CURRENT MISSION

Experience the world authentically

ABOUT ME

My name is Kristen. I grew up in a small town outside of New York. It was a pretty small community, but that only contributed to my interest in traveling and meeting others from different cultures. Throughout high school I traveled whenever I got the opportunity, taking advantage of trips to Greece as well as southern Africa. After high school I went to a college that fully embraces the idea of education through exploring other cultures. As a sophomore at that college, I studied abroad in Ghana for 3 weeks then again in Paris for a semester over my junior year.
Since graduating I've worked in a variety of capacities in Baltimore, all generally contributing to the potential of the city. Currently I serve as the Director of Advancement for a small non-profit that offers a college education to incarcerated students in Maryland.
I'm generally a very easy going, yet active person. I really like getting out and doing or seeing things. I like the idea of gaining experiences, yet I also understand that sometimes the best way to understand a country is to sit down in a cafe or park and chill out for a while. I also enjoy meeting others and discussing cultural differences and world views or even something as banal as breakfast choices.
Lastly, I have a fairly large sense of humor and I can be a little goofy sometimes. In other words, I always appreciate the value of a good joke.

PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy really encourages learning. No matter what I do I try to learn something valuable from it

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've only recently joined couch surfing, but I really love it so far. I've stayed with a few people already and they've all been wonderful experiences. I can't wait for more!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I couch surfed while in Venice and Salzburg. Both hosts were great. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

兴趣

I have many interests and they’re fairly varied. One of my strongest interests is probably world events politics and history. As an international relations major, I’m really interested in the way countries interact with each other and how their cultures manifest in a world increasingly affected by globalization. I really enjoy hearing about what people think of the direction their country is going in. I’m also a French major, so I’m really interested in French culture and politics. I’ve also recently been developing an interest for French art. Another thing I really enjoy is reading and literature in general. I’m most familiar with American and French literature, but I’m always open to book suggestions! I’m also really interested in food and the culture/traditions surrounding food. I find the importance of meals in each country really intriguing. And I eat generally anything when it comes to food, so I’m extremely open to exploring local cuisine!

• arts
• culture
• books
• literature
• performing arts
• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• breakfast
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• surfing
• teaching
• history
• international relations

音乐、电影和书籍

I really love reading and I do it as much as possible. I just finished Steinbeck's East of Eden and now I'm reading Moveable Feast by Hemingway. They're both amazing

I really enjoy listing to music as well. I like Simon and Garfunkel as well as some alternative stuff.

While I love watching movies, I definitely prefer reading

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

The majority of my most awe-inspiring moments have happened in Africa. During one visit I had the opportunity to see a welcoming ceremony for a smaller village. It was extremely interesting to see the customs and rules that must followed. It was also quite impressive to see each village leader individually welcome the newcomers. Each leader had a very dignified air and you could tell they were widely respected. Lastly there was a dance performance. On this specific day it was probably about 90° Fahrenheit, yet these dancers performed an incredibly physically demanding dance that lasted about 20 minutes. I was amazed and I am still convinced to this day that I will never be able to do something like that.
My other experience is not as exciting, but it certainly has more sentimental value. While in Africa I stayed with a host family for 4 days. One evening my host mother allowed me to come into the kitchen to cook with her. I cooked our family’s dinner along side her while we discussed everyday life in Ghana. Our conversations were not extremely profound, but I really enjoyed the experience of casually cooking with my host mother. It was a meaningful bonding moment for me.

教，学，和分享

I'd love to learn about any country's history as well as traditions that are unique to a country or region.

I could probably teach someone some english or french. Beyond that I'll answer questions honestly, and hopefully that will spread some knowledge.

我游览过的国家

Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Italy, South Africa, Zimbabwe

我居住过的国家

France, United States