CURRENT MISSION

Live life simply and with meaning.

ABOUT ME

I've had the travel bug for most of my life. My parents always took my sister and I camping at the many state parks in the Tennessee area, along with an annual extended family trip to Panama City, FL. But I think I really caught the fever during junior high, in Ms. Freeman's French class. My first trip to Europe (a whirlwind tour of France, Switzerland, and Italy in one week) was in 1990 with a small group of kids from my high school. In 1991, I lived with a family in the suburbs of Paris for three weeks. My own family even hosted an exchange student from The Netherlands my entire senior year of high school. But it wasn't until I had graduated from college and had spent a few years working several demanding jobs that I decided to take some time off for a more thorough exploration of Western Europe. So in the fall of 1998 I set out for two months of backpacking and train travel in The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Austria. That trip changed my life -- I returned to TN and immediately got a job, but I kept looking for an opportunity that would involve traveling (and getting paid for it)! As luck would have it, Delta Air Lines ran an ad in the local paper. I graduated from flight attendant training on May 28, 1999 and immediately transferred to New York City, where I was based for the entire 6+ years I flew for Delta. For the most part I took full advantage of the free flight perks during those years, and often say I spent more time exploring the world than at home. My most frequent layover destinations were Paris and Brussels, but I was always swapping for something different: Istanbul, Athens, Rome, etc., as well as towns/cities in the US that I may have never visited otherwise: Whitefish, MT, San Antonio, TX, Milwaukee, WI... In addition, my independent travels during that time led me to places like India, China, and South Korea. I had actually made a pact with myself that I would not fly for more than 10 years and after almost seven I gave it up to live and work full time in NYC. Believe it or not, not once did I ever miss being a flight attendant after I quit. I segued into the 8-to-5+ type routine fairly effortlessly (to my default career of Executive Assistant) . When I was able to take time off I traveled to islands in the Caribbean, as well as Costa Rica, more of Europe, and many places in the US (Hawaii, Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and the Pacific Northwest to name a few). After a couple of years working many long and mentally draining hours at the office and spending a lot of money just to live in NYC, I realized I needed to rethink my life and refocus my priorities. I started saving as much money as I could with the goal of being able to take at least a year off to travel around the world and do some volunteer work. I left my job at the beginning of September, 2009 and, after spending some quality time getting to know my then-new boyfriend, convinced him to quit his job, too, so we could travel. We had many adventures as we traveled around the world together from August, 2010 to May, 2011 (278 days, 22 countries, 4 continents). We returned to the U.S., got married on July 29th, and then set off again for an "extended" honeymoon (92 days, 23 countries) Greg and I moved to Portland, OR in January, 2012. After five years of more typical life in Portland, I spent four months in the summer of 2017 traveling all over Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, my marriage with Greg came to an end but we remain close friends. I traveled solo around Central and South America from September 2018 until January 2020. I am now preparing to move to Ecuador!

PHILOSOPHY

Live every day as if it's your last!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I no longer have a place to call home in the U.S. as I put all of my belongings in storage to travel through Central and South America. I enjoy meeting other people when I am traveling, but often make plans at the last minute so I'm not always able to couchsurf as much as I'd like.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My favorite random experience, while not truly couch surfing but still exemplifying the CS spirit, was to share my hotel room near the airport in New Delhi with a complete stranger (Indian) and his grandmother when they did not make their flight and needed a place to sleep for the night. I slept in a large bed with the non-English-speaking grandmother; he slept on the floor!

Other than that, I have couchsurfed, both with my husband and while traveling solo, all over the world. It's always wonderful to meet new people, make new friends, and have some great conversations about life and traveling.

Interests

I have now visited 89 countries around the world!

• wildlife
• culture
• writing
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• flying
• traveling
• volunteer work
• cycling
• hiking
• languages
• volunteering
• long-term travel
• parks
• food
• nature

Music, Movies, and Books

Anything travel-related especially documentaries or reading historical nonfiction or books that are about or are set in the areas where I'm currently traveling.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Skydived from 10,000 ft in Kauai then, a few months later, from 14,000 ft on the North Shore of Oahu. Literally breathtaking!

Teach, Learn, Share

I have a university degree in French and a minor (just a few hours shy of a double major) in English writing. I also taught myself Spanish in three months. I love to learn about and experience other cultures!

What I Can Share with Hosts

My positive outlook on life; extensive travel experiences; my love of all kinds of food, drink, and cooking; and pretty much anything about beer.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Colombia, Ecuador, United States

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