CURRENT MISSION

Celebrate the Smells of Things

ABOUT ME

I am an empathetic, dynamic, and passionate person. I am invigorated by the very fact that I am alive, so I strive to live the most fulfilling life possible. I was born and raised in California, which I am sure has in some way contributed to the interested perspective I have towards the world. I treasure my friends, whom I depend on and work to maintain relationships with, and I highly value encounters with all people. I am privileged to have had a wide range of experiences in twenty one years: I have sung karaoke in Seoul, South Korea, I have bungee jumped from the world's highest bungee-jumping bridge in South Africa, I have eaten Turkish Delight in Istanbul, Turkey, I acquired my taste for beer in Bavaria, Germany, I have enjoyed chocolate in Belgium, I have walked for hours through Paris in the rain, I have talked about Astronomy and hashish in Copenhagen, Denmark, I have watched a cock fight in the Philippines, I have seen the rice fields of Bali, Indonesia, I was a captain of my high school (American) football team, I have vacationed at Disney World resort in Florida, I have trekked through Yosemite National Park in California, I am currently spending Michaelmas term at the University of Oxford, England, and more.

PHILOSOPHY

Live worthwhile whatever the circumstances; connect with people however I can; enjoy anyone who I can learn from/who values my humanness; be true to myself.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have only surfed thus far.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

With a close friend at my side, I surfed in Turkey, Germany, Hungary, Philippines, and Indonesia.

Interests

I strive to be interested in whatever proximity presents! I am also interested in peoples' experiences, literature, romanticism, food, authorship, film, and politics (though I am absolutely novice). I intend to pursue psychology post-graduation.

• literature
• dining
• breakfast
• chocolate
• beer
• coffee
• dieting
• drinking
• politics
• drawing
• karaoke
• bungee jumping
• skateboarding
• soccer
• swimming
• astronomy
• psychology
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

Films: The Breakfast Club, Dead Poet's Society, Donnie Darko, Ferris Bueller's Day off, Pride & Prejudice, Pulp Fiction. I love films that deal with love and teenage angst.

Music: Regina Spektor, Ben Gibbard, Kid Cudi, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind, Alt J. I appreciate most melancholy music.

Books: Pride & Prejudice, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Fight Club, Falling Up, A Severe Mercy. I have yet to read my favorite book.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

While hitchhiking from Istanbul, Turkey to Thessaloniki, Greece, my friends and I found ourselves in the small Turkish border town, Ipsala. We met a group of guys our age who let us stay in their flat for the night before we continued on into Greece the next day. They spoke hardly any English (we did not know any Turkish, either). There were eight of us cramped into one room; we were smoking cigarettes, drinking Coke and Turkish Tea, eating bow-tie pasta drenched in Mayonnaise and ketchup (all they could afford), laughing, and drawing pictures of each other until three in the morning. We slept on their living-room floor in our sleeping bags. When we woke up and had to leave, they bought us breakfast and snacks for the road and then walked us a mile to the highway. This was an account of "good people" and cultural integration that I will cherish in memory forever.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can make great coffee, I can swim, I can write/edit (in English), I can ride and fix a bicycle, I can be a friend, I can ride a skateboard, I can prescribe a healthy diet, I know a bit about the Eurail train system, etc., etc.

I want to learn how to speak Deutsch and/or Dutch and how to change the oil in a car.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mozambique, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Africa, United Kingdom, United States

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