I grew up in San Francisco, California and never lived anywhere else until I got to college. Growing up in San Francisco exposed me to people from many different cultures as well as speakers of many different languages (outside my bilingual and bicultural household). This made me interested in seeing the world first-hand, but I never had the opportunity to travel very far from home until after high school. My first trip overseas was a trip to Italy with a group from my high school. I learned a lot from that trip and was eager for another life-changing trip to Europe. Around the same time, my dad started working for an airline company. This made it possible for me to travel back to Europe the next summer and the summer after that. These trips really helped me improve both my Spanish and my French.

Since then, I've been on many more trips to different parts of the world and have basically become hooked on traveling. The places I've visited have sort of gone through different phases depending on the particular years of my life. For example, after my "European" phase in college, I had a brief Asian phase, then I started a graduate school program in Chicago and realized how I had taken the eastern half of the US for granted. It was in these years that I finally had the chance to visit places such as New York, Boston, Washington DC, and New Orleans. After I finished my master's degree, I moved back to San Francisco and worked full-time for 4 years. During these years, I used my vacation time to explore different parts of Latin America including Mexico, Peru, and several Central American countries.

Most recently, I have been in Pittsburgh, PA where I am working on my PhD. I have really enjoyed living in the city, exploring its many diverse neighborhoods, and learning about its fascinating history. It is always a pleasure sharing what I have learned with visitors. In the summer months, I usually travel. Sometimes I try to combine leisure travel with conference and research related travel. I also try to spend at least a month in San Francisco to visit family. This has led to some very interesting summer itineraries these past few years!

For me, traveling is something that keeps me energized and refreshed. I always learn something new as part of each adventure I take. I can then share my wisdom and knowledge with others whose paths I cross.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've been traveling at least once or twice a year throughout my adult life but have only discovered Couchsurfing in the past few years. I joined at the suggestion of a friend, who I "unofficially" couchsurfed with. I think it's a great idea that fits in well with my love of traveling. I enjoy getting to know people who live in the places I visit. I also enjoy sharing my experiences and knowledge with like-minded travelers.

Interests

Traveling the world one place at a time (surprise, surprise, surprise!); learning, speaking, and analyzing different languages (including different dialects of the same language), geography, learning about the local history of places I visit, sampling different cuisines, enjoying the great outdoors, and appreciating the diversity that makes the world go round.

• environment
• traveling
• eating out
• outdoor activities
• dialects
• geography
• history
• languages

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In terms of experiencing quick thrills, I would say zip-lining in the rain forests of Costa Rica.

In terms of something that I have found to be both amazing and very meaningful at the same time, I would say traveling across the US by train. That's also something I've done twice on two different routes! Both times, I was returning to San Francisco from Pittsburgh and both times I decided to make a few stopovers along the way. Traveling across the US by train is something very few Americans do. Yet, it's very easy. What makes it an amazing experience is you get to experience the landscape gradually changing in front of you. It's a very different feeling from flying across the country, which is something probably more people have experienced. When you fly from coast to coast, you start at Point A and then you are transported to Point B. When you travel between the same places by train, not only do you get from Point A to Point B but you also get to experience how we are all connected to each other.

Teach, Learn, Share

I think my travel experiences have been very influential in my decision to pursue a PhD in linguistics. When I first traveled through Europe, I had the opportunity to observe how people use different languages that I do not speak natively. To this date, I still believe the best way to learn a language is to immerse oneself in an environment in which it is spoken. I think it is also very important to be aware of various general principles about how language works and how language is used. This is the kind of stuff I study as a linguist and I'd be more than happy to share my knowledge with interested Couchsurfers.

I'm a little disappointed by the strict division between "languages I'm fluent in" and "languages I'm learning" in the Profile Information Form. For me, I'm always learning more even about languages I'm already fluent in. At the same time, I wouldn't describe myself as equally fluent in all the languages that I speak fluently. So yes, since this is my field of interest, I'm going to complicate things. :) ... But we can discuss further in person if you're interested ...

What I Can Share with Hosts

A wealth of knowledge, an enthusiastic attitude towards life, and a smile that will brighten anyone's day.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, Gibraltar, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States