Hi! My name is Gillian (pronounced like Jillian), and I am a third year (junior) undergraduate student at the University of Virginia where I am working toward a major in Linguistics and an Italian minor with plans to go to medical school after I graduate. I will be spending this spring semester studying abroad in Siena, Italy, and I am so excited to live in Europe and (hopefully) become fluent in Italian! While I have lived in Virginia my entire life, I grew up traveling fairly often and I am always looking for new cultures to experience and locations to explore.
I also love to watch and play soccer (I play on the Women's Club team at UVA), hike...pretty much anything outdoors!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

My brother has participated in Couch Surfing extensively both as a guest and host, and he cannot say enough about his experiences with the organization. I am hoping to do a lot of traveling both within Italy and around Europe this spring, so I am really excited to use CS--and hopefully return the favor as a host next year!

Interests

Languages, travel, sports, reading, hiking, skydiving

• clubbing
• reading
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• surfing
• skydiving
• sports
• soccer
• paragliding
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm pretty open to all styles of music, but some of my favorite artists include the Head and the Heart, The Avett Brothers, Ingrid Michelson, You + Me, John Butler Trio, The Mowgli's, John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Kendrick Lamar.

Books: The Poisonwood Bible, Kite Runner, Harry Potter, anything by Sarah Dessen

Movies: Love Actually, Boyhood, the Bourne series, other action/thrillers

TV Shows: The Americans, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Modern Family, New Girl, 24, Grey's Anatomy

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went paragliding over the Swiss Alps in Gimmelwald when I was 16...definitely one of my favorite experiences, and I am hoping to return to this area to go skydiving this semester!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States