CURRENT MISSION

Winning that constant battle with complacency.

ABOUT ME

Hi! After doing the liberal arts/law thing for a few years, I switched careers and went into structural engineering. After getting my masters and working for a few years, it felt like I'd gotten off-track and needed to rethink where I was heading. To that end, I've recently quit my job, given up my apartment, and am chasing my passion for natural building through work exchanges. Between September 10 and 22, I am driving from Seattle to DC and hope to get back in touch with my traveling roots.

As far as personality goes, I'm pretty quiet and easy going. Meeting new people is a huge thrill since I'm really interested in how people become who they are, as individuals and a society. I think deeply about human experiences, connectivity, and resilience. The form, material, and history of buildings are also fascinating to me (might have been a clue about the engineering!) and I enjoy exploring places where the architecture is a bridge to the distant past. My favorite destination so far has been to Antarctica, which was an intensely spiritual experience. Being in nature is very restorative for me.

PHILOSOPHY

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart --Nelson Mandela

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I really love the idea of CSing as a way to build community! Since I usually travel alone, CSers often become the backbone of my human experience. It's incredible and hope-affirming to be able to find an outstretched hand anywhere in the world.

I've surfed a lot so I know what it's like to have plans fall apart or change cities spontaneously but CS is still a forum for facilitating interpersonal connections *through* travel. No one likes to be treated like a convenient free hotel. I craft each request to the person I hope to stay with and expect my guests to do the same with me.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I started out surfing in San Francisco in 2009 and had such a fantastic experience that I was hooked! I've since surfed in Europe, Indonesia, and all over Australia, and have hosted in Seattle. I took some time away during the final years of my degree and during the pandemic, but have definitely missed the dynamism that CS provided in my life. It's impossible to feel lonely on the road when so many people are there too, looking out for you and laughing with you.

Interests

Pottery: I fell hard into clay during the pandemic and have done little else with my free time for the past couple of years. I love the wheel, handbuilding, allllll the decorative techniques, and sharing what I've learned.

Buildings: I love them so much I even did 6 more years of math! I have been planning my own home for several years now and can't wait to start breaking ground. Specifically, I love natural building materials, alternative structural systems, and historical renovation.

Plants: Something about their form is so engaging and relaxing. Time spent repotting and watering is meditative. Currently I keep succulents, ferns, flowers, herbs, trees, tropicals, and cacti.

Storytelling: History is the ultimate human story; I can get lost in histories big and small. I also read and enjoy movies quite a bit, though being in school/working has made engaging with meaty literature a bit harder.

Letter writing: I write letters like it was still the 1800s. I write them short, I write them long. I write them to procrastinate and to pass the empty time. It's a fantastic way to communicate.

• dogs
• arts
• humanities
• writing
• design
• coloring
• make up
• dining
• recipes
• yoga
• drinking
• flowers
• cartoons
• painting
• surfing
• engineering
• history
• languages
• law
• ceramics

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Jane Eyre, Lincoln in the Bardo, His Dark Materials, Something Wicked This Way Comes, John Adams, The Portrait of a Lady, Lolita, Heart of Darkness, Lord of the Rings, The Far Pavilions, The Things They Carried

Authors: Jane Austen, The Brontes, Neil Gaiman, CS Lewis, Tolkien, Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley, David McCullough

Music: Pretty much anything from the 1960s onward, excepting rap and r&b. Currently into indie folk and old folk songs.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-The stunning scope of Antarctica.

-Taking care of orphaned kangaroo joeys in Australia.

-Skydiving in Arizona, US

Teach, Learn, Share

Happy to teach: pottery/ceramics, structural analysis, sustainable architecture, henna designs, recipes, plant care!

I would *love* to learn more about whatever you're passionate about. I like to get my hands dirty so please please show me how you cook, paint, or sculpt, train animals, or do yoga, etc. There's so much I want to know!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Time, enthusiasm, gardening, pottery lessons

Countries I’ve Visited

Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, India, United States

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