ABOUT ME

Hello, I'm Jenna. I am a Phd student in Geography and Women's Studies at Penn State, but I am currently living with my husband, Hilario, in Houston where I'm doing research related on issues of race, juvenile justice, and the military. I'm really interested (both academically and personally) feminist approaches to violence, militaries, peace, and resistance. If those things interest you, I love talking about them, but I am also totally happy not talking about work and politics too!

I am generally happy and enjoy hanging out with my sweet doggie, cooking with Hilario, being out amongst my flower and the herb garden, painting when I have time, and exploring Houston. Some of the loves of my life have been the places I've lived. Namely: Duluth, Minnesota. Missoula, Montana. Accra, Ghana. Monrovia, Liberia. Eau Claire, Wisconsin. State College, Pennsylvania. Houston is super interesting too. I've really enjoyed learning about this huge city, and am happy to share what I'm learning--from where I've found the best drinks and tacos, to stories of gentrification and city politics. I love having/finding/making adventures, but my most frequent pleasures are definitely just having good conversation while having a drink or cooking with friends (and I love meeting new people to do that with!).

PHILOSOPHY

That's a pretty hefty question. Ask me in person.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have surfed, hosted, gone to meet-ups, hosted CS dinners, met surfers for drinks...I like the CS community. I have also moved around quite a bit in my life so I guess I am fairly accustomed to meeting new people often. That's kind of experience too, right?

Interests

I love learning about people and places. Also, exploring antique stores, cooking lots of foods, painting, feminist and social theory, radical thought and action, people watching, finding cool graffiti, looking at art, discussion, looking at maps, pets (mine mostly, but also yours!), hearing your ghost stories (!!!), campy sci-fi and fantasy (i LOVE Buffy), talking about ways to make the world less violent and more livable, and many other things of limited or great importance!

• pets
• arts
• cooking
• drinking
• gardening
• flowers
• politics
• painting
• cartography
• geography

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Too many to name. Good ones though!

I love music. Introduce me to some! A very, very abridged list of favorites: old country (Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams)....old blues and jazz (Lightnin' Hopkins, Robert Johnson, Nina Simone, etc), 1950s/60s dance music, r&b, and assortment of current/currentish stuff (The Magnetic Fields, The National, XX, Radiohead, etc), and Tejano music to dance to!

Yay books! This Side of Paradise, Steinbeck, Salinger, Bukowski, many more...

I love Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV. Namely, BUFFY (the tv show obviously, not the crappy movie) is the best. Also, Star Trek, X-files, etc. But mostly Buffy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My first time abroad was when I was 19, when I went to Namibia to do elephant conservation work. I slept under the stars, sidestepped cobras, was charged by elephants, tracked rhino, forged flash floods, witnessed elephants cry over the death of a sister shot by someone for sick amusement, then went and wandered South Africa for a month. That all was beyond amazing. I learned not to be afraid of the world while I was there and that's something I've tried to bring along in travels and my life in the 10 or so year since then.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love learning about people and places, as well as sharing what I have learned thus far in my own travels and living. Talking about these is great, as is exchange about so many other things, so surprise me. I'll try to do the same.

Countries I’ve Visited

Benin, Canada, Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, Netherlands, Senegal, South Africa, Togo

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, United States

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