CURRENT MISSION

Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes

ABOUT ME

Funfact about me: I met my husband on this very site! Thanks couchsurfing!

Adjectives that describe me are : Openminded, curious, outspoken and fun-loving. My husband says I am a "bon vivant" or, a lover of life.
I try to maintain a "just-say-yes" attitude when it comes to new opportunities.

Growing up in Seattle has made me very conscious of social issues both in America and abroad. My high-school and college education included a lot of feminist and post-colonial studies, which I have found really interesting and eye-opening, however, life gets pretty heavy if you only think about the things that are wrong with the world so I make sure to take a step back every now and then and just enjoy.

My husband and I are vegetarian and really like experimenting with different recipes. We like showing our (meat-loving) families that you can make a delicious and satisfying meal without meat. We also love making filled cupcakes!

If I had to pick one word to describe myself, it would be "party-positive" :)

PHILOSOPHY

"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it" :) - Ferris Bueller

"I ain't here for a long time, I'm here for a good time" - George Strait

"Don't let your dreams be dreams" Jack Johnson

Also- making one bold move per week makes life a lot more interesting.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I think couch surfing really makes life more interesting. Its amazing how many interesting and wonderful people you can meet when you open yourself up to it.
I began couchsurfing as a surfer when I went to study abroad in France in 2012. I met my fiancé over there through couch surfing and the two of us traveled around Europe as surfers. He came with me back to Seattle and we got an apartment together which allowed me to start hosting. We will be moving into a bigger apartment in Seattle in the summer of 2014 and are excited to create an even better couchsurfing experience for our guests at that time.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first experience with couchsurfing was when I moved to Grenoble to go to school in January 2012. I wanted to have some contacts so that I would have people to go out with/show me around the city so I sent a few messages. The first week I met a couchsurfer at a bar with some other friends. We started going out regularly. Then we started traveling together on weekends. We moved in together in Chambéry and then he moved back to Seattle with me in Sept. 2012. We got engaged in January 2013 and we are moving to Guadeloupe in September 2013 for a teaching position that I got there.
In April 2012 we stayed with Clement in Montpellier for 2 nights which was fantastic. He was a great host and included us in all of his outings with his friends and brought us to the beach. I returned to Montpellier in June with my parents and went out for drinks with Clement. He's a great guy and is welcome on my couch anytime.
In July 2012 we met a really amazing guy from Brazil looking for the library downtown here in Chambéry. Turned out he was a couchsurfer on his way from Geneva to Italy on bicycle. He needed a place to stay so he stayed with us for two nights. I really enjoyed his company and am so glad to have met him.

Interests

Obviously I love to travel and meet new people. Some of my preferred activities include paddle boarding, playing cards, and dancing but I am generally game for anything. To me, the company is more important than the activity so if i'm with people I enjoy, it doesn't matter what we're doing.
I also recently started cooking... so far its going ok but I have a lot to learn. I really really enjoy it though and I wish I had started sooner. I never tried because people always told me I couldn't cook because I burnt eggo waffles in the toaster :-\

• dancing
• education
• cooking
• recipes
• vegetarian
• walking
• partying
• drinking
• traveling
• surfing
• scuba diving
• swimming
• teaching
• study abroad
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Big fan of movies.. really though, who doesn't like movies?
If I had to pick a genre I would say comedy but none of my top favorite movies are comedies.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fight Club
Garden State
About a Boy
Amelie
Love Actually
Eurotrip
Christmas Vacation

Books: have shamefully hardly done any reading in the last 6 months :-\
One of my favorites from last year however was The myth of Sisyphus by Camus. It is a challenge to keep a positive attitude while reading that book though.
I really enjoyed a lot of the reading I did for my philosophy classes... particularly liked Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.
Boethius- The consolation of philosophy
Also - The Poisonwood Bible, The Grapes of Wrath, The Red Tent, A Street Car Named Desire, Honeymoon in Tehran, Clash of Civilisations

Music... I like many genres. I'll listen to pretty much anything that doesn't risk internal ear dammage.

My all time favorite is Michael Jackson. I get passionate when discussing MJ.
Also really like golden oldies (50's-60's)
Big Death Cab for Cutie fan (im from seattle)
Minus the Bear
Explosions in the sky
Jack Johnson
Mumford and Sons
The Kooks
Joshua Radin
Muse
Bon Iver
Iron and Wine
The Postal Service
Kate Havnevik
Sigur Ros
Joshua James
The Shins
Regina Spektor
Nicki Minaj
Lil Wayne
Music you can dance to :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Scuba diving in a shipwreck off the island of Roatan (Honduras).

Riding camels in the Sahara desert and sleeping under the stars.

Swimming with dolphins in Tortola.

Teach, Learn, Share

Things im kind of good at but are not necessarily worthy of teaching...
Making mixed drinks
Driving
Doing makeup
Editing research papers
Walking..
Paddle Boarding
Playing cards (hearts, spades, cribbage, tripoley)
I would like to learn : German and Arabic and Spanish

How to cook something really complex (also how to chop quickly without cutting off my fingers)

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Martinique, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Guadeloupe, United States