I was raised in the California High Desert, studied sculpture in college and did the art scene in Los Angeles, then became a litigation paralegal for about 7 years. In 2015 I quit my job, sold and donated everything I owned, and bought a one-way ticket to İstanbul. From there I hitchhiked and backpacked 22 countries. Between 2016 and 2017 I lived in both Poland and Ukraine, then spent some time in Australia before returning to California for the summer. I saved up some money, went to Spain to search for my grandmother's long lost family (which I was successful in finding), then spent a couple years down in South America and lived in Peru.

NOTE: I have done quite a bit of hosting but most of the surfers came in through my ex-boyfriend's profile and they left him the references.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The people of course (=

Interests

I love surfing, diving, harpoon fishing, camping, hiking, music festivals (old school raver), hip-hop, star gazing, astronomy, books, board games, card games, cemeteries, graffiti, museums

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm a real audiophile and listen to just about anything I think sounds good but I especially like hip-hop and electronic

Amon Tobin, Run the Jewels, Bonobo, Portishead, Tom Waits, The Beastie Boys, Beethoven, Blockhead, Die Antwoord, Gesaffelstein, Nina Simone, Dropkick Murphys, Max Richter, Lovage, Gorillaz, Sublime, Kid Koala, Cocorosie, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Dubioza Kolektiv, Flogging Molly, Blumio, Vivaldi, King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizzard

Books, pretty much anything by John Steinbeck and Thomas Pynchon

This Book is Full of Spiders, A People's History of the United States, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Oh! The Places You’ll Go!, The Little Prince, Dubliners, Ender’s Game, The Doors of Perception, To Kill a Mockingbird, True History of the Kelly Gang, Heart of Darkness, Typhoon, Between the World and Me, Hitchhiker's Guide Series, Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook

I like film the same as I do music. I'm really open to a lot and appreciate a good film. I especially like sci-fi, foreign films, and documentaries (everything by David Attenborough)

Amelie, Leon, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, Waltz with Bashir, Unforgiven, 2001, In the Mood for Love, 2046, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Akira, Fight Club, Once Upon a Time in the West, Grand Budapest, Eastern Promises, Particle Fever, Shaun of the Dead, Godfather I & II, Hero, La Femme Nikita, Train to Busan, Planet Earth I & II

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Before I left the country to travel my grandmother made me promise her that I would go to Spain and find her long lost family before she died. Her father was from Almeria, Andalucia in southern Spain and arrived at Ellis Island in January of 1920 when he was 19 years old. He never saw or contacted his family again and died of cancer when he was 65.

I went to Almeria and stayed with a wonderful couple in Huercal-Olvera, the city my great grandfather was from. Armed with his birth certificate, my grandmother's, my dad's, and mine, I spent a month working with a clerk at the Admissions Office at the court house, visiting libraries and looking through newspaper and phone record archives, meeting with a local archivist and searching voting and miscellaneous archives, visiting cemeteries and ghost towns, and searching through baptism records in century old books with padres at churches and cathedrals. My second to last day I found the names of 3 cousins of my dad's generation and 1 of them happened to own his own construction business up in Barcelona so his phone number was available online. I called him up and explained who I was and verified with him my knowledge of his birth certificate, his mother's, and his grandmother's - the sister of my great grandfather. He called his sister to let her know, then called me back to let me know that she still lived in Huercal-Overa. She then called me and we arranged to meet. That night I met her, her mother, and her daughter. We had dinner together and went over all the documents and photos I had, and exchanged WhatsApp information. She later had a videochat with my dad and grandmother.

The next day I hopped on a bus to Madrid and flew to Warsaw to visit some friends. Not much I've done in my life compares to this adventure and accomplishment. I felt like I was in a movie. It was incredible.

Teach, Learn, Share

Humans. I love humans. Teach me how you live. Share with me traditions, music, literature, folklore, history, government, politics - all of it! Tell me about your family and where they came from, your experiences, your favorite places, your philosophies, your dreams.

What I Can Share with Hosts

_Anything_ that I can as an expression of my gratitude to you for sharing your home with me <3

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

Peru, Poland, Ukraine, United States