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.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Trying to find places to stay and hosting others so I can meet awesome people who can show me their city and to whom I can show them mine 💖
To me CS isn't about finding a place to stay/hosting people for free, it's about connection/fun/excitement/exchanging/sharing/enjoying🌞

Also the last paragraph of my "About Me" section...one of my aspirations is to help create a community (in this context, the CS community) where everyone feels supported, loved, connected, and happy.

Interests

I love singing jazz, cooking, studying social sciences & politics, listening to loud and soft music, eating all kinds of food, exchanging ideas on controversial topics, being around open-minded non-bigoted/racist/sexist people, doing yoga, partying both sober and non-sober 🌸🌸🌸

Music, Movies, and Books

I love many different kinds of artists/musicians..love different kinds of electronic music, old school hip hop, jazz/bossa nova, singer-songwriter, rock, U.K. garage..random examples; tribe called quest, the fugees, Ben UFO, Dixon, mano le tough, james blake, chet baker (not faker), Hiatus kaiyote, richie hawtin/some ppl from minus, nicola cruz, flying lotus/some ppl from brainfeeder, Laurent garnier, David august, soichi terada, gretchen parlato, daisuke tanabe, elaquent, david bowie, joy division, billy woods, elis regina, young marco..and the list goes on and on!!

I love anime/manga..some favs include death note, one punch man, attack on titan, hunterxhunter, samurai champloo, cowboy bebop, naruto of course.

Rick and morty, South Park I have a special place in my heart for ...and don't forget Mr. Pickles GOOOODBOOOYYYY!!!

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

What's eating gilbert grape, the usual suspects, the world according to garp, vertigo, magnolia, American psycho, soap dish, let the right one in, 5th element, silence of the lambs, enter the void, pan's labyrinth, samsaraaaa😻

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam in/jumped off a hot waterfall at El Paraiso in Guatemala

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good vibes, I smile a lot, and if I feel u can handle it, I can also be brutally honest✌️ dinner/drinks/etc
I can teach you the basics in Japanese, singing, music theory, yoga🌸

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Monaco, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Japan, Netherlands, United States, Viet Nam