Hello!

I grew up in a small rural town in Northern California where I developed a passion for agriculture. I pursued that in my education at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo by majoring in Agricultural Business. I also am interested in other cultures and minored in Spanish as well as Ethnic Studies. As part of my Spanish minor I spent a year living and studying in Jaén, Spain. After graduation, I spent a year working in central Pennsylvania leading process improvement projects in a dairy manufacturing plant and recently moved to Minneapolis for a role at my company's corporate office.

My next big adventure will be working for six months in Sri Lanka doing international development work! On the way there I am planning on spending about a week in Japan and would love travel tips for either location.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I enjoy finding local spots that aren't on the basic tourist guide and connecting with interesting people!

Interests

• cooking
• farmers' market
• gardening
• reading
• live music
• hiking
• agriculture
• craft beer
• outdoors
• international development
• ice cream
• international food

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - An eclectic mix of just about everything from country to raggaeton to house. Currently my go to fall/winter playlists are alternating jamming out to Sam Smith's new album, Tracy Chapman, Portugal. The Man, Bomba Estéreo, and Michael Bublé Christmas songs (refusing to be embarrassed).

Movies - Silence of the Lambs, The Way, Idiocracy, The Shawshank Redemption, P.S. I Love You

Books - The Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials trilogy sparked my love of reading as a child. I'll get hooked on a book like Gone Girl and read it in one sitting, refusing to sleep or be a productive human in any form until I am finished. On my nightstand now is The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I led a project that increased a packaging line's efficiency and resulted in 1.5 million more pounds of butter from our factory annually! Very random, but something I found amazing given I was not an expert in equipment efficiency or a butter nerd in any way before that. I credit the success to building trust and being a great listener and using an open mind to look for improvements!

Teach, Learn, Share

Love sharing engaging conversation over tasty food and drink! I am open and eager to learn about whatever you have to share.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Travel experience stories, insight into some of my favorite ice cream shops across the world, cooking a meal together, discussing agriculture and food, learning something new

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, United States