CURRENT MISSION

Explore the world!

ABOUT ME

I'm an easy-going person who likes to eat good food, take tons of pictures, and savor new places. I know lots of random trivia and enjoy geeking out over comics, and sci-fi and fantasy books. I'm admittedly a weakling in the face of extremely spicy food, but if it's good, I'll eat on through the tears streaming down my face. Admitted chocoholic.

I was born and raised in San Jose, California. I'm first generation Chinese/Vietnamese American, but unfortunately, my language skills extends to listening comprehension for Cantonese, bare bones conversational skills, and not much more.

Currently, I am living in Seoul, South Korea, and teaching English.

PHILOSOPHY

Laughter is the best medicine, so I love to laugh and to make people laugh. My favorite writer is Terry Pratchett, the master of satire. I'm not one to create waves or drama, though I do love playing the devil's advocate out of fun.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My current circumstances make hosting difficult, but I've couchsurfed before and loved it! Meeting a local host and chatting about their lives in exotic places adds a faucet to travelling I've never been able to get before, when I just joined tours and followed a professional guide. Also, locals can tell me more about the place than the perfect, sparkling tourism bureau can. ;D

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've had my first couchsurfing experience in a tiny port city, Vladivostok, Russia. Vladivostok only recently allowed tourism, so it was not English-friendly at all. I was really nervous about my trip, so I checked out a website my friend recommended to meet some locals, so if nothing else, I could make a new friend. I had initially booked a hotel, but when the hotel said Expedia somehow hadn't forwarded my money, it was thanks to a couchsurfer I was just meeting for coffee that I wasn't on the streets searching for a hostel. Liz couldn't host, but she had friends who could and saved my entire trip! Liz, Eugenia, and Olga really embody the spirit of couchsufering. They made me feel right at home and I look forward to all future trips couchsurfing thanks to my experience with them.

Interests

Art, typography, photography, fantasy, food, comics, fashion, graphic design, manga

• arts
• writing
• books
• design
• graphic design
• fashion
• photography
• dancing
• dining
• coffee
• comics
• trivia
• traveling
• medicine
• tourism
• tours

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:
Once Upon a Time in Mexico, 90% of the films by Pixar, Shrek, The Triplets of Belleville, Holes, Mulan, Robin Hood, The Legend of Zorro, anything by Hayao Miyazaki, Star Trek: Reboot, All the Batman films, Inception

Books:
Anything by Terry Pratchett, Sharon Shinn, Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, Brian Jacques, Mercedes Lackey, Tamora Pierce, David Eddings

Music:
K-pop, whatever's on the radio, The Beatles, Karen Carpenter

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've seen Garfield and Luigi face each other in a dance off: http://youtu.be/4btDej7tZx8

Teach, Learn, Share

I know how to use the abacus, an ancient art that means I don't need a calculator to do basic arithmetic. I also love playing photographer for my friends--basic lessons in 15 minutes on composition and lighting, anyone?I'm not the most inspired cooks, so I'm afraid anything beyond spaghetti and scrambled eggs might be burned.

Countries I’ve Visited

Japan, Russian Federation

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Korea, United States