Updated as of March 3rd, 2019: I'm currently a Peace Corps Volunteer (US gov program not at all associated with missionary work) living and working in the southern district of Lesotho, called Qacha's Nek. I work and live on a clinic compound and my neighbors are the dope nurses I work with. Qacha's Nek is about 5 hours from Maseru, the capital and I've traveled to all 10 districts in Lesotho and a couple other countries in the region. If you're only coming through Maseru, I won't be of much help when it comes to hosting, but I love spreading tourism knowledge about Lesotho and all the cool things to do here.

Hi, my name is Jessi and I just graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in history with minors in Near-Eastern Studies and Multidisciplinary Design. I just moved to San Jose and will be moving to Lesotho in the fall to begin my service with Peace Corps. For the past two years I have lived in a student co-op in Ann Arbor where I learned a lot about myself, other people, and how our identities shape the people we have become and the living tendencies we have. When I have some down time, I enjoy thrifting and baking scones. Last summer I lived and worked in Warsaw at an internship at a museum for 2 1/2 months and then I traveled a bit in Eastern and Central Europe before coming back home.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've used couchsurfing in a variety of ways and all of my experiences have been great! I've stayed with people in Eastern and Central Europe, Turkey, Egypt, and the United States while solo traveling and used it to meet up with people while staying a month in Istanbul. I've hosted people while I lived in Lesotho.

Interests

I love learning all that I can about a new place. I love museums of any sort, archeological, historical, art, or ethnographical. While I am not a big fan of very touristy things, I think there is some merit in doing them and learning how a certain institution is trying to educate others on a topic. I am also a big fan of sampling local beers and coffees since it's just fun. While I don't consider myself religious, I like seeing how religion has influenced an area and seeing how differences in it have impacted a places history.

• arts
• performing arts
• coffee
• art history
• history
• relaxing
• craft beer
• feminism
• ancient history
• religions
• local history

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Vampire Weekend, The 1975, The Beatles, Mo, Simon & Garfunkel, almost any musical, Fun., Bastille, Ben Folds, Foster the People, Lily Allen, Local Natives, M.I.A., MIKA, Mowgli's, Muse, Passion Pit, Regina Spektor, The Shins (can you tell I'm going through my spotify account now?), and a lot of popular music in the states from the late 50's to the early 70's.
Movies: I love musicals but also a lot of historical films that are actually factual and not just "based on a true story", they are generally completely different
Books: Kurt Vonnegut

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

To some this might sound simplistic but the past few years have seen a lot of transitions and I'm amazed that I'm starting to make a new city home and finding my own sense of community.

Teach, Learn, Share

Things I can teach: scone baking, hand sewing, clothing modifications
Things I want to learn: everything! I think there are so many cool things in the world and just getting a small idea of these things is fun.
Share: If you have an oven, and a place I can buy ingredients, I will gladly bake you scones.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm always down to talk politics, current events, and what are some things you wish were different about the world.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Jordan, Lesotho, Mexico, Mozambique, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Swaziland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Lesotho, Poland, United States