Hey! I'm Izzy, a 30-year-old American living and working in Madrid. I'm a middle child, INTJ, Capricorn-Aquarius cusp, feminist. Hopefully, one of those things speaks to you and gives you a better idea of what I'm like. I'm kind of quiet, but infinitely curious. I love sunny weather, lunch, and traveling by train. I will always be carrying at least one of these things: a camera, a journal, a notebook. You'll never catch me with coffee.

You can find me on social media @htothe_izzzo

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The hope of forming personal connections in the cities I travel to because locals know best and simultaneously to go out of my comfort zone in hopes of reprogramming the part of my female American brain that deals with interacting with strangers.

If you're picky about who you host, then we're on the same page. If I'm welcoming someone into my home it's because I am interested in developing a mutual friendship with them in addition to putting a roof over their head. For this reason, if you're requesting to stay at mine, please let me know what it is about me as a host that's interesting to you and why you'd like to stay with me as opposed to just anyone :)

If I'm staying at yours, you can expect for me to be conscious and as reciprocal as possible of the time, energy, and expense it takes to host me. I always hope for the same from surfers I host.

Read this, and I think it sums everything up quite well: https://francistapon.com/Travels/Advice/How-to-be-a-Good-Couchsurfing-Guest-and-Host

Interests

• writing
• poetry
• education
• cooking
• board games
• reading
• live music
• hiking
• track and field
• psychology
• tea
• storytelling
• analog photography
• roadtrips
• journaling
• creative writing
• snail mail
• special education

Music, Movies, and Books

I have an incredibly difficult time choosing a "favorite" of anything. So, here's an overview.

I tend to listen to the same music on repeat forever. A few albums that will never get old to me are Battle Studies by John Mayer, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me by Brand New, In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson, A Mark A Mission A Brand A Scar by Dashboard Confessional, Chase The White Whale by Driver Friendly, and Interventions and Lullabies by The Format. I also love oldies and can caught singing along to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Dion, and Sam Cooke. Besides that I am embarrassingly into American Top 40s Pop.

I continuously disappoint people with the small number of "must see" movies that I've seen--don't ask me about The Dark Knight Trilogy or Inception; they are all on the list but there's a way to go before I reach them. This does make me very open to suggestion, though. Movies I do know I love are Amelie, Nacho Libre, the Before Sunrise trilogy, The Danish Girl, Pocahontas, The Great Gatsby (Robert Redford not Leonardo DiCaprio), The Prestige, and The Notebook.

Books I read during my academic career that I loved and still think about are The Scarlet Letter, Ordinary People, Metamorphosis, The Prince of Tides, The Crucible, and The Sun Also Rises. Fiction that I've recently read for pleasure that was great are The Leavers, Men Without Women, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and I'll Give You The Sun. Recent non-fiction that I've enjoyed are The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh, Modern Romance, In Defense of Food, and The Moral Animal.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

During the short time I spent living in the Azores, I was lucky enough to become life long friends with a local who works in tourism as an outdoor adventure guide. He asked me to summit Pico with him and a group of seven guys and I think we were both nervous that I would be the only girl, but I accepted and we made it up past the clouds to the tallest peak in Portugal.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love hearing the life stories that create the foundation for who people are currently. Teach me yours and I'll tell you mine. Can teach english grammar and language, how to take photos on a film camera, iambic pentameter and haikus, and my foolproof strategy for plating a salad to perfection. Would love to learn the proper technique for making a beurre blanc, any formal dance steps, the trick to figuring out urban bus systems, and how to jump a car's battery.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm clean, respectful, and communicative. I grew up in a big family that I am incredibly close with and so I'll always offer to help with things around the house and be careful not to step on anyone's toes. Besides that, warm conversation and company. And I'll cook if you'll let me!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Portugal, Spain, United States