I used couchsurfing years ago when I uprooted my life in New England in a spontaneous move to Salt Lake City, Utah. I stayed with amazing hosts while on a road trip across the country as well as at a few different hosts' places in the city while I was hunting for apartments. Those were my first friends in SLC and I still have contact with them 6 years later. I never had the opportunity to host but hope to now that I'm settling into my own space in the Berkshires of MA and have my own space to do with as I please :)

I am a minimalist, eco-conscious, detail oriented, a bit shy at first but open to meeting new souls and new adventures. I am nonbinary and use they/them or he/him pronouns. Let's get to know one another more deeply.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am heading on my first trip in years (I think many of us have been a bit cooped up during the pandemic) to meet a couple of friends I made while living in Utah. We had a trip planned in 2020 that had to be cancelled so I haven't seen them since 2018. Looking forward to our reunion in the mountains camping, hiking, mountain biking and canoeing.

Interests

• cooking
• coffee
• running
• meditation
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• kayaking
• lakes
• mountains
• learning languages
• biking
• mushrooms
• farming
• community
• conservation

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite books from the last year:
Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Unbound by Tarana Burke
Feeding the Soul by Tabitha Brown
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Hunger by Roxane Gay
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott
The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
The World's Strongest Library by Josh Hanagarne
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Educated by Tara Westover

Favorite music:
Nahko and Medicine for the People
The National Parks
Trevor Hall
Todrick Hall
Lil Nas X
Lizzo
Beyonce
Demi Lovato
... I have a wide range of taste in music

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I think the best thing I've done, for myself, was to take time and space to really work on healing myself. I took Reiki courses and attended a Shaman course that opened me up in ways I never expected or dreamt. It allowed me to come to understand my dysphoria and work with a therapist to say who I am aloud for the first time. To then build a desired timeline to accomplish different aspects of transitioning and making them all come to fruition within one year. Years later I am still grateful for the newfound confidence and joy within my skin.

Teach, Learn, Share

Share stories, experiences and listen to others do the same with full attention. I believe the more we know about others the less we are likely to have hate or anger in our hearts.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am happy to bring along fresh lbs of coffee from Starbucks. Stories, as stated above. Reiki. I think what is shared among new people varies vastly dependent upon what is mutually enjoyed or what is desired to be learned. I am open to discovering what I may be able to share that I never realized was needed.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Mexico