CURRENT MISSION to travel up and down the East Coast with my new husband! ABOUT ME I want to meet new people and learn new things and go new places, and I feel extremely lucky that I have had so many great opportunities throughout my life. I graduated Cornell University with a degree in Natural Resources and Ecology, and if I can be outside all the time, my life will pretty much be complete. I have lived my whole life in upstate New York, but I also spent a semester in Puerto San Carlos in Baja California Sur, Mexico. I am a bit torn between the my love for the ocean and the forest, and I hope that I will never have to choose. I also love to sing and dance and hike and cook delicious food. This past summer, I married the love of my life, and the two of us now own a home together. We both love to travel, and we both love the outdoors. Together, we co-manage an agroforestry farm that grows American Ginseng, mushrooms, and Chinese medicinal herbs in the Catskill Mountains. PHILOSOPHY A good friend once told me to do everything in moderation, and I stand by it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE Because of my student housing and the fact that I now live in the middle of nowhere, I have only hosted one group of surfers. But I have officially surfed twice in Norway during a post-grad Europe backpacking trip and a few times on the East Coast US. I have also stayed in the welcoming homes of both friends and strangers during my travels and used to live in a cooperative living house that has hosted many travelers. Now I want to pay it forward....

Interests

singing, cooking, camping, farming, sustainability, music, dancing, hiking, ecology, and spending quality time with family & friends

• animals
• singing
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• music
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• ecology
• tourism
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

currently attempting to read The Life of Pi and recently read Animal, Vegetable Miracle and Desert Solitaire. I'm kind of in love with Edward Abbey and Barbara Kingsolver...

I absolutely love music, and particularly enjoy rock, ska, latin, reggae, country, jazz, blues, classical, and yes, even zydeco. If I had to choose some favorite bands it'd have to be The Wood Brothers, The Grateful Dead, The Derek Trucks Band, The Slackers, Bela Fleck, Railroad Earth, the Beatles, and the Avett Brothers. I'm a big fan of music festivals.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Number One Moment: After studying in the Sonora desert in Baja Mexico, a friend and I decided to attempt to hike "La Sierra de la Laguna," the mountains range that gives Baja California Sur 70% of it's water supply. It was daunting because no one we talked to had ever gone without a guide, and no locals in the fishing villages surrounding the mountains liked the idea of two young women attempting it by themselves. But we were determined! We spent a week looking up paths and making connections, and finally we set out on what we thought would be a three day trip. But once we finally made it up out of the thorns and the heat into the coastal oaks and pinon pines, we couldn't leave! We were in the shade of trees for the first time in three months, and we were incredibly alone to enjoy the waterfalls and eat prickly pear cacti and set out on day hikes from our camp. We stayed a week, skimping on food so that we could say longer, and had the time of our lives. I am so glad that we went for the challenge when the odds were against us, and I encourage everyone to do the same!

Moment number Two: A few summers ago, my good friend Mike and I joined a field crew of ecology researchers in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We got to stay in cabins on a clear, deep lake smack dab in the mountains and spend every day hiking around the woods learning about plants and the ecology in the woods we lived in. The reason this experience was so amazing is that we became so tied to the place. We understood the dynamics of the forest and saw the animals that lived there (including moose!) and spent weekends backpacking and climbing peaks. I feel so comfortable in the forest, and I gained some lifelong friends, including Mike, who I have since travelled with to Norway to backpack in the fjords!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United States