CURRENT MISSION

Never get tired of one location, never be without a friend, never drink decaffeinated coffee.

ABOUT ME

I was born and raised in North Dakota, mostly Minot but moved to Grand Forks when I was 18 for college. I love to travel - have lived in Norway and seen much of Western Europe through road trips and random vacations. I am nearly done with my degree to become a historian and social studies teacher, love learning on my own and from others, have an unhealthy addiction to coffee, enjoy fine wine and tasty beer, never go out of my way to match my socks and recently made the "FREE HUGS" campaign a major part of my life.

I dislike dull moments, enjoy random encounters with friends and perfect strangers and hope to settle down with good friends while never really "settling down" in any one area.

PHILOSOPHY

I was told recently to "Live Life" by a good friend, who at the time of meeting her was so full of energy and enthusiasm that I would have thought she had just heard she was going to live forever. As a young teenager (I volunteer for leadership groups), she was told that she had a terminal birth defect - possibly with only months to live. The positive mental attitude that she had during that seminar was amazing, neigh, OUTSTANDING! If she can look at life and see a gleaming light in every corner, then I can too. I want to meet more people like her - because there are millions of amazing people in this world that have yet to be discovered.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

While I may be traveling away from "home," I am always willing to meet up with other travelers and experience the world together. My favorite experience in Europe was picking up a Canadian hitchhiker, traveling to Belgium with her and meeting up with an older Australian lady who sold everything to travel around the world for a year. Random encounters are a solid foundation for lifelong friends / acquaintances. I hope to be the "random encounter" for many people, and always doing my part to have a couch available when possible.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Best experiences thus far have been in Frankfurt, Munich, Luxembourg, Mosel River Valley (Germany) and Chicago.

Interests

Traveling, coffee, enthusiasm for life, music and socializing with others - I appreciate being around people who appreciate being around people.

• wine
• beer
• coffee
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• teaching
• history
• volunteering
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Magazine: 'Good Magazine'
Books: 1984, The Giver, anything by Dr. Seuss, etc.
Movies: I'm typically not picky. Shawshank Redemption, Back to the Future, Love Actually, Band of Brothers, EuroTrip, etc.

Teach, Learn, Share

My life revolves around being the executive director of a free clinic in North Dakota. The stories I hear everyday are sobering and the life lessons they teach are irreplaceable.

I love coffee, history, thinking, listening to music, meditating and being at peace - but I cannot do it alone (literally, I tend to need people with which I can share my time). I also love to write and discuss various ideas and topics.

I would love to learn how to be more independent while being more dependent (does that make sense? I didn't think so.)

I want to learn how to live life for the moment and how to appreciate loving friends more.

I can share my experiences, stories and most everything I have (including a cup of coffee).

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Norway, United States

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