CURRENT MISSION

To offer a helping hand in whatever country I find myself.

ABOUT ME

I am a girl from a small cowboy town who's looking to live a life dedicated to helping others in my community and around the world. I see my life as a journey and right now I'm currently at the "get yourself educated and help, laugh, and love along the way" part. I'm a student at University of California San Diego, though I'm currently studying abroad in Lyon, France at Sciences Po and l'Université de Lyon II. I'm hoping to someday work for an international non-profit organization as a project overseer, though I'm open to whatever gets thrown my way, I'm just following where my passions pull me really.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is a journey - it's all about where you end up, it's also about how you're getting there and what you're learning along the way. What's more, I believe that life is a beautiful thing not only for its ups but for its downs, because those are what really shape us as people. I love hearing life stories and I believe that everyone has an amazing one to share.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

So far I've only been able to do the surfing part, because I'm studying abroad and staying with a host family. I've loved it so far, and hope to return the favor once I'm back in the States where I can offer my couch to fellow CouchSurfers.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far I've had one CouchSurfing experience and it was AWESOME!!!! I stayed at my new friend Erwan's apartment in Paris for three days and it was hands down my favorite short-term travelling experience thus far. This guy was an awesome, helpful, generous host who was always there for me and my friends, and he lives in a great location and was always up to have fun with us and show us around. Amazing. I love CouchSurfing!

Interests

I love to sing jazz, speak foreign languages, explore different cultures, draw portraits, paint, eat food, laugh till I cry, hike in pretty green places, look at creation, and take photos of just about everything I see in my travels or even regular life.

• singing
• dining
• recipes
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• jazz
• hiking
• surfing
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I am obsessed with The Office. Obsessed.

I love jazz music - old jazz. Ella Fitzgerald is my hero. Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong are my life-long pals. On the other hand, I love love love Lady Gaga. So there you go. I like listening to jazz, pop, hip-hop, indie, classical, opera, latino music, and much more. Just not country, basically. Though I have a history of singing folk music with my family and enjoying it.

I love reading biographies of people who have survived wars or other endeavors and have turned the world into a better place afterwards. For example, The Translater. Great autobiography of a Lost Boy who is now doing HUGE things for his people and for the world in general.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Well the most recent amazing thing I've done lately I think was that I had a photograph that I took of a riot in Lyon, France featured on CNN WORLD's main website on October 20, 2010.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm happy to teach anyone any of the languages I know: English, Spanish, French, and a teeny bit of Arabic.

I love to bake and would be happy to share some of my favorite recipes with anyone who'd like to take a shot at making some yummy food.

I'm an artist - I love to draw, and I love teaching others to draw as well!

I'd like to learn how to communicate in more languages, or just how to further communicate in the languages which I am studying. I can't get enough of the puzzle of a new language!!!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, France, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States