Live. Laugh. Love. and Eat!

In a nutshell: Silly, outgoing, and obsessed with food.

I've lived in Japan for about 5 years now (Kagoshima: 2, Osaka: 3). But I still really need to improve my Japanese. I want to study more by myself but I'm really busy with work so I'm always lazy and horrible at self discipline. >:[

I came to Japan because I'm really interested in the history, religion, and culture of Japan. I grew up in Honolulu, so Japanese culture is very influential there. I grew up celebrating certain Japanese holidays, eating lots of Japanese snacks, etc. Besides the academic side, I absolutely love Japanese food. I love the culture and the many different ways Japanese food can be prepared.

PHILOSOPHY

I love to laugh and enjoy a lot of the little things in life. I appreciate my friends and family and the life I have and lived so far. I'm not living in a grand castle with indoor courts or pools (yet, haha) but I do know how lucky I am to have had many fortunate opportunities presented in my life.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I participate in CS by trying to give surfers as much information about Kagoshima, Osaka or Hawaii as possible.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have hosted a couple of CS but haven't surfed as much as I would like to because of my work schedule. But I've met a lot of cool and interesting people from around the world. I am very happy to have joined this big and great community.

I've had some short and curt requests and people have sent messages as if my place was a free hotel. If you send a request, please send some information about yourself and why you're coming to Japan, enough so I know you're not a bad crazy person. I live alone in a family style apartment complex so please send a WARM message that will make me feel like you're NOT a complete stranger (because in reality you kinda are).

****Side note, if you sweat a lot, please bring deodorant. I'm really sensitive to smell and can get headaches from really strong bad smells. Please and thank you!******

Interests

FOOD FOOD FOOD! :) I like trying many different kinds of food with my friends. When I'm not working, I play volleyball casually with a local club. I've played volleyball since I was a child so I really want to play more when I have the time.

I also like reading books and manga while drinking lots and lots of coffee. I listen to music every day on my way to work. I also enjoy watching movies and anime!

• culture
• books
• dancing
• dining
• coffee
• japanese food
• drinking
• clubbing
• boating
• anime
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• volleyball
• swimming
• rowing
• history
• religion
• food
• beach
• adventures
• relaxing
• brazilian jiu jitsu

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The First Wives Club, Totoro, Father of the Bride I&II, Wonder Woman, Mean Girls, Beverly Hills Cop I&III, Clue, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Inception, The Illusionist, The Orphanage, Pan's Labyrinth, Center Stage, Honey, and a ton more....

Music: I have a really random mix of music I like, and to list them all would seem a but ridiculous. But I'll mention my main genres, hip hop, classic rock, dub step, pop, R&B, reggae, acoustic anything, classical, alternative, and recently a little J-Pop.

Books: Same with music, I love too many so I'll mention the genres, mystery & crime, thriller, adventure, fantasy, and some others I'm forgetting at the moment.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In university, I've gone through a couple of spring seasons waking up at 4:15am every morning to go to crew practice for 2 hours in 30*F degree weather (about -1 in Celsius). I was a coxswain for the men's rowing team for a couple of years. Before starting I had no idea what I was getting into. So I jumped in head first.

I was responsible for 4 or 8 guys in a ~$40,000 boat. But even during those freezing and windy mornings, we got to experience many colorful sun rises with Mt. Rainier in the background.

I think my amazing accomplishment was being able to experience so many amazing and new things with amazing people and still have the fight/will to go to class and complete my degree. ^_^U

Minor accomplishments:

I have finished Sudoku puzzles really fast 💨🤓

I have eaten large proportions of food not fit for my height. 😅

I have binged watched shows/animes like no other. 🤣

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can give some tips on places to go in Osaka and Kyoto. But since I'm always working, I don't always get to explore every tourist spot. So I'll try to share as much information as best as possible.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United States