I’m a university student living in the state of Hawaii, USA. People describe me as ambitious, cheery, and humorous. I love making friends and hearing about people’s lives and ideas. Spending time with strangers is an absolute pleasure for me. It’s amazing how quickly we can connect. It’s also amazing how a simple smile or joke can make people so happy. —————————-————————————————People say I think too much. Sometimes I’m a bit of a worrier. Why am I alive? Why do people act the way they do? What am I doing? I think a lot about the world. Let’s talk about these things. —————————-———————————————— In my home in Colorado, we have the breathtaking Rocky Mountains, the vast Great Plains, and Colorado River. I love the quiet calmness and grandiose of these beautiful sites. My family goes camping every summer, and I've become a hardy person because of it. Nature and Earth are very important to me. —————————-———————————————— I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. I love sharing creativity of all forms. Painting, music, film, photography, dance... Art surrounds us! Anyone can create something genius. I want to see and appreciate the art around us. —————————-———————————————— I’m a quarter Native American, from the Ojibwa tribe. I don’t live on the reservation, but I have visited it many times. This part of my heritage is important to me because I spent a lot of time with the Native side of my family as a child. It’s hard seeing Native culture being eaten up by the rest of American culture, but I do my best to keep it close to me. I think we can learn a lot from our roots. We can also gain a lot of community. I go to powwows (Native festivals) and I can do traditional dances. And of course, I’m awesome at braiding hair! —————————-———————————————— I want to learn all about the different cultures around the world, old and new. There’s so much to learn from our traditions. When I lived in Japan, I became an apprentice for a local Shinto shrine, where I learned the traditional instrument called shō. I was so grateful to be able to participate in festivals as a musician. —————————-———————————————— I have also learned a lot about American traditions and culture. For example, I’m on a swing dance team when I’m not traveling around. Swing dancing is a partner dance. I think it’s so cool that people can communicate so well with just their bodies. In swing dance, unspoken communication is extra important, because you need to use each other’s weight to move correctly. —————————-———————————————— I face challenges with a smile and I try to put my heart into everything I do. Most of all, I’m a passionate person striving to achieve the life I want while brightening the days of others along the way.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I believe that travel should be human. My favorite travel memories have been with strangers I met.

Interests

I love art of all kinds. I’m a sucker for spending hours in a museum.

• writing
• swing dancing
• music
• mathematics
• philosophy
• psychology
• art
• learning languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I love film. Bollywood movies are my guilty pleasure. My number one go-to is unusual films! —————————-———————————————— Movies: Let the Right One In, Clockwork Orange, Tokyo Story, Pulp Fiction —————————-———————————————— Books: Kokoro, Lolita, The Scarlet Letter, Diary of an Oxygen Thief —————————-———————————————— Music: The Beach Boys (Pet Sounds is my favorite album of all time), The Beatles, The Police, Daniel Johnston, David Bowie, Mac DeMarco, Debussy, MGMT

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Too many amazing experiences to list... first one is being alive and keeping my eyes open. I saw the milky way from Chaco park, a place where ancient Native Americans studied astrology. I accidentally trespassed through abandoned trout farms in Beijing, trying to get to the Great Wall. I learned to snowboard in the mountains of Hokkaido in the fluffiest snow I've ever touched.

One more: I went camping in a tent in the winter. I remember wearing every pair of pants I brought... I felt like an astronaut in my astronaut suit.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can share American culture and traditions with you. I can share my cooking, stories, time, drinks. And maybe I can learn about your thoughts about the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Upon your request, I’ll be really happy to make you American food. If you like sweets, I’ll make you an upside-down cake or chocolate chip cookies!

I can teach you about Native American (Ojibwa) practices. I can make you some traditional food if you’d like. We can talk about what life is like on the reservation, and how our culture is changing.

I can share with you things I learned about Shintoism when I was a Shinto apprentice in Japan.

I can teach you some swing dancing. I have taught some swing dancing classes before, and I know that anyone can learn to dance! I draw and paint. I’d love to do art with you. I can give you some direction, but keep in mind that I’ve never taught any art classes before.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, England, Italy, Japan, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United States