I've been living in Vienna for two years and before that I lived in Germany for one year after graduating from college. I work and do research through a Fulbright grant here while taking classes. When I first studied abroad in college I loved making international connections with people. Now that I'm a bit more "rooted" I miss that experience. My hope is to meet travelers and make Vienna a bit more welcoming to them and also get back to my own roots of making international friends, even during the times I'm not traveling myself.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I made an account on Couchsurfing in 2014 when I lived in Germany but never used it. Nowadays though my boyfriend is an avid Couchsurfer and hearing about his couchsurfing experiences made me want to try it for real. So...here I am ;)

Interests

I want to be a classical musician and music teacher someday. Vienna is a great place to be inspired by its amazing orchestras and opera houses. Classical music (specifically baroque music if you've gotten this far) is where my heart is right now but I enjoy playing and listening to every kind of music there is. I also recently got into some other stuff like complex board games, bike riding, camping, rafting, and bouldering. I'm not good at any of these things but I like them and want to do more of them. Lastly, I have located multiple decent Mexican restaurants in Vienna because no one should have to go too long without guac ;)

Music, Movies, and Books

Music with epic brass like Mussorgsky-Ravel's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' or Tower of Power's 'What Is Hip?' Music that is rhythmically interesting and doesn't annoy me by being too repetitive. Electronic music that is both exciting and interesting (again not repetitive). Singing groups like Pentatonix and the Real Group.

I tend to like crappy movies or really good 'historical' movies or political dramas. You know, like The King's Speech. Or Shakespeare in Love. Or National Treasure.

Books...too many to count so I'll just say history books, non-fiction books, and autobiographies from the best comedians.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The time I had to learn the Bach Magnificat in less than 2 weeks and getting to play Beethoven 9 in the Musikverein in Vienna was a cool experience.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: stuff about Vienna's music and history (World War I cultural history is my specialty since I researched that for my Fulbright grant and Habsburg history), English language, survival Wienerisch and Austrian German, how to read music, how to play trumpet, how to cook without an oven, how to made a badass powerpoint presentation.

Learn: more German, Spanish, other fun languages, knitting, actual useful life skills are also welcome.

Share: Make music together, laughs, love of cats and other cute animals (namely manatees, seals, dogs, and probably something like weasels or baby ducks).

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share English and German language skills, a willingness to try new things, long conversations and funny stories.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Germany, United States