Update 2019 summer - I have graduated in political science from university in Amsterdam and I’m on summer holiday with some friends 💛 Temporarily NOT HOSTING because I am in the middle of negotiating with my roommates about whether we can host people in Amsterdam but hopefully soon! To couchsurfers looking to stay with me - please please don't just copy&paste requests! Read my profile and tell me why you would like to stay with me, why we would get along well, and what you can offer as a guest, if you're funny and/or are a cynical asshole and/or are a feminist that's a plus ☺️ Ok basic boring stuff first - I was born and raised in San Francisco and lived in Tokyo for 3 years （東京に3年間住んでましたので、日本語は完璧じゃないけれど、喋れます！） of my childhood, went to music school in Boston, lived in France for a year, and now I'm finishing uni in Amsterdam. I love adventure, traveling, making friends with and sharing different perspectives from people from different cultures - that's why I'm currently studying politics/psychology/law/economics at an international program in beautiful Amsterdam. Back in Amsterdam I was heading the social integration chapter of a new NGO that aims to help provide free higher education to refugees in Amsterdam. I'm very passionate about making people feel a sense of belonging..which is more challenging to feel when you move to a different country and when people are racist towards you. This past year (2016-17) I decided to take a gap year to live and work in Vietnam (mostly to live) [UPDATE - I decided to move to the northern part of Thailand starting mid April to September to do some community building!]- in Vietnam, working primarily as a jazz singer in an all-Vietnamese jazz band and a side job as a flyer hander for a bar. Both are teaching me a lot of lessons about how people work. Having a creative outlet really let's me express myself and connect with the locals who I may not be able to connect with due to the language barrier. Living in Vietnam has truly been an eye opening experience, I've never lived in a non-urban place that's in a country that is not as wealthy as "western" countries - I'm learning a lot to not depend as much on material goods, and to have more respect, appreciation, and understanding for the local people because there is a lack of this especially within the backpacker community. And tbh my closest most trustworthy friends are locals, wherever I go I'd like to continue being inspired by and creating a bond with the locals 😊 ***Another lesson learned from my most recent trip (to Thailand in March 2017) is how important community is! That's where my passion for community building blossomed...this sense of belonging, feeling of being safe to express yourself or ask others for help, feeling like you're welcomed/loved/accepted/appreciated...it's an amazing feeling and I hope to contribute towards making this a reality for people I meet (or everyone in general!) in different communities everywhere ! CS is indeed a special community and if we can all together make it a safe space where everyone can experience all of the above, we can accomplish such big things beyond the scope of CS itself ;) ahh the power of love <3 October 2018 update Got sucked into the hippie vortex in Thailand and now I’m back 😂 Studying political science and how the systems in our world fuck us over control our brains and how we can resist ! Haha but if you’re into what’s happening in the world if you’re into feminism or intersectionality come talk to me.