CURRENT MISSION

I aim to live a balanced and fulfilling life full of laughter and intellectual curiosities.

ABOUT ME

I was born in China and moved to TN a few mere years after that. Since then, I have continued to grow up in the South--particularly NC, SC, and then back to TN. I attended college at a small liberal arts school in SC and then briefly lived in Austin, TX, for my master's. Hook'em Horns! After TX, I moved out to the Bay Area. It was my dream to get out of dodge (in this case, the South) to see something different, so I ventured west to San Francisco. I've been thrilled with the choice to move to California, but I concede there's still much of the U.S. that I have yet to see. Something that amazes me about the U.S. is that it is so expansive and diverse, yet ultimately comprises one nation.

In college, I got bitten by the travel bug during a semester abroad in Brussels, Belgium. Needless to say, I had a lot of fries and waffles while there. I like travel because of the sense of independence and adventure in experiencing new cities, food (especially salty food), new people, and beautiful scenery--whether it be the cliffs of the Irish coastal town of Howth, or the astounding architecture of The Getty in LA.

Here are but a few of my favorite travel memories:
1. I ended up shooting the breeze with a fellow passenger as our train from Amsterdam to Brussels was severely delayed.
2. Two college classmates and I were in the gardens of Versailles, milling about in a section that had some farmland and chickens being raised. One of my classmates became sick from a croque madame he had eaten the prior night, and the other classmate and I scrambled. We came across the on-site farmer/chicken raiser, and in our broken English and basic Spanish that we tried to co-opt for French, because, you know, romance languages, conveyed to the farmer what had happened. He promptly provided water to the sick classmate, and all was well. This was a great example of the kindness of humanity, even despite language barriers.
3. I went to London's Victoria and Albert Museum by myself. I grabbed a meal in the beautiful cafeteria, although "cafeteria" severely undersells the venue. Many people were visiting the museum that today, and not long after I sat down, a woman asked if she could share the table with me. I agreed, and soon I learned more about her life in Britain.

PHILOSOPHY

--#1 is the Golden Rule.
--When people show you who they are, believe them.
--Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hope to crash on some couches and eventually host as well. It's great to meet people from other communities.

Interessen

live music, food, friends, travel, laughing, swimming, yoga

• dining
• yoga
• reading
• traveling
• music
• live music
• swimming

Musik, Filme und Bücher

Music: Damien Rice, Glen Hansard/The Swell Season, Arctic Monkeys, Two Door Cinema Club, Ron Pope, Regina Spektor, Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver, Matt Nathanson, The Temper Trap. I have had the great fortune of seeing all of these musicians live at least once. I hope to go to Newport Folk Festival and Bonnaroo. I could talk about and listen to music for hours on end.

Movies: About a Boy. I'm surprisingly not too knowledgeable about movies.

TV: House (former show) and Daredevil on Netflix.

Books: I wouldn't say I have a favorite one, but I have started reading Hillbilly Elegy.

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

I rode a yellow cable car up to Montserrat Mountain outside of Barcelona. This was "amazing" mostly because the cable car has been in operation since the 1930s.

Lehren, lernen, teilen

I can teach you accounting and economics. I am also highly interested in budgeting and personal finance.

I'm happy attempt to discuss a wide range of topics, including the latest things put out by the WSJ, Buzzfeed, or The Atlantic. I can also provide many recommendations on what to do in San Francisco and Austin.

Was ich mit Gastgebern teilen kann

A smile, laughter, cleanliness, good communication, good conversation, a willingness to try new things, honesty

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

Belgium, United States