CURRENT MISSION

I'm mapping ancient routes in the northern Peloponnese for my dissertation. Besides gathering GPS points, I want to experience on foot travel with not much more than the pack on my back and the good will of new friends. I want to understand how both modern and ancient Greeks use, experience, and think about their land.

ABOUT ME

I'm a Tom boy wrapped in a girly-girl who will do almost anything for the sake of a good story. I study the archaeology of early Christian communities in and around ancient Corinth in the Peloponnese. I'm a do-it-yourself kind of person with a light hearted sense of humor. I'm trained as an anthropologist, so I love meeting new people very different from myself! I've worked as a contract archaeologist (aka, shovel bum), librarian, cashier, research assistant, and teaching assistant. I've had the good fortune to visit most of the United States and I've traveled in Canada, Italy, Tunisia, Israel, Switzerland, and Greece. I have a wanderlust and love swapping travel stories!

PHILOSOPHY

Nothing easy is worth doing. Struggle forms us into true individuals, rather than one specimen in the billions of Homo sapiens. The hard times give us the ability to laugh when things don't go just right and to help others in need. Nothing feels better than fining the solution to a difficult problem.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

So far, I've only couch surfed. At age 31, I still have only lived in tiny apartments with roommates (well, now I'm married, but I guess a husband is a kind of roommate). Still, I've attended some local couch surfing events to share my knowledge and experiences with other travelers. I hope once we move to house (in the not too distant future!) I'll be able to host.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've been a surfer in Montreal, Canada and New York, New York. Both experiences were very good and my hosts were very kind and hospitable.

Interests

Archaeology, comic books ( DC, Fables, Wonder Woman and Creepy Comics especially), cooking/eating, jokes, adventure, dancing, eating weird things (alligator tops the list), friendly debates. I am just getting into Dungeons and Dragons, and I love painting the minifigures.

• books
• diy
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• comics
• anthropology
• history
• religion
• d&d
• minifigures

Music, Movies, and Books

Stephen King and Charles Dickens are my two favorite authors. I love DC comics, especially Wonder Woman. Fables, Creepy Comics and Sandman are pretty brilliant. My favorite band is HIM, but I also think 90's pop is some of the best music. My favorite movie is The Orphanage, followed closely my the Hunchback of Notradom and Metropolis.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went to the world's fair in Milan in 2014.

Teach, Learn, Share

Ancient history is my jam. I teach Introduction to the New Testament as a state university course, so I'm happy to talk about scholarly and confessional interpretations of the Bible. I'm also happy to teach some ancient koine Greek. I loving hiking and would like get into geocaching. I want to learn more about early-modern through contemporary eastern European history and society. I guess I'm just a nerd about people!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food and conversation! I always try to bring some food as a little thank-you and I find there's no better way to get to know someone than over some snacks! I'm also more than happy to share my research. I'm working on mapping out some hiking routes between ancient temples, tombs, shrines, and churches. - but be warned, when you ask a PhD student what they're working on, it can be hard to get us to stop talking about it!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Greece, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, Tunisia

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States