CURRENT MISSION

Visit family and friends in France and explore as many European countries and cultures as possible while discovering the stinkiest (hence in my opinion, also the best!!!) cheeses!!

ABOUT ME

I love to travel, I love good food, and I get really excited about these two things! I'm half French and am currently on hiatus from my life in Seattle to visit family in France and WWOOF in a few European countries; which works well as it combines two of my biggest passions! Running is another top passion (especially in new places, it's one of my favorite ways to discover and explore). I love to do pretty much anything active, especially endurance sports, but stricly on a recreational level.

I also love chatting with interesting people, exchanging ideas and opinions and learning about different cultures and people's experiences - there are so many inspiring people in the world, I find it fantastic to have the opportunity to share stories and ideas.

My parents call me a health nut, but I think 'health conscious' is more appropriate =) I majored in Health and Exercise science, I find human anatomy, physiology and exercise physiology FASCINATING, and I was a personal trainer for three and a half years, a job I truly loved.

I am obsessed with food. =) I want to know more about where our food comes from and how to grow my own food (part of this whole European adventure!) I'm concerned with the mass, industrial processing of the majority of our food today, and want to help reverse that trend. I am a lover of garlic and firm believer in at least tripling the amount of garlic any recipe calls for. I find chopping veggies to be a stress relief. I also find running to be a stress relief and one of my all time favorite things is running in the rain through cute neighborhoods.

I have very much enjoyed and am very much looking forward to the rest of this upcoming two-years of travel, family, good food, adventure and running through unexplored territory!!

PHILOSOPHY

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." I have always loved this quote, and as cheesy as it sounds; I love the philosophy of living life to the fullest, and having no regrets.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Currently, I can participate in the CS community by exchanging cultural experiences when visiting other hosts and at CS events. I unfortunately can't host anybody for the next two years as I will not have a fixed address during my "sabbatical" from Seatle, but very much look forward to hosting people in Seattle once I have a home there again. It's such a fantastic city, I'm really excited to be able to show visitors all of the amazing things there are to do around Seattle.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My experiences in the world of CS are solely due to a fabulous friend who is a veteran and initiated me to the CS community in Lille, France in July 2012. I had such a phenomenal experience, I signed up right away! The two hosts we had in Lille were truly amazing. They were incredibly generous with their time, advice, food and wine. I could not have asked for a better experience. I loved the discussions we had late into the night, and all of the suggestions of places to visit in and around Lille. These two CS experiences were incredibly culturally rich, and I can't wait for many more!

Interests

Running and eating top my list of favorites!! When I'm traveling, I love exploring new places by foot, starting my day with a run, then walking as much of the city as possible, discovering hidden alleys and the non-touristy corners of the city. When rental bikes are available, that is another favorite. Trying the local food is one of the most delightful parts of traveling, and if there is a specific cheese for a region, that is an extra bonus!

Other things that make life engaging include reading, teaching group fitness classes, taking pictures, talking with friends and family, star gazing and COOKING. In fact, during my Seattle hiatus I won't have a kitchen to cook meals for myself for 24 months, I've come to realize that it might just be the most difficult part of this trip. I'm on serious cooking withdrawal right now (which started about 2 months in), and it's now been over a year. I think it goes hand in hand with my love of quality foods, but I love to experiment in the kitchen.

I hate being sedentary (especially in front of a computer), technology that doesn't cooperate with me, stereotypes, and close-minded people.

I want to live my life to the fullest every day and aim to end with no regrets.

• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• wine
• cheese
• fitness
• exercise
• running
• walking
• technology
• reading
• traveling
• sports
• anatomy
• history
• science
• wwoof

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Super Troopers, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Garden State, We Bought a Zoo, Steel Magnolias, Green Mile.

Music: Adele, Florence and the Machine, Bon Iver, Josh Garrels, Nick Drummond and Tyler Carson, Regina Spektor, Basically any folk/bluegrass.

Books: Fast Food Nation, Omnivore's Dilemma, Animal Vegetable Miracle, Poisonwood Bible, Born to Run, Mountains Beyond Mountains, The Book Thief, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making us Sicker and Poorer

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One of my all time favorite experiences was black water rafting in New Zealand! It was exhilarating in every possible way, every step of the way. From rapelling into the underground caves to floating down the underground river with so many glow worms on the ceiling, it felt like a spectacular sky of stars. Unforgettable.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love this idea! I'd love to share knowledge about human anatomy, exercise physiology, exercise, nutrition and cooking.

I'd also love to learn different recipes and ways to cook. The more I can learn about growing my own food, the happier I will be!

I'd also love to learn more about the history of a country I am visiting. I have a terrible time retaining things I read, and do better in discussion.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Fiji, France, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States

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