As many other long-term travelers, I was on the road when the pandemic hit, and now my partner and I have decided to settle down for a little while. This has brought us to her home country of Austria! Looking forward to meeting some traveler's that are still braving the road.

I am a tireless volunteer. I've volunteered on so many projects with so many different individuals / organizations / communities over the last few years that I would find it hard to remember them all. I am a volunteer to the core, and a person that simply loves to help others. I believe that an hour of my time is the same as the hour of anyone else's time, regardless of capability or local economy. We are all creatures with a limited time in this world, so I believe in using my time and abilities to contribute to the betterment of others however I can.

On the same level of devotion to volunteering, is my love for community. More specifically bringing people together and finding ways to help keep them together. I have spent a lot of time on the road learning from communities all over the world. Now I do my best to take what I have learned and be conscious that community is everywhere. Community is what we, as members, make of it. Simply put, I bring the element of flexibility, resourcefulness and understanding.

Lastly, I can listen. Not just to hear your words, but to absorb, digest, and not necessarily respond. Listening without the intent or need to reply has truly allowed me to build great friendships with people I have met all throughout the world, regardless of culture.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Well, travelers are a different breed of human. So many non-travelers look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about CS. You have to be one of us to truly empathize with us. It goes along the lines of who you let in your life, will directly effect where you go in life.

Beside that, I fall short of saying I am an anti-tourist, but I do prefer to get a glimpse into the life of the people I stay with. Touristy things take a back seat to learning how my host / family / friends interact with the community around them.
The people I have met through CS have become friends for life. Many of them I will be in touch with for years to come.

Interests

Recent Travel with Couchsurfing as well as other means here and there.

Sept '16 - July '17 - Road trip to all 48 contiguous States
August '17 - Cuban adventure
Sept ‘17 - Nov ‘17 - Van life trip around Australia.
Dec ‘17 - April ‘18 - Lived my best life in New Zealand
April ‘18 - June ‘18 - Take 2 in Australia
June ‘18 - July ‘18 - My first time to Asia!! Started in Indonesia - Bali, Lombok, and Jakarta.
July ‘18 - Singapore for a short time
July '18 / August '18 - Explored north Thailand in depth (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, Mae Hong Son).
September '18 - Spent time in Dublin, Ireland for my first Irish adventure with some family.
September ‘18 - Went to Germany for Oktoberfest to meet up with some wonderful travel friends
October ‘18 - Explored the Black Forest in Germany, and dipped my toe into Strasbourg, France for a few days.
October - November ‘18 - Traveling through Spain to meet up with some inspiring friends I met along the way
November ‘18 - Headed to Vienna to reconnect with a city I fell in love with years ago
November ‘18 - Traveling to Poland for the first time to meet one of my favorite travel partners and meet her family
December ‘18 - Finally going back to the U.S. for a bit, before a new adventure starts.
March '19 - My wonderful hosts from New Zealand arrive at my home. We will begin the project of building them a campervan to travel in for the next 2 years.
April '19 - Live in an rural intentional community with my Kiwi friends and partner, learning more about community and what it is to live off the land.
June '19 - Road trip with the new campervan down the east coast to Key West, visiting new and old friends along the way.
August '19 - My partner and I road trip to Nevada for our first Burning Man experience.
October '19 - We fly to Hallein Austria, where she is from to spend the holidays with her family.
November '19 - Have a short adventure for our first trip to the Middle East. Learning more about the culture of Israel and the surrounding areas.
January '20 - Headed to Chennai, India to continue our exploration of community and culture
August '20 - After spending 7 beautiful months traveling / living in India during a pandemic, I left for my new home in Innsbruck, Austria.

I have a burning desire to help people break free of any personal or professional restraints and grow, in any way possible. Along the same lines I am always absorbing what a community does best, in order to one day help grow community resources myself. If you have any experience with this that you would like to share, please let me know.

I do enjoy leading meditation with others, and occasionally even video chat with old hosts / friends to continue our mediation time together when they request.

I have a serious case of wanderlust. Bare with me.

• meditation
• thrifting
• traveling
• live music
• hiking
• camping
• volunteering
• wanderlust
• sustainability
• exploring
• sharing
• sunsets
• community
• equality
• roadtrips
• communal living
• authentic relating
• body positive
• sex positive

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm a very mood based music listener, tv/movie watcher, and book reader. Currently, I am mostly reading books about growing intentional communities and community in general. Charles Eisenstein anyone? If you have any to recommend, please let me know.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Left my job of 11 years to travel in August 2016... still going.

Spun $1.00 on the American game show “The Price is Right”

Teach, Learn, Share

Would love to share my experience in communities and cultures around the world.

I am very flexible and like to help out when I can - trip planning, connection making, home maintenance, etc.

As a long term traveler, I am interested in massage exchanging with other like-minded / like-skilled travelers. This is one of the things that is absolutely amazing for those of us tirelessly carrying around packs all the time.

What I Can Share with Hosts

What's mine is yours.

I have a website that I post some of my more inspirational / motivational stories to. If you’re interested, please ask as I don’t advertise myself on CS.

I love to swap travel stories I am very flexible and like to help out when I can - trip planning, connection making, home maintenance, computer issues, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, India, New Zealand, United States