I'm a solo female traveler from Orange County, California who loves meeting new people and sharing travel stories. I'm passionate about traveling and taking risks, which is why I've lived and worked in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Thailand in the past two years.

In a nutshell, I'm a huge adrenaline junkie (I've bungy jumped five times) and absolutely love nature and anything in the outdoors. I'm rarely indoors since I believe that spending time outdoors is healthiest for the heart.

I'm an outgoing and bubbly person who doesn't drink or party. Instead, I love meeting new people and exploring all various parts of a new country - I'm the type of person who will wake up at 7a.m. and return at 11p.m. after a long, adventurous day of walking around to see various things without any planning. I'm really independent and have never traveled with anyone since I prefer doing what makes me happiest.

I'm a very energetic person and I love discovering new cultures and food. I'm also very neat and tidy, but I'm used to shared communal spaces (i.e. hostels). I'm very respectful of others' space. I also write a personal blog, which is pretty indicative of the type of person I am:

www.debbishibuya.com

Some call me crazy, and others say I'm following my heart - but I'm planning to be based in Sydney, AUS with a desire to be sponsored to live there permanently. One can hope!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet intriguing people like YOU who share a similar zest for life and to learn more about your beautiful home country!

Interests

Outdoor/sports-related: I love trekking, adrenaline activities (bungy jumping, skydiving, glacier climbing, paragliding, etc.), camping, swimming, surfing, diving.

I absolutely love all animals (I think Australia and New Zealand have the cutest critters in the world) and could happily spend the day at a zoo or animal sanctuary.

Other hobbies of mine include decorating, reading, discovering new bands, going to music concerts, and anything art-related.

• animals
• arts
• make up
• concerts
• dining
• cooking
• walking
• partying
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• coding
• music
• guitar
• piano
• outdoor activities
• camping
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skydiving
• sports
• rock climbing
• paragliding
• swimming
• archery

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII) - favorite movie of all time (because I saw it four times in the cinema, even once in 4DX). All Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit films; The Theory of Everything; The Great Gatsby (2013); Ratatouille; Up; Gone Girl; What We Do in the Shadows

Music: I like a wide variety of stuff (acoustic/singer-songwriter, rock, electronic, pop, coffeehouse - all dependent on my mood). My favorites include Foo Fighters, Muse, Kina Grannis, Megan Davies, Coldplay, Daniela Andrade, Sufjan Stevens, Zedd, Kaskade, Taylor Swift (duh).

Books: Gone Girl, Wild, all Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings books, The Royal We

TV: I haven't watched TV in about 5 years (seriously), and I don't even have Netflix. I prefer living in the moment while traveling rather than watching a screen. Some of my old favorites include Flight of the Conchords, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and Friends. Basically, any comedy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've bungy jumped 5 times (2 of which were backwards), went skydiving in Santa Barbara, went paragliding in New Zealand, dove the Great Barrier Reef, ziplined in Hawaii, luged through Queenstown, and legit jungle camped in Thailand.

I probably haven't done half as many cool things as you, but I live my life freely and happily. :)

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a novice at Japanese - I lived in Japan for awhile and brushed up on my skills and then forgot most of it again (such a shame). My goal is to be fluent in Japanese eventually, especially since I'm Japanese-American.

I'm open to learning anything new and challenging! I'd love to learn how to play the guitar and ukulele, piano, coding, archery, and properly DJ.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A big smile, a decent sense of humor, nerd stories (Comic-Con, meeting all the Hobbits and the Harry Potter trio in real life, etc.), and travel stories. I'm also great at doing dishes (to make up for my nonexistent cooking skills).

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, United States