Hi!

My name is Betty, and I'm an American undergraduate student studying Political Science and Southeast Asian Studies, prepping for a future career in international education, human rights advocacy, and/or diplomacy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

With my previous traveling experience, I've realized that I really believe in quality over quantity. I would rather fully experience a single country or city instead of hopping around to as many new places as possible. I don't really enjoy only going to popular tourist spots, I would much rather spend days on foot, walking around different neighborhoods and just observing the local culture. I think that Couchsurfing is perfect for a person like me, because it allows me to meet locals and get a more in-depth view of a new place.

Furthermore, back in my college town, I am a member of the International Cooperative House, home to about 10 international students and 10 American students. We work together to repair, clean, and cook for each other throughout the school year. I've lived with international people from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Rwanda, Mali, France, and South Africa. Every interaction and friendship I created in the house has been meaningful, and pushed me to want to find these same connections while I am abroad.

Interests

• concerts
• cooking
• coffee
• baking
• walking
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• r&b music
• hiking
• camping
• swimming
• history
• languages
• eating
• film
• indie music
• thrift shopping
• trying new food
• listening to music
• napping
• cookies
• doodling
• pastries
• exploring cities
• listening to podcasts
• hip hop & rap

Music, Movies, and Books

Some of my favorite films are Get Out, Obvious Child, Spirited Away, Back to the Future, Wild, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, and Embrace of the Serpent.

Some of my favorite musicians are Témé Tan, Bedouine, SZA, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, Maggie Rogers, Blood Orange, Solange, Tei Shi, Mitski, and Anderson .Paak.

I'm really bad with recalling my favorite books, but here are some of my favorite writers; Ralph Ellison, Zadie Smith, James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Maya Angelou, Teju Cole, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Celeste Ng, Khaled Hosseini, Donna Tartt.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This year I climbed Ijen Crater in East Java, Indonesia! Ijen Crater is home to the largest, most highly acidic crater lake in the world, as well as blue flames produced by the heavy sulfur deposits in the volcano. My friends and I started the hike at midnight, which stretched on for 4 miles and was very steep and strenuous at times. It was definitely worth it to see the sunrise inside of the crater, but it's not something I'd like to repeat any time soon.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach English or Indonesian to my hosts. If there are the proper ingredients and materials, I can attempt to make "American" chocolate chip cookies!

I'd really love to learn just about anything... the country, culture, language, tradition, anything really. Or just about my host! I'm a good listener.

I can share good music and a journey to a bakery to find pastries.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share a variety of things with my host:
- A crash course on Indonesia (There are over 16,000 islands! Toilet paper doesn't exist! You won't survive if you don't eat spicy food!)
- Why the Midwest (specifically, Wisconsin) is the best place to live in the United States, and doesn't deserve all of the flack it receives by our other fellow states
- My thoughts on race and gender relations in the United States. I can talk for hours about intersectionality, womanism, privilege, institutional racism, etc.
- Experiences with traveling. I lived in rural, rural Papua New Guinea with my father for a cumulative total of 5 months while I was in elementary school and high school. No running water, no electricity, no indoor plumbing. It was an experience that has forever shaped me, and has made me incredibly passionate about development studies and "developing" countries.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea

Countries I’ve Lived In

Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, United States