I am from Gatineau (Québec), Canada—just across the river the national capital, Ottawa. My first language is French and it's a very important part of who I am. Other than French and English, I also speak a bit of Spanish. I obviously need to practice, but it comes back fairly quickly!

I work as a writing and communications advisor at a university, which I love! Being in an academic setting is so... invigorating. Not only is helping students with their writing immensely gratifying, it also keeps me on my toes. Indeed, I love to learn new things, search for answers, and be in contact with people and subject matters I normally would not get to know and learn about!

I genuinely *love* talking to people. I'm very curious and passionate and I love to laugh (does someone *not* love to laugh, though?). I'm very approachable, extroverted, progressive, and open-minded. Making an effort to include people and make them comfortable is very important to me. I'm an open book, too! I can be loud and energetic because a) hello, I'm a Francophone and that's who we are b) I grew up with brothers, so being loud was the only way to be heard. #sorrynotsorry

Other than Gatineau, I've lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which remains to this day my favourite place in the whole entire world (admittedly, I haven't seen that much of it). In fact, I loved the “new” Scotland so much I decided I wanted to know more about the “old” Scotland, so I moved there when I was 21! That year in Glasgow is still the coolest thing I've ever done.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm working hard on trying to get out of my comfort zone, both in a literal and figurative sense. I figured getting to know people—people who actually live in the places I want to visit, who really know about what things are like—would be the best way to experience those new places. Having a local contact is not only reassuring, it just makes sense.

I travel on my own, but I don't want to be on my own all the time. I enjoy many parts of solo travel (Going to bed when I want! Getting up when I want! Eating wherever and whenever I feel like it! Etc. Etc.), but at some point I really do feel the need to talk and share some of these experiences with other people. Seeing as I'm not a fan of big group setting, meeting people through couchsurfing seems like an ideal middle ground. I hope I'm right!

Interests

I really enjoy doing yoga and going on bike rides. Winters are really, really harsh and loooong here in the Ottawa area (and I hate the cold), so I try to bike every single day from spring to fall so as to make up for them! Biking is so freeing. I also do a lot of yoga, which I've been doing for 15 or 16 years now!

I also enjoy watching Netflix a little too much, oops. TV series > movies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm currently obsessed with the Nordic countries. The culture, the lifestyle, the progressive values, the northernness: it all fascinates me.

I love to bake—I'll always bring a dessert to a potluck! (Ask me to make lemon squares)

• environment
• wine
• coffee
• desserts
• baking
• yoga
• walking
• jazz
• cycling
• hockey
• gender studies
• languages
• food
• tea
• laughing
• vegetarian food
• tv shows
• feminism
• bicycle
• netflix
• scandinavia
• equality
• cider
• scotland
• nordic countries
• zero waste
• vélo
• laughs
• halifax
• nova scotia
• melnykout

Music, Movies, and Books

Favourite movie: One Week
Favourite TV show: Gilmore Girls
Favourite artist: Paolo Nutini

I've loved everything I've read by Frank McCourt

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Amazing as in "I feel so lucky and grateful it happened": driving around Ireland with a friend of a friend. I didn't know this person at all, but we got along so well and shared some great moments despite our differences. Having someone there with me, someone who gave advice and recommended things to do and places to see, was ideal and I still am so, so very grateful it happened.

Amazing as in badass: probably moving to a new country all alone when I was 21. It remains (and probably always will be) the most impressive thing I've ever done.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'll teach you about the complicated politics of language in Canada ;)

I want to learn about your identity: national, political, cultural, linguistic, gender, sexual, ethnic—all of it! Tell me! How people navigate the ever-changing parts of their identity is fascinating to me.

Let's watch hockey together! Or listen to jazz!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversations!
Laughs!
Food!
Drinks!
Coffee!
Netflix recommendations!

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Scotland