Hello I'm Dakota.
I am an open minded person who loves hearing new perspectives and hearing others stories. I'm caring and love to see others smiling and laughing. I used to be a big social butterfly and would be chatting with everyone. These days I find myself enjoying more in depth conversations, so I've been kind of coining the phrases/actions of car/couch/beach/tube chats. Basically anywhere a couple/few people can sit down and have nice long chats.
You'll probably hear me talking about something new I've been reading about or some odd thing thats crossed my mind. My interests are vast, so its a rare thing when I won't have something to contribute.
I try to cultivate a child like curiosity in regards to other cultures and even languages. I'm in the process of learning Spanish with my girlfriend, and as of lately I've had this strong desire to learn Russian too. I've taken a peak at it, unfortunately I don't know any native speakers of Russian to practice or call about the intricacies of the language.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am on here to meet new friends, expand my family worldwide. I love the idea of locals showing me what makes their cities special, places that only the locals know about. I want to try that dish in your city that will make me want to come back of for nothing else but that dish. I want a genuine experience of your city, not just the touristy areas of the city.
Please show me restuarants, parks, views, activities and parties/events that are unique to your city.
Before, after and/or during I would love to have some chats with you too. To hear about your story, your experiences, and your lessons you've learned.
I am an open book and want to share my story with you too.

Interests

I'm a big fan of chats, car chats, chair chats, walking chats haha basically anytime to chat. About what you ask? Well. Everything. Nothing. Anything. All would be accurate. Things like what scares you, what you think life on another planet might look like, what you would do if you had a million dollars, what you dreamed of as a child to grow up into, what music makes you move your body and what music moves your heart, most embarassing and triumphant moments, you know the kind of things that really make you, you.
I love to listen, I remember some advice my late grandpa said to me when I was real young; "You have 2 ears and 1 mouth, you should always listen twice as often as you speak."
I read everyday, often some type of 'self-improvement' article or book. I do read fantasy novels too when I've overwhelmed my mind with too much new information.
Recently I have discovered that I really enjoy board games, when I was young I couldn't sit long enough to play them then.
I really like exploring. Anywhere. Seeing waterfalls, rivers, trails and bridges. Found a couple hot springs and heard of a few others we really like to check out too.
Please ask me more about what you would like to know about me, before I end up writing a novel here :)

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: all of it. Well almost. I tend to listen to a lot of rock, blues, latin and classical. I do enjoy most musics and love to hear about new artists, so please share your favorite artists and I'll do the same :)
Books: well I hope to one day write my own novels, right now though I live vicariously through my favorite authors; Brent Weeks, Brandon Sanderson, Raymond Khoury, Dan Brown, Ted Dekker, Anne Rice, Alexandre Dumas, Dale Carnegie, Stephen Covey to name a few. Again if you've read anything in the fantasy genre or in the self-development areas please share it with me, I am very interested. Any other genre I am happy to give it a shot, I just hope I don't offend you if its something I don't have that impulse to read. I trust my gut about books I've read and turns out I have never read a bad book ;)
Movies: well I used to be a movie junkie when I was young. Which allows me to remember obscure quotes and references that you will catch me giggling about time to time. I am always up for a good movie or even a movie marathon of a series or genre. Once did a horror movie marathon over a weekend at my place years ago, 3 days non stop of classic slasher films like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on elm street, Scream, Hellraiser and all of their sequels.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have some pretty incredible stories to tell you, some I wouldn't believe if I hadn't lived through them personally.
Although for someone my age, I think the fact I've exceded a million kilometers between road trips and driving around for car chats is pretty awesome. Have some amazing memories of trips across country with friends and family and even solo a couple times. Maybe one day you could join me

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: well I am pretty handy around the house, so there's probably something I could show you if you happen to wonder. I have been told by friends and family that I possess a large quantity of weird and interesting facts/theories/stories. I've read thousands of quotes by now, and I have a freakishly good memory of tv shows and movies and often quote them in my conversations. Watch for those little pieces ;)
Learn: I would like to learn about your culture. Your faith/religion/spirituality. I want to learn about your cultural foods or foods influenced by you and your experiences. And if you speak Spanish or Russian I would really appreciate any help, tips and practice you can aid me in.
Share: I have many stories from my life that I draw many lessons from, and I find it useful to share them when someone is looking for advice, or even just some laughs :) I like to cook on occasion, and know a few great dishes I like to show others - some are quite bizarre just to warn you. And of course I would love to share a pot of tea.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Some practice with English/Spanish hopefully Russian too someday. I can make you dinner with whatever is in your kitchen, I somehow have a knack for throwing food together and it coming out pretty good.
My ear, and endless conversational ability lol I have some writings I've written that I could share if you're interested in poetry.
I am a hoot for group gatherings and usually can keep the group energy up and laughing.
Random outbursts of off key singing when a song I know comes on the radio. Fellow board game player and video game player too.
I don't drink much anymore these days, but I do know some great cocktails and wines to check out. I'll be happy to share a drink or two with you as well.
I am sure that there is so much more I can offer and what you should really keep in mind about me is I am flexible, non judgy and willing to try just about anything.

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Canada, Cuba, Cyprus, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Afghanistan, Canada, United States