My mother is Brazilian and my father is American, I grew up in the US without much connection to the Brazilian side of my family but it has been a great joy to reconnect with that side of my family and heritage as an adult.

Right now I'm in a pretty big transitional phase of my life. After working for a non-profit for several years after graduating college, I decided this year that I wanted a major career change and that I wanted to move away from North Carolina, where I'd been living for years. This summer I quit my job in order to volunteer and travel in Brazil for the fall. After I return from Brazil, I'll be staying in Salt Lake City with family for a while, in order to apply for jobs elsewhere and generally figure out the next phase of my life.

I love writing, reading, traveling, and connecting with new people. I'm bisexual and consider my queerness to be an important facet of my identity. I strongly believe in intersectional social justice and environmental justice. My undergrad degree was in International Studies, and after Brazil I hope to make a career shift into International Development.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I would love to meet couchsurfers while I'm in Brazil! My plans are flexible, but I'll for sure be spending a significant amount of time in Fortaleza and Sao Paulo.

Interests

• arts
• books
• dancing
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• swimming
• anthropology
• international relations
• volunteering
• food
• feminism
• environmentalism
• roadtrips
• creative writing
• pet sitting
• land conservation
• anti-capitalism
• anti-racism
• sustainable agriculture
• dogs and cats
• drinking socially
• planting trees
• babysitting
• lgbtq
• nonfiction writing

Music, Movies, and Books

I love indie rock, with a particular recent obsession with synth wave/synth pop. Two of my favorite artists are Carly Rae Jepsen and The Mountain Goats. As far as movies, I don't go out to the movies very often these days but the last movie I saw and loved was Moonlight. Zadie Smith is one of my favorite authors.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've driven between Salt Lake City, UT to North Carolina three times--twice with two cats. But really, I feel awkward trying to sum up the life experiences that have been the most special to me in this way--let's just have a conversation and I'll tell you what I'm proudest of.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am very eager right now to improve my Portuguese (conversationally fluent) and Spanish (let's call my Spanish.... very far from fluent), and if you are looking to practice English, then I'd love to help you out with English in return. I love writing and telling stories, and if you want to collaborate on writing a story together or making some other piece of art together, that sounds like a ton of fun to me.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Well, I don't know how much I have to offer in terms of specialized knowledge--I know the ins and outs of fundraising software, if you happen to need help with that, and I'm a good writer of both fiction and nonfiction. I can help you create a great D&D character. I can play with your pets and work in your garden. I can do yoga with you. If you happen to need some heavy things lifted, I can do that too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, United States

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