I just finished my undergraduate degree in biology and German last year, but I'm still unsure what to do with my life, so I ran away to Europe. I'm currently living in Austria as an English teaching assistant for a year. My hope is to see as much as I can, and meet as many awesome people as possible! Hearing stories about others' adventures inspires me.
I know way too much random information from watching shows like Q.I. too much ( but I definitely recommend it if you haven't already seen it!) and I'm a really morbid apples to apples/ cards against humanity player!
I really enjoy just hanging out with people and drinking some nice red wine, but I'm also always down for adventures into nature, art museums, drinking beer in parks, chatting in cafes, eating delicious vegetarian food, finding stores with locally made art/jewelry, etc.
My two dream vacations are swimming between the tectonic plates in Iceland and visiting hobbiton!
I think it's important to disclose that I have a gold medal in stepping on crunchy leaves. Be forewarned when coming in between me and a pile of leaves.... Or even just a single one,

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've recently taken to traveling alone, but instead of just wandering around a lot and sitting in cafes, I'd love to turn it into an opportunity meet some new people to hang out with and learn about the cool places the city has to offer.

Interests

Red wine, late night conversations ( because that's when all the good juices are flowing) , film photography, people watching, cooking (vegetarian), visiting art museums, exploring nature, potatoes in all forms, and, most importantly, petting dogs.
Also, otters, because they are the absolute cutest things ever. Firstly, they gift loved ones rocks to use to open shells, and they hold each others hands when they're falling asleep so they don't drift apart. HOW CUTE IS THAT???

I also really enjoy going out to bars to hang out and dance into the wee hours of the morning when I'm with cool people (disclaimer: I'm a horrible dancer, but the main point is having fun, right??)

• dogs
• arts
• photography
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• red wine
• beer
• vegetarian
• drinking
• traveling
• music
• swimming
• biology
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Sufjan Stevens, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Perfume Genius, My Brightest Diamond, Beulah, The Rocket Summer, Sigur Ros, Odesza, Miike Snow, Bowerbirds, Grimes, Ben Kweller, Acceptance, Senses Fail... and whatever else I've accumulated in my iTunes over the last 10 years or so. My last.fm is relatively accurate as a more extensive list: http://www.last.fm/user/thercktkathryn

Movies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Me Without You, Peter Pan, Kill Your Darlings, Lars and the Real Girl, Lord of the Rings (how many times have you marathoned the extended series????), Lola Versus, Harry Potter, Howl's Moving Castle, Blue Valentine, Garden State, Pretty in Pink, Writcutters: A Love Story... basically, a lot... I'm always down for terrible romcoms and low-budget indie movies! A more extensive list can be found: http://letterboxd.com/kathrynmaude/

Books: Extremely Loud and Incredible Close, The History of Love, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Paula Modersohn-Becker's Briefe und Tagebuchblätte​r, Never Let Me Go, and I'm currently on the fourth book of the A Song Of Ice and Fire series :) also, of course Harry Potter and LOTR series...

TV: Gilmore Girls, Game of Thrones, Shameless (US), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Parenthood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, Parks and Rec, My Mad Fat Diary, The Office (UK& US), and I've recently gotten into House of Cards!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My friends and I once made a last minute road trip from New York to Texas just to see our favorite musician live the night before his birthday! I've also been in two music videos... although, you could never point me out if you didn't know.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd love to help with English (as that's what I'm doing as my job right now...), but also German! I say I'm learning it, but I've been studying it for 5 years and am conversational (and multiple 15 page essay-able) in German! So, if anyone has interest in practicing either, let me know!
In terms of learning, I'm always interested in learning more about art. It's an underlying love I've had, but I've never had much of an outlet to express it, so there's still a lot for me to learn!
I also just love learning about others' experiences and interests!

What I Can Share with Hosts

hopefully some laughs!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Germany, United States