CURRENT MISSION

to stop spending so much time indoors

ABOUT ME

I'm a curious person. I like to meet people, see new things, try new things, but I'm also an introvert. I go with the flow, try not to get worked up about anything. I used to be insanely shy, a characteristic I have almost successfully expelled. CS is helping with that.

I'm always planning and daydreaming about the fantastic things I plan to do and see someday. I'm also a horrible procrastinator, but I'm working on fixing that too. I always carry a day-planner.

PHILOSOPHY

You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.
- C. S. Lewis

People want to know why I do this, why I write such gross stuff. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy... and I keep it in a jar on my desk.
- Stephen King

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can't offer a couch, but I'm more than willing to meet for coffee, ice-cream, bubble tea, nachos, drinks or sushi (a small list of my favorite things)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I haven't had the pleasure of being hosted before, but I'm hoping to change that this summer while in England! However, in Calgary I've met some really awesome travellers as well as fellow CS members who participate in the city.

Interests

I love to read! Anything from a six-book fantasy series to a short piece of non-fiction. I also love to write. I love writing essays, particularly on literature, but also fiction. I'm working on my short-story writing skills, since I find it really hard to keep my word count low. I also like journalism, writing articles and talking to people :)

I also enjoy photography, music, camping, hiking, coffee, learning about culture, religion, history, philosophy & Spanish. I love walks with my dogs, meeting new people, Thai food & sushi, biking, theatre, collecting books & knitting (when I do it).

• animals
• dogs
• farm animals
• culture
• writing
• books
• literature
• photography
• dining
• beer
• coffee
• drinking
• socializing
• knitting
• painting
• music
• piano
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• history
• journalism
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Best books ever: A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry; Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell; Barney's Version - Mordecai Richler; Half-Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan; Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali; Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte; Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett; Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson; Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin; Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkein; Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling The Dark Tower - Stephen King; Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood....

I don't really watch movies anymore, which is why (if I do) I stick to the classics - Indiana Jones & Back to the Future. Lord of the Rings. Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, The Sound of Music. The Sopranos, Seinfeld, Star Trek. Anything Shakespeare.

My music interests range - The Beatles, Elton John, Keane, Amy Winehouse, Fleet Foxes Ray LaMontagne, Mumford and Sons, Kaiser Chiefs, Simon and Garfunkle, Cee Lo Green, Dean Martin, David Bowie.
Anything mellow or folksy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

1) Week-long homestay with a Karen hilltribe in Northern Thailand. We helped them paint their local school. Staying with the family was amazing - the best food I've ever had in my life, hands down. We spent our last night hanging with our host (who couldn't speak a word of English), sharing Chang beer and playing with his grandchildren.

2) Teaching the monks in Chiang Rai, Thailand. I had such an amazing time talking to a monk about life in Calgary. He couldn't comprehend how it could get to -40 degrees, how every building has a door, and we don't have farm animals roaming the streets. It was a very eye-opening discussion.

3) 12 hour ride on a local bus from Varanasi, India to the Nepali boarder. That was the longest ride of my life, the hottest, the dirtiest - just plain painful - and yet I can't help but look back on it fondly. The memory perfectly encapsulates my time in India.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd love to learn another language - maybe even three or four - and I'd love to learn how play the piano. I want to become a better photographer and I need to figure out how to properly knit a hat. I'd also like to learn how to make the perfect cup of coffee - not too sweet, not too bitter. It can never get it right.

What can I teach? Well, Yo hablo un poco de espanol! So if you're a beginner too, we can help each other out! Also, if you don't speak very good English, I can help with that too. I'm an English major, I've volunteered teaching English overseas and I've done some ESL tutoring in the city, so I'd love to help!

Countries I’ve Visited

France, India, Nepal, Peru, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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