My name is Ethen Schoen, i'm 21 years old and am from a small town in West-Central Wisconsin named Fall Creek. I enjoyed living in the country and being from a small town because everybody got to know each other and be friends throughout school. It made playing sports and having class together every day very fun. I played football and ran track in high school. I went on to the University of Wisconsin-Stout where I am an applied science major with a minor in coaching. I would love to coach some day, preferably at the high school level. I like working with high school kids because they see so much improvement over the course of the year and over the course of their time in high school. I like helping them learn the sport of track and help them improve themselves not only in the sport but as citizens of the world. I myself am in track at UW-Stout where I compete in the multi events. The 7 event Heptathlon indoor, and the 10 event Decathlon outdoor. I am a two time national champion, once in the Hep and once in the Dec. Those were great experiences that I will remember forever. Outside of sports, I would like to pursue a career in forestry or wildlife biology. I have a great love of the outdoors and would like to preserve the Earth that I love so myself and others can enjoy it for years to come. I love hunting, fishing, kayaking, geocaching; basically anything outdoors. I love to travel, I was not able to travel much in my early life which is why i'm probably so fascinated with the world outside of my home now! My family never really had the money for it or the time. My parents were farmers until they decided it was not worth it anymore and gave up the family farm that had been in the family for many years. I never traveled outside of Minnesota or Wisconsin until my Freshman year of college which seems crazy to me now. My first travel experience was a trip for a track meet in Atlanta, Georgia. I was instantly hooked. I love exploring new areas which I really got to do when I went to the Olympic track trials in Eugene, Oregon. I want to explore the world and meet new people.

On a more personal level I guess, I love my family, family is very important to me. My Mom and Dad are great hardworking people that I hope to be like. I have two siblings, a brother and a sister, that I love and wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I have two cats, Buzz and Kitty (really original, I know). I like dogs and cats, or any other pet for that matter, except snakes. I'm not sold on snakes yet. Anyway, I would like to think i'm a pretty typical person outside of my thick midwestern accent (that I know I don't have!) to anybody not from the midwest.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am on couchsurfing because It it a unique opportunity to travel the country and world. On a college budget it is appealing because obviously hotels get expensive. It is a great opportunity to get a better idea of what an area is like, hotels are dime a dozen but the opportunity to meet people in an area and share stories and be fortunate enough to be invited into their homes really lets you get a sense of what a place is like. I enjoy learning about the cultures of areas and exploring those new areas. As long as everybody remains open minded and respectful of each other I think that couchsurfing is a great idea for travelers.

Interests

• fishing
• hiking
• kayaking
• hunting
• exploring new places
• geocaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite type of music: Classic Rock, Country
Favorite Movies: Saving Private Ryan, The Revenant, Castaway
Favorite Book: Hatchet

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Travel to Eugene, Oregon to watch the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. I explored the Badlands, camped in the Black Hills, climbed Independence Rock, saw Crazyhorse and Mt. Rushmore, camped at Yellowstone, saw the Grand Teton Mountains, saw a waterfall and drove along the Columbia River are some of the amazing things that I saw while on the trip

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share stories about my life, my travels, my home state and area. Anything that a host may be curious about basically. I can share a meal, I would be more than happy to cook a meal while being hosted. Hopefully I could share a positive experience with the host.