I am a student at California university of Los Angeles. I study English and linguistics. In the future I plan to live and work in Taiwan, specifically in Tainan. Since I was young, I have had a passion for language, nature, art, and philosophical endeavors. Traveling helps with accomplishing this. Tipically I'm very quiet and reserved, yet I also find that I can break away from this when I am in the company of people with good hearts and minds. This often predesposes me to looking inwardly rather than externally for self-contentment and happiness. But I do enjoy helping others, when at home, I choose to volunteer at one of my local temples by maintaining the temple grounds, cooking, and cleaning.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The reason I'm couchsurfing is primarily to obtain a larger world view. When I stay at hostels for example, I don't often have the chance to encounter local people. To really experience a nation, one has first to experience the people. Without this fundamental component of the human element one has no choice but to be an onlooker. But to stay with a local person, helps to bridge a gap between being the observer to being a participant in that culture. Without that, it becomes easy to be neglectful to the mindset behind any group of people we encounter. This is why I decided to use couchsurfing.

Interests

• hiking
• art history
• languages
• culture exchange
• nature lover
• culture sharing

Music, Movies, and Books

I enjoy latin tango, and Russian rock music. One of my all time favorite books is "1984" with " Man's search for meaning" as a close runner up in terms of inspiring books. My favorite movies are "Aliens" and "Mars attacks".

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Last year, my father passed away during the middle of my second to last semester. At the time I was taking 5 classes and working full-time. This quickly became an extream hardship for me and my family. Our family has been close and having to wake up each morning and hear my mother cry in the other room while also planning my day at school nearly broke my spirit. However, speaking at the memorial service and seeing everyone who supported me and mother was uplifting. This gave me the streangth to finish my semester with A's in all of my classes.

Teach, Learn, Share

Our peeves of our own world can be rather small at times. In this, I want to gain more depth in understanding to how the intersectonality between people across cultures functions. I am open to learning about new ways of thinking and conceptualizing society while also sharing my own experiences and feelings on the matter. Learning different methods of preparing food to learning a new language. I wish to take with me the substance of life, while also sharing my own perceptions and knowledge.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Trust is one of the most valuable aspects of building and maintaining trust between individuals. In this sense, I strive to accomplish this. I am extremely open about the kind of individual I am. I do not lie, leave delta unpaid and honor the foundations of other people's personal integrity and honor. I have lived by this code of conduct for most of my life. Having come from an impoverished background, I have experienced and lived through many instances when others abuse that trust and conduct. Therefore I also respect an individual's home as a sacred space. Under no circumstances do I pass the line between what is acceptable and unacceptable. Whatever the rules are, it is, in the end my place to respect the foundations of the integrity and honor of one's home. Because, in the end I am simply a guest, not anything more than this.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States