CURRENT MISSION

I have a condition called wanderlust. Why you ask? For me it's about meeting the people I meet, getting to know myself on a deeper level, finding inspiration for writing and photography, new colors, smells, styles of art, scenery, it's all so exciting!

ABOUT ME

I'm just a girl in the world, inherently daydreaming about where my next adventure will take place. Oregon, and the West Coast USA in general is a fantastic place to be stationed from in terms of having a little local adventure, but my head is always wandering beyond US borders. I graduated with a BS in Marine Biology from Oregon State University (Go BEAVS!!), then immediately left the US and became an expat in South America. I chose Ecuador, did some volunteer work there at a Marine Conservation Organization and ended up living there and travelling around the country for about 10 months. Now I'm back in Oregon selling organic potatoes! Marine biologist turned potato broker...sounds weird but it's actually a pretty rad gig. My family's farm and Oregon's amazing Organic/green-minded community provide for a place of comfort for me. I get to share it's beauty with fellow travelers, and it will always be a place I can come back to and call HOME! I do business for family and friends in the town I grew up in, HUGE agricultural community in Southern OR and northern CA. I get to travel the US for work, get a few weeks off to adventure, and because I have an awesome roomate and we have a couple of extra couches, I get to offer fellow travelers a place to stay in PDX and play host to one of the greatest cities I know! Viva Portland <3 On a side note, I also have my Reconnective Healing Practitioners license and have my own practice in the Portland area. It is a type of non-touch frequency healing. Feel free to check out my website if you are more interested in learning about the type of healing:
www.thereconnectionhollis.webs.com

PHILOSOPHY

I believe in love, that it is equivalent to lfe, the more love you have in your heart for yourself and others, the more alive you will be and feel. I am not religious but try and abide by some basic spiritual pricipals to attraact good things to my life: loving others, being honest, open-mindedness, acceptance, forgiveness, having a sense of humor, not taking things too seriously, letting go, and laughing a lot. These are the set of princials I refer to in good times and bad in life, they help me turn negative thoughts into positive ones, help me learn from my mistakes, and help me forgive myself and others. I think it's all about balance, and finding equilibrium to be happy in life. This requires daily maintenace but I'm all about evolving, and don't mind the constant effort...gotta love this life!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can't get enough of meeting fellow travelers and being exposed to all different walks of life. It helps my world view open WAY up, and strengthens my confidence in the world that people can simply trust in others to help them out to get to where they want to go. This can refer to a simple conversation, a suggestion from a stranger, receiving wrong directions that end up leading you to someplace even more magical than where you were initially headed, or a couch to sleep on for the night. The more you give the more you get, and the more you learn the more you grow. This is why I signed up for couch-surfing and the next time I travel I certainly plan on doing some surfing myself.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I just learned about couch-surfing when I was travelling around Europe. I was travelling without a plan so did not sign up for it while on my last adventure as I know it helps to have a plan as to let your hosts know when you'll be there, etc. But when this girl was telling me about it I immediately knew it was something I needed to do back home so I can continue to live vicariously through others who are on the road! After all, I spend at least an hour or two a day lost in my daydreasm of where my next adventure will take me!

Interests

Music (shows, festivals, listening to suite my mood). Travel. Writing. Photography. Travel journalism. Yoga & Meditation (we have a really cute meditation den in our house that should get more use than it does but is open to anyone to take advantage of). Sports (running, swimming, snowboarding, hiking, whatever else looks fun). Happy hour. Cooking. BBQ's and hosing small get-togethers.

• arts
• writing
• photography
• beauty
• festivals
• cooking
• bbq
• yoga
• running
• meditation
• happy hour
• traveling
• volunteer work
• music
• hiking
• surfing
• snowboarding
• sports
• swimming
• biology
• business
• journalism
• tourism
• volunteering

Teach, Learn, Share

I think I might have covered this one in previous sections ;) I am actually doing more & more all the time to discover PDX. So, when you come to Portland I will be happy to be of service to you as your personal PDX Tour Guide and will continue to educate myself about the city, all it's amazing little quirks, so I can give you the best advice to getting to know the REAL, WEIRD, QUIRKY city of Portland.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, United States

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