Third culture kid born in Riverside, CA, lived in Indonesia/California/the Philippines, and currently based in Madison, Wisconsin. I'm on an exchange program in Aix-en-Provence, France until May 21st! I love hot weather, cats, co-ops, and noodles. I never want to become complacent because I believe that being uncomfortable is essential for personal growth.

I'm a third year student of French and Religious Studies, which is kind of like anthropology and history of religions, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I'm not sure what I want to do after college, but hope that international relations, languages, and nonprofit/governmental work will be a part of my career.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am a current member of an international co-operative house in Madison, Wisconsin, under a nonprofit organization called Madison Community Cooperative. I've been living at "ICH" for almost two years, and really appreciate living with 25 other people who come from all over the world, in a house that's environmentally friendly and social justice oriented. I also lived in community housing during my high school years with my family. I definitely think that getting to know local people in a city (even if you're only there for a few days) makes for a better experience, and I'm always learning from others.

Interests

• concerts
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• camping
• history
• languages
• religion
• film
• cooking and baking

Music, Movies, and Books

I like indie films like Obvious Child, Ladybird, Beginners, and Wes Anderson movies - but the only genre I can't bring myself to watch is horror (too easily scared). I also like rom-coms lol. As for music, I'm not really sure what genre to say, maybe alternative indie/folk/rock? I like Lucy Dacus, Margaret Glaspy, Lake Street Dive, Houndmouth... but also like the rap/hiphop of Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Noname. I would say I listen to a lot of artists widely but not deeply. As for books, I usually go to the library and browse at random. I like mystery and more generally, fiction. But I also like literary classics! Really not a hard to please person.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I still remember camping on Mount Taal, an active volcano in the Philippines. I was 14 and with a school trip; we also got to swim in a crater lake, and walked around geysers that were so hot they would melt the rubber soles of your shoes if you stood too close.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I would always love to practice languages with hosts that also speak or are learning French, Indonesian, or English, as I can always improve and don't feel fully fluent yet. I would enjoy cooking a meal for hosts or taking them out for a drink! I also like talking about co-ops and my housing co-op structure (i.e. how a co-op is run or organized, how to overcome problems or cool things about living in a co-op) with others, and learning from their experiences with co-ops or living with other people in general. Or even just talking about cultural differences, politics (which I can always learn more about), food, music/movies...

Countries I’ve Visited

Bangladesh, England, Germany, India, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Indonesia, Philippines, United States