CURRENT MISSION

Enjoy my city! Saving up for my wedding :)

***MY COUCH IS NOT OPEN RIGHT NOW SO I CANNOT HOST ANYONE, I DON'T WANT YOU TO WASTE YOUR TIME ASKING!***

ABOUT ME

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."

Spent a little over a year in Taiwan, a year in Prague, backpacked through parts of Sudamerica, and how I'm living and working in NYC! I am obsessed with traveling and there are just so many interesting people all over the world, I want to meet them all! I am a teacher and I'm so lucky that that enables me to work AND travel on whatever continent I may choose...or whichever chooses me! I think of myself as open-minded and excited to try new things (except for thrill-seeking things like skydiving, roller-coasters or swimming in shark tanks and such)!

I hope to be one person helping to show people what Americans really are like since a lot of people have different misconceptions, both good and bad, about my culture and people! :)

Check out my travel blog about my adventures! thefreespiritedforeigner.com
You can follow me at @hrichie14 or find me on facebook, at The Free-Spirited Foreigner

PHILOSOPHY

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."

"Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it." -The Beach

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

"Doesn't there come a moment when you have to decide what you can handle and what you can't?"

"Fear is for people who don't get out much."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm interested in meeting different types of people from all over! I love the community atmosphere of CS that's based on trust and shared interest in people from around the world. It's such a great way to have authentic travel experiences with new, positive, open-minded and interesting people!

I surf, hosted in Prague, go to events and did language exchange via CS!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Highlights!...

* Surfed with Italian host, Diego, alongside CSer, Anna, in Maratea, a beautiful, non-touristy town in southern Italy! We cooked dinner, tanned on amazing little beaches and sang Italian and American songs in the moonlight!
*Czech\English language exchange with my now really good friend, Lenka!
*Surfed with Daniel in Granada and met a ton of cool other 'emergency' CSers who were staying with him! Tuba, Claudia, Alice, Joanna, etc! Such an amazing few days!
*Surfed with Jesus in Sevilla with my friend, Noah, during Semana Santa! Took out his bikes and saw the city at its very best.
*Had an awesome night doing a touristy Pub Crawl with Kseniya from Russia! We enjoyed the Prague Pride Music Festival in Letna Park and sent each other Christmas gifts this year. I'll come to Siberia one day!

Most uncomfortable CS experience...

*Met up with a guy who was very nice and accommodating until he made me uncomfortable by continually offering/insisting on giving me an oil massage...

Interests

Travel, Wine, Plant-based Vegan life, Dancing, Hot Yoga, Meditation, Photography, Languages, Movies, Beach Volleyball, Drawing (Studio Art in general), Psychology, Salsa, Softball, Sitting in cozy cafes for too long; almost anything that's a new experience!

• arts
• culture
• photography
• festivals
• dancing
• wine
• yoga
• drinking
• pub crawls
• movies
• traveling
• drawing
• music
• blues
• hiking
• surfing
• volleyball
• swimming
• softball
• teaching
• languages
• psychology
• language exchange
• beaches
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies.
The Way. Dumb and Dumber. Y Tu Mama Tambien. Django Unchained. Bridesmaids. Room. Hocus Pocus. Avatar. Pocahontas. Save the Last Dance. Freedom Writers. What's Eating GIlbert Grape...anything with Leonardo Dicaprio ;)

Music.
George Ezra. Hozier. Ingrid Michaelson. The Dø. Josh Garrels. Ed Sheeran. Beyonce. Explosions in the Sky. Blue King Brown. Cake. Sam Smith. Robyn. No Doubt. Notorious B.I.G. Common. 90's Goo Goo Dolls. Immortal Technique. Lily Allen. Drake. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Al Green. Alternative, Hip-hop, R&B, Soul, Pop, etc.

Books...
Americanah.
The Alchemist.
Ishmael.
Eleven Minutes.
Room.
The Crucible.
I Suck at Girls.
The Color Code.
Hunger Games series.
Delaying the Real World.
The Giver.

..and so many children's books!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Camped in the red dirt of the outback in Western Australia for 10 days, hiking national parks, taking salt water showers, sand dune surfing on uncharted beaches, taking in blues, greens and reds I'd never imagined and drinking goon (cheap "wine") by the campfire and laughing through the night with great friends!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can help you find the best gems in Taiwan and Prague/the Czech Republic, how to find authentic experiences and what places to skip, whether you're going on a short or long trip! I've also done a lot of traveling around Europe and Asia and can give tips on the cities I've visited!

I can help new travel bloggers with tips on how to get started! I'm no expert yet but I've come a long way from where I started!

English! I would really love to continue working on my Spanish so we could do a language exchange!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good talks, sharing travel tips; nuggets of wisdom, friendship; fun! I can also help you practice your English, if you're looking for that! I also would love practice with my Spanish!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Czech Republic, Taiwan, United States