Hello!
My name is Isabel. I'm originally from Fresno, California and have grown up all over the United States and world. I really enjoy traveling and learning new languages. I'm currently teaching ESL in a middle school in Cheongju, South Korea. It's an amazing experience and I'm learning a lot. I enjoy meeting new people and hope to be able to learn more about how locals live when I travel. Hence, the reason I'm on couchsurfing. Other than traveling, I enjoy reading books, playing volleyball, walking new cities and place, going to coffee shops, blogging, and catching up with friends and family. It's nice to meet you and have a nice day!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet more people who enjoy traveling. As much as I enjoy physically traveling to new places, I highly enjoy meeting with and talking to people who also have the same passion of traveling as I do. I studied International Studies and International Business in college and am always seeking to bridge cultural gaps (personally and with others). I'm on Couchsurfing to hear others' stories and share some of my own, hopefully broadening my understanding of this amazing world that's around us.

***On why I'm not hosting: While I would LOVE to host people, unfortunately my current circumstances don't allow it. While I'm working in Korea, I'm also living with a host family and cannot invite people I do not personally know into the small apartment.***

Interests

I did one major solo travel around the entire South Korean peninsula in 2015 that really set fire a passion for travel. I've been traveling around the world and living in various countries due to my father's job in the US military and that sparked a love for learning about new cultures. Going hand in hand with learning about cultures is learning foreign languages. At the moment, I'm currently at two foreign languages that I can speak at a conversational level--Korean and Japanese--and hope to add more as I become more comfortable in the languages I can already speak. I enjoy reading, cooking, travel blogging/writing, meeting up with friends and shopping in my spare time.

• skin care
• cooking
• shopping
• reading
• traveling
• volleyball
• swimming
• solo travel
• cultures
• learning languages
• dance
• learning new things
• talking
• travel blogging
• hula
• talking to people
• going to the beach

Music, Movies, and Books

Music
I really enjoy listening to pop music. Primarily because it's upbeat and something that I can dance to easily. I also enjoy 90's/early 00's R&B music (think Usher, Mariah, Alicia Keys etc.), Korean pop music, and the occasional country song.

Movies
I watch a lot of movies and can't think of a favorite. But, I really enjoy the whole Fast and Furious Franchise and the Avengers are better than the Batman movies. (I don't have an opinion on DC vs. Marvel b/c I don't read the comics.)

Books
My favorite book series is Harry Potter. Up until I started college, I would read the entire series cover to cover every summer. I did it one last time before I started my current job, but it's safe to say it's my favorite. I enjoy fantasy and mystery novels.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing thing I've done was establish a Miracle Network Dance Marathon (MNDM) at my university during my second year of college. MNDM are year long fundraisers that raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, one of the largest networks of Children's Hospitals in the world with 170-affiliated children's hospitals in the United States and Canada. It was one of the hardest and most rewarding times of my life thus far.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food! I love cooking and would love to share recipes I've learned from other countries or recipes I've learned from my family. Or your favorite pinterest recipe.
Company! I enjoy hearing other people's life stories so if you're hosting me and would like to learn more about my life or experience while talking about yours, I'd be happy to share.
On a more technical note, I'm also a great writer and love editing written works. If you need help with those kinds of things, I'd be happy to help as well.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, United States