CURRENT MISSION

I'm spending the summer (2016) working for the Department of Defense in Washington, DC. This is why I'm not hosting until September, 2016.

ABOUT ME

I love hiking, biking, growing and preserving food, and learning new things. I'm currently in grad school.

Prior to this period of my life, I worked in various capacities at Bard College in NY. Before that, I managed an eco-backpackers camp on a secluded hillside in northern Malawi, went on the Classic American Roadtrip with my amazing Dutch friend Rian, tried to bike across the states and ended up hitching with my bike instead because I got bored, traveled for over a year to over 20 countries with one of my best friends, and generally spent time pursuing international friendships and adventures.

CS has been there all the way -- I love it! I have had such incredible experiences traveling and meeting CSers all over the world. I hope to meet people who want to share experiences, experience new cultures, and who have a passion for spontaneity and creativity. I always hope to give back as much as I feel I gain from meeting people from around the world and around my country.

PHILOSOPHY

Walt Whitman's poem "Song of the Open Road" serves as my personal philosophy. I also believe that "we all do better when we all do better", which defines most of the work and volunteering that I get involved in.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I offer couches, sleep on couches, refurbish couches, and all around love couches. Though I do not discriminate against floorspace, hammocks, tents, and other furniture.

I organized my first CS gathering! I'm hoping to plan more.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Great so far! I've surfed all over the world, and I hosted a few people in the states. I'm hoping my experiences come full circle now that I'm back "home", and that all the people I've stayed with (and their friends) come to visit!

Interests

Traveling, Martial arts, reading, dancing, cooking, animals, hiking, biking, spontaneous road trips, eating, wine, tattoos, listening to and trying to make music, skydiving, writing, conversing, learning languages (I'd like to learn Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish and improve my French and Swahili as a short list), watching the ballet (or the circus), stargazing, sleeping...

• animals
• arts
• writing
• tattoos
• dancing
• ballet dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• skydiving
• martial arts
• languages
• volunteering
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Consider this a library query... ask me about a subject/genre, and I'll tell you my favorite book.

However, recent enjoyable reads include:
Last Child in the Woods
Prodigal Summer (and everything else) by Barbara Kingsolver
Americanah

As for music: I'm open to suggestions. I listen to just about anything. Again, recent artists on my playlist have included Florence and the Machines, Hozier, Stromae, Bon Iver, and Dotan.

Now, movies: I don't watch them. It's not a lack of interest, just something I haven't gotten around to in a while.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

For a while last year, I worked three days a week and spent long hours being a better friend/member of my community. This was amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

Once you figure out what makes you happy, do it as often as possible and find someone else who shares your passion to do it with!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belize, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malawi, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Greece, Malawi, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States

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