hookah), making friends with the bartenders, satyric literature, liberal minded intelligent individuals, peircings, my family

• arts
• culture
• books
• literature
• singing
• photography
• concerts
• partying
• politics
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• painting
• drawing
• music
• art history
• history
• psychology
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Radiohead, Of Montreal, Fischerspooner, Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strokes, Sigur Ros, Bjork, The White Stripes, Explosions in the Sky, Beck, Joni Mitchell, The Walkmen, The smiths... arcade fire, portishead, Low, bob dylan, local minneapolis music

books-- kerouac, vonnegut, sedaris, augusten and william burroughs, survivor (just read) by chuck pehlnuk, hubert selby jr, more later

"dig" (the story of the brian jonestown massacre and the dandy warhols), Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Almost Famous, Donnie Darko, Vanilla Sky, The Princess and the Warrior, Waking Life, Stand by Me, Empire Records, High Fidelity, Coffee and Cigarettes

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've seen one of my best friends go from being a homeless junky on the street to a holistic, giving, (and sober) musician who's just starting to make it. He proved to me that people can change themselves and their lives for the better

Teach, Learn, Share

I would like to learn about the history of the city i'm visiting. i love talking to people who are passionate about where they live, their homes. I really enjoy talking about today's world and politics, social issues, american hegemony. i've also read about a lot of these things so I feel the conversations have been stimulating from both parties.

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