Just your average 24 year old, trying to see the world. I'm from small town Upstate New York originally, but have since lived in Boston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, and now Prague, in the Czech Republic.

I love biology, nature, and the great outdoors, but have also been known to melt down over the beauty of some urban architectural design, or a really well laid-out museum wing. I have Master's degree in Plant Physiological Ecology (so if you ever wondered about the workings of internal plant mechanisms, I'm your girl). I care a lot about Global Climate Change and sustainability, especially in agricultural systems. At the moment I work as an English teacher in Europe, and do graphic layout work for a friend's start-up company.

I really enjoy friendly spirited debates with people of different perspectives. I like having my worldview challenged (that's how we grow as people). I love listening to personal stories, especially old family history or romantic tales. People who are excited about the world are my favorite kind of people, I'm always glad to have someone teach me something new, or tell me about something they are passionate about.

I love people, but I'm sometimes a bit of an introvert...like an innie-outie bellybotton of social interaction.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on Couchsurfing to meet new people and have more interesting travel experiences. I'm currently living in Prague and would like to see more of Europe outside of the Czech Republic. At the moment, I'm on the island of Maui in Hawaii, but I'll be travelling through London and Amsterdam in the Fall, and it would be great to meet some people to have adventures with.

Interests

• hiking
• ukulele
• horse riding
• snorkling
• botany
• medicinal plants
• sustainable agriculture
• evolutionary biology

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Such a great overview of science! Actually anything by Bill Bryson...Lost Continent, A Walk in the Woods, The Mother Tongue.

The Gene: an intimate history, by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Harry Potter, Dune, and Game of Thrones, obviously.

The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante.

The Secret History by Donna Tart (and The Goldfinch)

Anything ever written by Neil Gaiman.

Music:
The Beatles, Radiohead, Ani DiFranco, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson, The Weepies, The Shins, The Official Disney Soundtrack to Moana.

Any Broadway musical...I probably know all the lyrics.

Movies:
I'm famously bad at having seen movies. The downside is that I probably won't get your movie references, the upside is that any movie you want to watch, it will probably be my first time seeing it.
(I was raised by hippies without a TV, I had a weird childhood.)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I spent three years studying the crow population on Venice Beach.

If you ask me if I have ever superglued a radio transmitter to a bird-backpack and attached it to a wild crow, I would have to answer in the affirmative.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to knit, identify North American Trees, play a song on ukulele, make a corsages, boutonnieres and flower crowns, or speak a little Czech.

I am interested in learning other languages and hearing about computer technology (As far as I'm concerned, the internet runs on magic, but I like it when people who know what they are talking about explain things to me).

What I Can Share with Hosts

I make really good chocolate covered frozen bananas.

You may be thinking, that's the easiest thing ever, you just cover bananas in chocolate and freeze them.

You are right. But I can still make them for you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, England, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, United States