CURRENT MISSION

Collect moments of awe.

ABOUT ME

I'm a down to earth daydreamer who spends a lot of time with kids and a lot of time lost in her own thoughts. I've been told repeatedly, even by strangers, that I'm an old soul.

I love to hear other people's stories and observe what's going on around me. I might be a bit quiet, but if people seem interested, I'm open and more than willing to share my thoughts and stories.

I'd be just about as excited to spend the day hiking as I would be to stay in 'jammers and have a movie marathon. I'm not hard to please.

I'm a vegetarian, but I'm plenty happy to eat with omnivores or raw vegans.

I haven't traveled outside of the US much at all, but I'm working on an internship in Toliara, Madagascar now and looking forward to seeing much more of the world.

PHILOSOPHY

I try to remember that things always seem to work out, not to stress too much, and that there are many sides to every story. Mostly, I just try to go with the flow.

I also try to live kindly and help those around me in any way I can.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For now I'm traveling and have no couch to offer, so I'm just the surfer for now.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm traveling around Madagascar and Reunion Island and staying with couchsurfing hosts. It's the greatest! Traveling solo is so much better when you can meet all sorts of people with different knowledge of the area. It's so much fun and I am learning so much from all of these amazing people. Clearly I'm a big fan!

Interests

I lose track of time in the kitchen and will often find myself up at 2am with a tray of cupcakes, trying to get the frosting right.

I love fiction and can happily spend hours reading picture books with kids.

I generally flit around from hobby to hobby, but I've found myself returning to collage, watercolor, creative writing, and the kitchen.

Growing up as the daughter of a wildlife biologist, I'm quite comfortable in the outdoors and enjoy backpacking, camping, swimming, and exploratory day-hikes. I can't say that I'm a great canoe-er though; I've never quite gotten the hang of that.

As for school and a career, I love psychology and children, so I'm working towards a degree in educational psychology. Originally I was looking at conservation biology or maybe some sort of engineering, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

• wildlife
• fish
• writing
• books
• dining
• cooking
• vegetarian
• vegan
• marathon
• working out
• reading
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• fishing
• hiking
• backpacking
• canoeing
• camping
• track and field
• swimming
• biology
• teaching
• engineering
• languages
• law
• psychology

Music, Movies, and Books

Oh, geez, this could be quite a list.

I'll listen to Motown as I cook, new-age as I read, and dubstep as I study.

I love watching anything from Buster Keaton to Japanese horror, animated children's movies or heartbreaking romances. I'm a sucker for father/son stories.

I'll read picture books; non-fiction on psychology, spirituality, cooking, travel; and books about worlds that don't exist or people who speak to the dead. Again, not hard to please.

I'm always open to suggestions as well!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The first thing that comes to mind is, for some reason, watching a fish catch a bat out of the air and drag her into the water. She eventually escaped, but it was quite a show.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm always happy to cook a meal or bake a treat for anyone. I really don't know how to cook meat, but I've learned plenty of ways to make satisfying and tasty meals with out it. I've also cooked plenty of vegan and/or gluten-free food.

I also have experience as a teacher's helper in a preschool, as a guidance counselor's helper in a primary school, as a middle-school camp counselor, and as a nanny for kids as young as four months old, so I'd be more than happy to help out with childcare.

If anyone wants to practice English, I'm here for that too. I'm pretty embarrassed about my apparent inability to pick up other languages, but I'm trying!