I just finished studying and now I'm travelling around the US and Canada trying to figure out what to do. I'd like to make the world better but it's hard to know where to start. Ideas? I'm trying to learn to be useful.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I guess everybody here likes making friends in the world... I'm here to grow, too. I was a pretty shy kid very recently but I've been learning, and I'd love to host when I'm back home in New Zealand.

Interests

Art stuff - writing, films, comics & photography - and queer politics, intersectional feminism, social justice generally. Cooking (veggies). I like running off of the road and swimming in the ocean. I grew up sailing too and these days I do yoga.

• arts
• writing
• photography
• womens rights
• cooking
• vegetarian
• yoga
• running
• gardening
• politics
• comics
• movies
• traveling
• sailing
• swimming
• ecology
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Always evolving and I'm not great at lists... Currently I am reading 'America, Day by Day' by Simone de Beauvoir, which has been a beautiful friend to have on the road. I love films by Jane Campion and Sofia Coppola - films that are very slow and "boring" so you can just sit quietly with the characters. I love angsty YA lit and carry 'Sister Outsider' by Audre Lorde everywhere.

Music is also hard to list about. The National is probably no.1. I like lots of grungy women - Angel Olsen, St Vincent, Neko Case, Sharon von Etten, Courtney Barnett. The other day in Berkeley me and a friend I met through CS got to listen to Beirut play from up on the hill above the Greek Theatre and watch the sun set over San Francisco. That was pretty cool.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm trying to upskill as a person and thinker so I want to learn about your grievances, experiences, opinions, the things you love or hate or believe or think about your place.

I can show you how to make english scones like my dad, who's a master, or share stories about New Zealand history or ecology or Maori politics if you're interested in the south pacific for some reason. or feminist/queer/intersectional theory because I'm very geeky about that. A bit about gardening, how to fix a flat tyre on a bicycle, how to swim well. Actually I can think of a lot more things, which is nice to know - let's talk!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Solid repertoire of Indian & South East Asian (vegetarian) cooking. I'll be a little shy at first, but once I'm over that, rambling conversations about anything

I'm a good cleaner - happy to make your kitchen/bathroom/whatever sparkly in exchange for couch :) I'm also quite self-contained. Tidy, have a towel, sleeping bag, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, New Zealand