CURRENT MISSION

Figure out where to travel next.

ABOUT ME

I am currently a student at EWU in the M.Ed. Adult Education program. I volunteer through the YWCA in the women's mentoring program WOC (Women's Opportunity Center) Connections. We have been working hard on development of this program to help match women throughout our community with mentoring partners to help them in whatever type of growth they're interested in (career, educational, lifestyle, etc.). If you're interested in volunteering, mentoring, or finding a mentor, please let me know!

I am also just getting into rock climbing and mountain biking. I am a member of the Spokane Mountaineers and volunteer with Evergreen East Mountain Biking Alliance.

The most important things in my life are family, friends, and my dog/cat.

PHILOSOPHY

Just basic stuff like:
Try to treat other people the way I want to be treated. Live each day so I can look myself in the mirror at the end of the day. And enjoy the small things in every day. And I'm a big believer that if something is meant to be, it'll happen, so don't try and force stuff.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Stayed with a gal my cousin knew who does Couchsurfing in Seattle once. Mainly my experience with this website has been in meeting new people in places I've traveled to.

Interests

*Mountain biking!
*Running
*Hiking with my dog
*Foreign Languages
*Food (all kinds)
*Dancing (especially swing--would like to get more into salsa)
*Travel (which might be a "no duh" on this site ;-)
*Trying new things

• cats
• dogs
• dancing
• education
• dining
• running
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• rock climbing
• swimming
• teaching
• languages
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is one of my favorite movies. I love spaghetti westerns.

Night of the Avenging Blowfish is one of the funniest books I ever read.

As to music, if it sounds good I'll listen to it, so I jump around genres a lot based on my mood, but I do have a soft spot for old country like Charlie Pride and George Strait.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was in a Zapatista barrio in Mexico with a group working in collaboration with Mercy Corps to film a video on women's empowerment and economic development. While the rest of the group was swimming by a waterfall in the jungle/forest, I asked our contact person if I could go for a hike. She said I couldn't go alone, but she'd ask some of the village elders to go with me. Once I had proved that I was strong enough to handle a long walk (which they didn't believe for awhile), they asked if I wanted to take a risk instead of following the typical trail. After ascertaining that they didn't mean the kind of risk where I might die and never be found again, they led me across a ledge that ran along the edge of a waterfall and they took me on a several hour long hike through the jungle, showing me different plants and places. Spanish was both of our second languages (they spoke a Mayan dialect and no English), but we managed to communicate and joke with each other. It was a gorgeous hike and one of the coolest experiences of my life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ukraine, United States

•