CURRENT MISSION

Exploration!

ABOUT ME

Updated: Was working in Costa Rica at a nonprofit, doing yoga, surfing, and honing in my ukelele skills, now back on the North Shore of Oahu.

I taught on the island of Oahu for 2 years, and fell in love with the island life and the ocean. I grew up and went to school in Michigan. I am Irish, Italian, and German, and I want to spend quality time visiting and learning more about my countries of origin. In college, I got very into salsa dancing, and met new friends who started introducing me to the dances and traditions of other cultures. I was immediately hooked. I enjoy traveling and experiencing other cultures through meaningful participation.

I had the privilege of working for a year at an International Baccalaureate school with a Chinese Immersion program, and I am constantly fascinated by the wonderful things that come together when different cultures connect and relate within the classroom.

I grew up on a farm, growing my own food, milking goats, and harvesting honey, and I love to see people develop a sustainable way of living. I spend as much time in the outdoors as I can, soaking up the beauty and meditating on it's wonders.

PHILOSOPHY

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For me, Couch Surfing is a process of continual education and exchange of ideas. I have hosted and been hosted, and every time I walk away having learned something new. I love to hear other people's stories and look through the lenses of their perspectives, it never gets old.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The first time I went to Chicago, I was a freshman in college having a bad day. I called up two of my friends and said "lets drive to Chicago. Tomorrow." We got in the car and figured out how to get there along the way. When our housing plans fell through, we ended up staying at a random connection's couch, who introduced me to the joys of road tripping and couch surfing and turned it into one of the best weekends ever.

Interests

Anything that gets me moving! Rock climbing, surfing, dancing, snowboarding, and most recently, yoga. I also enjoy writing, educational technology, photography, cooking, new languages, and skydiving.

• writing
• photography
• beauty
• dancing
• salsa dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• red wine
• yoga
• running
• shopping
• technology
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skydiving
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• swimming
• teaching
• languages
• study abroad

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was on study abroad, I broke off from the rest of my group's touristy crowd and explored the island of Capri, solo. I took my own ferry, and stayed long after the rest of the group had left. I took a bus down to the Blue Grotto, an amazing cave in the side of a cliff along the ocean that people take boats into to see the deep blue glow. All the boats were leaving as I arrived, but the Italian man running the snack shop told me "Do as we Italians do, and swim it." as he pointed out to all the Italians who were diving off their yachts and swimming towards the entrance. I stripped down to my swimsuit, and climbed the stairs down the cliff to the water. When I swam inside, the entire cave was glowing deep blue and you could swim far down into its radiant depths. Words cannot describe the beauty. Afterwards, I climbed back up the steps and listened to the old Italians tell me their life stories while I dried off in the sun and sipped red wine. Afterwards, one of the old gentlemen gave me a ride back to my ferry on the back of his Vespa. I felt like I was living a scene from a dream. Absolutely amazing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, Italy, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, United States, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Costa Rica, United States

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