I am a 22 year old who has just moved back to the US after over a year of living abroad in both Thailand and New Zealand. In Thailand I was living north of Bangkok in a rural village teaching English within a high school for 4 months, then decided to jump on a plane headed to New Zealand where I worked on the South Island at a Ski Lodge as a receptionist for the past 8 months.

I graduated college from the Evergreen State college in Olympia back in 2013 with a bachelors degree in Elementary Education and hope to return to school soon to get my Masters in Teaching and teaching Certification (after I get a few more adventures in under my belt :) )

I am just home for a few months before I am off to Australia to hopefully find work near Melbourne. I hope to take this time to appreciate being home, seeing family, and showing my NZ partner around the USA a wee bit!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

My mother has couchsurfed for years now, and has always encouraged us to travel through community based means. I think it is an awesome way to experience different people, communities, cultures and places through the sharing of a roof and stories along your journey.

We have had many people come through to stay at our house with couchsurfing, and I think it is about time that I start expanding my travels through this awesome way to connect with people from the around the world!

Interests

I love to travel. I think the travel bug bit me when I was about 5 and hasn't left my blood since. I have been to Costa Rica, Spain, Portugal, Venezuela, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania, France, Laos, Thailand and New Zealand and still cant wait to go on more amazing adventures! It is so amazing, the people I have met from all around the world, the stories I have heard, and the experiences I have had all have helped to form me into the person I am today. I have so many amazing friends through travel, and I hope to continue to make more and more in the years to come.

I also adore working with kids (hence the elementary education) and am particularly interested in alternative education that uses the outdoors and the natural environment to get kids active and participating in the world around them! I hope to get my ski certification as well in the next year and begin teaching skiing!

My other interests are funky art, reading a good adventure novel, thrift store shopping, and a great cup of coffee :)

• animals
• arts
• books
• acting
• education
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• instructor
• shopping
• thrifting
• reading
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• skiing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I could listen to just about any music and be happy, but I am still drawn to the tunes I grew up listening to in my mom's car: Lyle Lovett, Bonnie Raitt, Bare Naked Ladies, Alanis Morissette, you get the idea. I also enjoy some good underground hip/hop and what ever music my younger sister ends up sticking on my computer for me!

In terms of books, a travel adventure novel, or a great historical fiction always gets me turning pages. I just read Shantaram and Cutting For Stone and could not put them down! My favorite author would probably have to be Barbara Kingsolver, her novel The Poison Wood Bible is one of the major instigators in my love for travel and adventure and just letting go of the reins and letting life just happen.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I stood in front of a class room full of Thai 17 year old male students and ran around the classroom acting out all the different animals in a zoo and yelling out their names in English. I felt like a fool, and they looked at me like I was crazy... but at the end of the day, they could identify and say every single animal in English!

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a certified TESOL instructor and can speak a little bit of Spanish. I love working with kids and adults in learning situations where skills of any kind are exchanged in encouraging and fun environments and would love to be able to be involved in this type of exchange while traveling!

What I Can Share with Hosts

If I couchsurf with you, I can promise a funny story. I can cook some pretty yummy food if your hungry, I can clean, I can help out with chores! I wont leave a mess, and I will promise to be as helpful as possible while I am around. I am a pretty quite person, but I also love to go out and have a good time, explore the area, and find all the funky quirks of a place!

I can also offer in return, a bed or couch, wherever you might find me around the world, be in San Juan Island or New Zealand :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, France, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, Thailand, United States