CURRENT MISSION

To have a balanced life, to travel as much as possible, to always be learning, to be happy, and to help others

ABOUT ME

I'm originally from sunny Southern California, but I braved the rain to live in the Pacific Northwest in 2008. Life was wetter but filled with great people, great beer, and great fun. I never thought I'd live in Portland, Oregon, but life has a funny way of working itself out.In PDX, I had the privilege of working part-time at a non-profit community technology center called Free Geek, where we recycled electronics and rebuilt computers through community service. I got to spend my work day surrounded by all kinds of electronic gizmos and by a wide variety of volunteers, and it was pretty much awesome.In June 2010, I got a scholarship to come to Thailand as part of AFS Intercultural Programs, working as a volunteer English language Teaching Assistant for 5 months. I lived in a relatively small Thai town (Thungsong), had a Thai host family, and really learned to embrace the Thai lifestyle.After my program finished, I started to travel around SE Asia: I visited Laos, Cambodia, the north of Thailand, and most recently, Burma. 6 months of solo travel is something I never thought I would do. The result? I'm so much better from it! I was alone but never lonely. I love traveling.I moved to Surat Thani, Thailand in May 2011. Surat is the provincial capital that's the jumping off point for other activities in the area (namely, visiting the islands of Koh Phagnan, Koh Tao, and Koh Samui). Guidebooks and review sites usually tell you that there's not much to do in Surat itself - but living there was great. In November 2012, I moved to Mae Sot, Thailand as a volunteer for the Burma Volunteer Program. My stay there was much too short! I moved back to the States in the beginning of 2013. I feel lucky every single day that I work for a cause I'm passionate about. The Refugee Youth Project runs after-school, summer school, and mentoring programs for nearly 300 young refugee students who are now living in Baltimore. Our kids come from Burma, Bhutan, Iraq, Eritrea, and the Congo. They are the best.*****I'm a very happy-go-lucky person - laid back and fine to see where life takes me, but I also love new experiences & challenges. I think that people and life have so much to offer, and I can't wait to see what happens. I'm working toward living a balanced life, trying to value people and experiences over things, and learning the concept of 'enough' and living in the present...I'm not totally there yet but I'm always striving to be better.

PHILOSOPHY

My good friend taught me to strive to treat everyone with dignity and respect. I believe in being happy, embracing love, and sharing these with others as much as possible! When I do things, I try to think about how I'll think about them when I'm older and telling my children and grandchildren about them :) I imagine I'll measure my success as a person not by how much money I've made, but how many people I've helped and shared life with.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I love being a resource for people so I tend to bring up couchsurfing.org as one of the websites I insist people know about :) Also, check out www.wwoof.org if you're interested in organic farming in exchange for a place to stay, or www.helpx.net if you want to find a work-in-exchange-for-accommodation deal.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Had a wild 2 nights in Vancouver BC, vicariously hosted some awesome travelers with my ex in PDX, and met some amazing teachers in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Hosted lots of fun people in Surat Thani!

Interests

Good conversations, traveling, exploring the interwebs, bicycles, cooking, wearing clothing with sequins, travel, friends, eating, reading excellent books, drinking my daily cup of coffee, being happy and silly, and surrounding myself with people I admire and love.

• books
• cooking
• beer
• coffee
• drinking
• electronics
• clothing
• technology
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• camping
• volunteering
• solo travel
• wwoof

Music, Movies, and Books

I go through phases with music, and my past obsessions have included Joanna Newsom, Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird, The Decemberists, Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles, Nora Jones, Zero 7, The National, and The Magic Numbers. Recently my old college roomie sent me a mixed CD with songs from Passion Pit, Phoenix, Metric, and Animal Collective...and thus it's my new obsession.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

World Naked Bike Ride 2009. Who knew riding your bike with 3000+ other people could be so much fun?!?!?

And...despite the fact that I got a bit of altitude sickness, I HIKED TO MT. EVEREST BASE CAMP. That was hard - but I did it!!!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you the Thai that I know...and I'm always more than happy to practice/teach English.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore

Countries I’ve Lived In

Thailand, United States

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