Traveling around Ireland and Europe with my absolute best friend Geneva.

University student in Dublin for a semester. In the US, I study Computer Science and English Literature. Working at Natural Language Processing start up this summer (think technology like Siri or Alexa), which attempts to teach computers how to understand how humans communicate. I believe computers will replace human labor within our lifetimes--even nuanced jobs like attorneys, writers, and researchers! Hoping to work in a field that doesn't exist yet--computer ethics--regulating/understanding how we teach machines our biases. Computers don't express a universal, absolute truth--they simply reflect the truths we program into them.

I'm a writer who has written three (shitty) novels and hoping to finish my fourth while abroad. Geneva and I are both ex-track and field athletes (even competing at the university level!) will talk about the experience to no end.

Some fun facts:
I was once Hilary Clinton's body double for her Presidential Debate vs Donald Trump (https://debate.wustl.edu/dry-run-student-stand-ins-take-national-stage/). I had a first-hand look into the behind the scenes of a presidential campaign.

Geneva and I survived a gang shooting committed with an AR-15. A bullet hit our car door and luckily got stuck in the metal, but I was three inches away from getting hit.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We're couchsurfing because we're both uncomfortable with the idea of "tourism." We're seeking more authentic experiences and new friends. We think local and strangers provide a unique look on life and love nothing more than listening to other's life experiences and sharing our own.

Interests

• writing
• running
• reading
• hiking

Music, Movies, and Books

Music
Mostly into indie music, but venturing into 80s pop and 60s/70s rock. Would love to learn more about jazz. All time favorite band has to be Glass Animals. Used to be really into concerts as a teenager, so chances are if they were a popular alternative band circa 2014 I've dabbled. Hoping to fulfill some high school dreams and see Vampire Weekend or Tame Impala this year.

Movies
Too hard to pick. You could probably ask Geneva because I'm sure she knows more of my favorite movies than I do. Would watch any biopic. All-time rec has to be "Exit Through the Giftshop."

Books
Big into David Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith, Virginia Woolf, Nabovok, Joyce, George Saunders, etc; love a good modernist/post-modernist novel, but will read anything. As an English major I focus on Irish short story writers, but I have a soft spot for poets

add me on Goodreads >> https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8153073-caroline-niesen

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I grew up in the Midwest and you could drive six hours in one direction and still be in Missouri. My childhood was full of long road-trips and in college as an ex-varsity athlete, I was no stranger to eight-hour bus rides. I can stare out a car window--at empty fields--for hours on end.

Driving the Ring Road around Iceland last August tapped into my love of long-haul rides and nature. Hoping to knock off more once-in-a-lifetime road trips soon.

Teach, Learn, Share

Learn - learning how to cook, Spanish
Teach - eep not sure! I can explain how bitcoin works, maybe even light coding skills if you're interested
Share - a unique perspective on America straight from red-state Trump-territory. I grew up in a very distinct place--twenty-minutes from farm-land one direction, twenty-minutes to the most dangerous city in America in the other. I've experienced everything from the Ferguson protests (ten minutes from my house) to 2015 Trump rallies. I feel like I've witnessed a lot of change in my country in the last five years and would love to discuss with Europeans.

Countries I’ve Visited

Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ireland, United States