I'm totally new to couchsurfing. I'm here because I don't like to travel as a tourist; I'd much rather make friends with locals and experience daily life in unfamiliar cultures.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've just spent the past year studying abroad in France, and I'm looking to travel as much as possible this summer. I'd never heard of Couchsurfing until a friend recommended it to me. After doing some research and talking to surfers, I believe that the lifestyle and spirit of Couchsurfing fit well with my outlook on the world and how I prefer to travel, and I'm sad that I didn't know about this before it became a corporation/industry.

Interests

A few of my favorite things:
- Singing around a campfire with friends
- Chance encounters with strangers that turn into hour-long conversations
- Getting hopelessly lost in a new place and stumbling upon an unexpected cultural opportunity
- Exchanging travel stories and listening to people
- Tasting new foods and local cuisine

• singing
• civil rights
• education
• cooking
• drinking
• traveling
• music
• piano
• teaching
• emergency services
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Black Keys, Death Cab for Cutie, Gabriel Rios, The Avett Brothers, Chopin (especially his Nocturnes played by Maria Tipo), Mika, Mumford & Sons, The Shins, Ella Fitzgerald, Bill Evans, Ellie Goulding, Pentatonix, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, so many more... Discovering new music is one of my favorite pastimes.

Movies: Good Will Hunting, Pride and Prejudice, Slumdog Millionnaire, the Bourne trilogy

Books: The Giver, Brave New World, The Time Traveler's Wife, Wuthering Heights, Night (Elie Wiesel)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Exploring a mosque in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus that had once been a French Gothic cathedral

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm interested in civil rights and access to education, and I'd be fascinated by any insight non-Americans can offer into the foreign perspective on police brutality and racism in the U.S. I love to learn bits of the local language wherever I travel, so I enjoy discussing linguistic differences and whether they're representative of cultural differences. Do bilingual people really have different personalities when they speak different languages?

What I Can Share with Hosts

I sing and play piano and cello, and I'm always down to jam! Besides music, I will share my burning cultural curiosity and friendly, optimistic personality. I'm always smiling, and I'm thoughtful, accommodating, and clean. I appreciate both deep conversations and comfortable silence, and everything in between. I'm not much of a cook but I'm willing to help out in the kitchen however I can, and if you show me a local restaurant/bar I'd love to take you out for a drink or a meal!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Réunion, Spain, Sweden, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States