CURRENT MISSION

Trying to see how slow travel can be possible with limited time - I love to travel on two wheels when time allows!

ABOUT ME

Being born in Europe, growing up and attending college in the US, and becoming an adult in Asia has made me both highly confused about where "home" is (and even if there should be a concept of a "home country"), and also very open to exploration. Although I love stability and order in my own life, I enjoy sampling the diversity and chaos outside my own small corner of the world.

After graduating from university in 2014, I moved to China to take on the role of residential advisor in an American study abroad program, then continued the Asian adventure as a critical thinking instructor (teaching socratic thinking and academic writing), originally in Beijing and then in Hong Kong.

I now live and work in London, having returned to my "birth" country after 17 years abroad. My job is a combination of transport economics (trying to add as much humanity into the scheme appraisal process as possible!) and design/analysis of cycling and walking schemes - this means a lot of my life revolves around travel on two feet or two wheels, or trying to get more people to do the same. As of 2020, I am also a part-time MSc student at UCL focused on Transport & City Planning, which complements my work.

I love music, philosophy, psychology, behavioral science, and pretty much any subject that explores humans' interaction with the environment and with each other.

PHILOSOPHY

With the recent rise in populism and the growth in xenophobia and isolationism, mutual understanding between people of different races, languages, and religions is more important than ever. While leaders squabble and tweet, it is the average person's job to remain open-minded, create bridges, and fight prejudice in order to understand different cultures, their motivations, and ways to move forward.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm currently in a very transitory state of life so am taking advantage of the surfing side of CS. Once I'm settled down, I plan on taking in as many travelers as possible to my place to repay my debt.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I spent a month solo couchsurfing through mid/southern China (Chongqing/Chengdu/Kunming/Guilin), Hong Kong, and Taiwan! I've also met some of the friendliest couchsurfers in the world in Florence, Italy, during June 2015.

Interests

Behavioral economics and psychology, sustainable development and transportation, choral and instrumental music, running, hiking, exploring, organization, trying new foods and experiences, skiing, snow tubing, seeing sunsets and sunrises, etc.!

• arts
• humanities
• writing
• singing
• theater
• running
• instructor
• traveling
• music
• instrumental music
• a cappella
• hiking
• surfing
• skiing
• economics
• engineering
• languages
• psychology
• religion
• study abroad
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Anything Lord of the Rings, Men's Choral Music, Harry Potter, A Cappella, Literature on sustainability, efficiency, simple living, and travel.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Traveled the entire way around the world only to get one stamp in a passport at US customs allowing me to re-enter the country the next time I need to.

Teach, Learn, Share

Some fun things:
-Singing and music
-A good laugh and a fun time

And the boring stuff:
-Budgeting and finance, I can create a pretty smart spreadsheet!
-Financial literacy
-Investment, particularly ESG/green investment
-English language skills
-Chinese language skills

What I Can Share with Hosts

Meals! Covid gave me the perfect opportunity to learn how to cook!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States