CURRENT MISSION

To live in the moment and learn all that I can from traveling

ABOUT ME

I love interacting with people and learning new things. I value the experience of finding myself outside of my comfort zone - it challenges my little bubble and expands my perspective. I enjoy a good philosophical discussion. I try not to take myself too seriously. I love to smile and laugh and to have others join in. I strive to live my truth.

PHILOSOPHY

Impermanence is inescapable and the only way to find peace is to live in the moment. I strive to be honest with myself and sincere with others. Living a full life is a beautiful challenge, and it's pretty awesome (even when it's not).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My housing situation has kept me from hosting, although I'd love to do it some day.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm still a novice, with only one CS experience, but it was wonderful and I'm looking forward to more!

Interests

I love being outside and in the mountains, climbing, hiking, or skiing. I'm into partner dancing (zouk, fusion, bachata, tango, etc), board games, cooking, good beer/wine/coffee, silly jokes, and studying psychology. When I ultimately find a "real" job, I really want to contribute to promoting sustainable lifestyles for humanity.

• dancing
• tango
• bachata
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• running
• board games
• traveling
• hiking
• skiing
• rock climbing
• engineering
• physics
• psychology
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: folk, rock, salsa, bachata, zouk, bhangra, pop
Movies: Cloud Atlas, Princess Bride, Mamma Mia, Willow, Serenity, Anchorman
Books: Ishmael, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, The Life of Pi, The Wise Heart, The Count of Monte Cristo, Hunger Games Trilogy, Game of Thrones

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I climbed Mt. Rainier, a 14,411ft (4392m) volcano in Washington state, and skied down her. The skiing wasn't fantastic, but the overall experience certainly was.

The prompt asks for one thing, but I have to include my more frequent favorite things: sunrises and sunsets in the mountains (mostly in the Cascades in Washington, but in S America now as well).

Teach, Learn, Share

I have an MS in chemical engineering, so I know random facts about how the physical world works... ever wondered why planes have to take off in 15 minute intervals? I could give you a run-down on some physics. In grad school, I studied materials for photovoltaics, so I'm happy to talk about solar cells and renewable energy, as well.

I speak functional German and fluent English, but I would really like to learn Spanish.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, Netherlands, Peru, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States