I am living right now in Ankara, where I am studying at Middle Eastern Technical University under a join program with Humboldt University and the German parliament. I spent the two years teaching English and living in small-town Turkey - Kirklareli and Trabzon - on a Fulbright Scholarship, and then worked for a year in the German Parliament. I attended Brown University in the USA, and I grew up in a Swiss-American household. I attended a very international high-school, where I became fascinated by international cultures and histories. I still love to learn about people's cultures from around the world, one of the many reasons I chose to live in Turkey for a year - a bridge between European and Asian culture . I love couchsurfing for the chance to learn other people's stories, in their home-towns.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing has always given me such positive experiences, both when I have been the host and when I have been travelling. As a host, I have met bikers crossing Turkey as well as travellers just passing through - as a traveller, I have had the chance to show visitors 'my' city, and learn about others hometowns as well! It's been a win-win every time.

Interests

I love to learn about new places and people.

• backpacking
• languages
• backgammon
• turkish food

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have been vegetarian since I was two years old - despite for most of this time being the only vegetarian in a meat-eating family. My mother tells the story of how I became vegetarian - I don't remember being two! - was because we lived near a zoo, I would go to the zoo all the time. One day, I asked her how do people get the meat from the animals, and when I heard the animals were killed for their meat, I became so sad I said I would never eat meat again. I was a very stubborn two year old, and would pick around meat when my mom cooked it. While I do not think of myself as a stubborn person, my vegetarianism remains! I have since learned how to be a good veggie cook, so plan to be vegetarian many years more - even in Turkey.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My father is Swiss, and for the Swiss, helping your host and cleaning are both very important, so I always make sure I leave a house cleaner than I came. But I also lived in Turkey, so I am also very excited to be a host or a guest. I like to be an easy guest, but I also enjoy getting to know my hosts, when they have free time.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, United States