CURRENT MISSION

to take it one day at a time...

ABOUT ME

I was born and raised in Chicago. While studying, I worked as a travel agent and had great opportunities to see some fantastic places. This experience really incited my passion for/obsession with traveling!

I returned to my home in Chicago this past fall after carrying out Fulbright research in Warsaw, Poland for the 2009-2010 academic year, I'm planning my next steps in terms of career steps (and travel, of course :)

PHILOSOPHY

"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson/Bessie Anderson Stanley (origins disputed)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

CS is a fantastic way to meet people with the same passion for travelling, and I've been lucky enough to meet some great people on my most recent backpacking adventure in Eastern Europe/Balkans during summer 2010. It's a totally different way to travel, I'm looking forward to replaying the graciousness I've recieved from CS hosts when I get my own accommodations suitable for hosting.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Fantastic!

Interests

TRAVELING (of course!), human rights, politics, dancing (especially Argentine tango & salsa), yoga, surfing, reading, running, good books, family and friends, laughing, people who make me laugh, swimming, dark chocolate, things Polish, mountains, Africa, good wine, ethnic foods, big open fields, beaches, freshly fallen snow, good coffee, sun, Halloween, hiking, skiing, painting, cooking and baking, sunsets, camping, bonfires, snorkeling...in no particular order.

• books
• beauty
• dancing
• tango
• human rights
• cooking
• chocolate
• wine
• coffee
• baking
• yoga
• running
• drinking
• gardening
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• painting
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• surfing
• snorkeling
• skiing
• swimming
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm fickle when it comes to movies, and my favorites change often. Really any genre, depending on my mood.

Books...I'm a big fan of historical fiction,and I absolutely LOVE Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian and Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind. Also, The Mental Floss: History of the World.

In terms of music, I am enjoy a little bit of everything, but I especially love tango, flamenco, salsa (basically any type of Latin American or Spanish music), Arabic, country, classical, pop, world music, some rap and most anything else.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was doing some traveling with a friend around Cairo, and it turns out that the "hostel" I had researched pre-travel was just a complete mess, totally un-livable. So, we decided to just "go with the flow" and find a place to stay closer to evening, depending on where we found ourselves (Cairo or Giza).

Long story short, we basically stumbled our way across some Bedouins while in Giza, and decided to camp out with them in the desert at the foot of the Pyramids. I spent the night smoking sheesha, drinking Egyptian tea and conversing with locals about life and happiness. It was completely exhilarating to be camped out under the stars in such a location, having great conversation and finding striking commonalities in world views with wonderful people who had always known a world completely different than my own.

It's kind of an indescribable experience -- the spontaneity behind this adventure, the location, people, etc. -- but hey, I tried :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Panama, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Poland, United States

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