I grew up in Washington state, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, a valley of flat farmland nestled between the North Cascade Mountains and the Salish Sea. I spent my time outside playing in fields, riding my bicycle, exploring the beach, boating around the San Juan Islands, and camping with my family. This established a huge sense of connection to the natural world, and to exploration, which has followed me into my adult life and out into the larger world. I have been travelling the past 5 years gaining a wealth of experience, personal growth, and opening my eyes and heart to the world. I love seeing new places, meeting new people, and living in the most authentic, passionate, and fulfilling way possible.

While I love exploring in a city, eating a delicious meal at a cafe, and maybe the occasional night out dancing, I really prefer the simpler things in life and would rather being camping or living in a car and exploring the national parks in the area. I find value from all sorts of experiences from big cities to the remote wilderness.

My education and past work experience has been focused in environmental education in which I have worked with mainly youth teaching them about sustainability, natural history, and establishing a strong connection to the environment. I have also worked as a trip leader for many different types of outdoor trips. I also have a strong background in theatre and music, and really enjoy the arts whether I am creating something, or experiencing someone else's creation. My main art forms right now fall into writing, photography, and playing music.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The best part about travelling are the people you meet. While I do enjoy meeting other travellers, I have found that many of my best experiences have been with locals. I'm not a tour group kind of gal, and I'm not fond of walking around with my nose stuck in a Lonely Planet. I would rather meet people from the area who can give me their insights, knowledge, and suggestions.

I absolutely love couch surfing and the community it creates! I've met some wonderful people so far, and had amazing times with hosts and other surfers. Looking forward to making new connections around the world, growing my global community, and hope to return the favour of hosting to others in the future!

Interests

Adventure and exploration. Travel. Being outside as much as possible, mainly in the mountains, but also in the woods, parks, desert, and beaches. I spend most of my time hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, cycling, mountaineering, skiing, and camping. I also practice yoga, and am an extremely active person who is always moving around doing lots of different types of exercise. I love music, singing, guitar, theatre, writing, photography, dancing, and any form of creative expression. I love eating and cooking. Nutrition and holistic health. Traditional ecological knowledge, edible and medical plants, natural history, sustainability.

• arts
• writing
• singing
• photography
• acting
• dancing
• education
• environment
• cooking
• exercise
• yoga
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• mountaineering
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skiing
• rock climbing
• teaching
• mountains
• nutrition

Music, Movies, and Books

The music list is long. Here are a "few" of my favourites:
Alt-J, Jose Gonzalez, Sufjan Stevens, Bonobo, Bon Iver, Iron and Wine, Tame Impala, Dr. Dog, Gregory Alan Isakov, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Pinback, Geographer, Menomena, Andrew Bird, Grizzly Bear, The Black Keys, Portugal. The Man, Feist, Fleet Foxes, Odesza, Sylvan Esso, Phantogram, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, The Antlers, Band Of Horses, Arcade Fire, The Beatles, Beck, Beirut, The Decemberists, Modest Mouse, Fleetwood Mac, Flume, Jeff Buckley, Jungle, LCD Soundsytem, My Morning Jacket, Nirvana, Peter Bjorn & John, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Real Estate, Silversun Pickups, The Shins, Tom Petty, Youth Lagoon, Oh Pep!

Some of my favorite screen time things: Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Pan's Labyrinth, No Country For Old Men, The Revenant, Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, Arrested Development, Sherlock, Orange Is The New Black, Broad City, Girls, Friends, Planet Earth.

Authors: David Sedaris, Ray Bradbury, John Muir, Walt Whitman, Edward Abbey, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Steinbeck.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One of the best experiences I've had was trekking in the Khumbu region of Nepal for a month. This was a self-led, independent trip doing the Three Passes and Everest Base Camp, spending 2+ weeks above 4,000 meters, crossing three passes above 5,000 m, including 3 peak summits, and seeing the most incredible landscape ever- the Himalayas! I was also there during the largest tragedy in Everest history when the avalanche fell in the Khumbu icefall. That was quite powerful to experience.
Some others: paragliding in the Himalayas, climbing a 6,150 m peak in India, motorbiking Vietnam for 1.5 months, acting in a Discovery Channel show, 10 day Vipassana silent meditation course.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to learn about hosts and their interests, stories, and what they know about where they live! I am happy to share about my interests, stories, and where I'm from/have travelled.

I love teaching, and am thrilled to share my knowledge of my hobbies/interest. Want to go rock climbing? Hiking? Learn some yoga poses? Cook something new? Pack a backpack like a pro? Learn some travel tips?

I would really love to learn how to surf, salsa dance, longboard, and do acro-yoga.

I also cook a lot of different healthy foods and treats, and make kombucha, sauerkraut, yogurt, and other ferments.

*I am gluten/dairy free but I am very used to working around this and can easily adjust meals to make it work for me, and I don't want it to be a concern of hosts. I can cook really tasty gluten/dairy free meals, or add that stuff in if you'd like!

What I Can Share with Hosts

A positive, friendly, laid-back attitude. Very tidy and respectful of space and others. Adventurous spirit. Engaging conversation. Many, many stories. Shared meals. Great advice for anywhere I've traveled. Song and dance. Happy to do my own thing, or make plans together.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, New Zealand, United States