I'm here to share stories, growth, love, generosity, warmth, adventure and compassion! I will always be a student of life, exploring, learning and growing from this vast, crazy, shocking and wonderful world. I usually have a laid-back energy, am inquisitive in nature and relish meaningful conversations and discussions. Not a big fan of phones. Not a big fan of superficiality and materialistic goods. I prefer to spend resources on experiences.

focused on: building a life around serving the needs of others. anti-capitalism and collective liberation. human and spiritual connection. philosophical, intellectual, emotional and political growth. beauty and joy. discovery and change. compassion and empathy.

After a wonderful summer of backpacking and couchsurfing for the first time in 2017, I'm back in beautiful Philly and really glad I finally have the chance to host. Thank you to every host who extended their generosity to me that summer, you made my travels extraordinary.

***November/December 2018**
I am currently traveling through Taiwan right now, visiting beautiful friends and family.
In January, I'll return to Philly and am so excited to host again in 2019 =)

Interests

What interests me most lately is social and political consciousness. I'm trying to learn more about oppression in all dimensions and believe in radical approaches to bettering the world.

I love biking (it's like having wings), cooking (the more experimental, the better), learning languages, reading, being outdoors (either exploring or vegetating), brushing my teeth really thoroughly, having solo pants-less dance parties at home, melting with bliss watching leaves dance in the wind, watching incense burn (it is invariably mesmerizing), eating meals outside in my backyard on beautiful days and pouring great coffee.

My practices include aikido, ashtanga yoga, reading and sitting meditation.

I used to really love taking photos until I got my phone stolen this summer and subsequently lost 10000 photos. This sudden evaporation of memories made me question what deeper meaning all my photo-taking held. So I don't take so many photos anymore, though I still do like capturing a few moments here and there. I try to live in the present more instead.

Although I have a intense and crazy longstanding love affair with food, it hasn't been a central focus of my life lately as I've been focused more on work and autodidact education. Rather, I've been playing with extreme simplicity in my meals and eating mostly raw fruits, vegetables and uncooked tempeh. Plus whatever free food I get from the places I work, an Argentine coffee house and French café.

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My love letter to food:

Some favorite foods: FRUIT! artisan bread with crackly crusts, very dark chocolate, cashews (they're the best nut by far), garlic, herbs, tahini, dragon fruit, kefir, figs, goji berries, spinach, marzipan, pistachios, roasted aubergines, cardamom, beets, butternut squash, any roasted vegetable with a slight char, rooibos tea, coconut milk, spicy spicy spicy food, tempeh. I also love great coffee (light roasts with delicate fruity and floral notes are my favorite). And bubbly water. Seltzer for days.

Favorite fruits: dragon fruit, papaya, lychee, fresh figs (MMM), avocado

For ethical and environmental reasons I largely refrain from animal-based consumption. Some other foods I used to love eating (before I learned how unjust the processes behind their production are): lamb, runny egg yolks, ricotta, goat cheese with vegetable ash rinds, fresh balls of mozzarella and burrata.

Favorite foods from where I've traveled:
Belgium: des gaufres! and of course, Belgian beers.
France: fromaaaaage... surtout le chèvre, précisément 'le sainte-maure de touraine,' baguettes, le flan, des tartes, red wine, des pâtisseries
Germany: blotwurst, laugencroissants (MMMM), bircher muesli, NY-style cheesecake, dark beer, quark
Luxembourg: the local beer "Bofferding"
Iceland: skyr (Icelandic yogurt), whale (alas I do feel quite guilty about this), salty licorice
Ireland: butter (mmm, the best butter I've ever tasted), blood sausage, soda bread, Irish coffee
Taiwan: 百香果，火龙果, 馄饨, 夜市小吃, 油条, stinky tofu, pig's blood rice cake (are you grossed out yet? don't be!)
Israel: ah, middle eastern cuisine is my favorite in the world. Halva, tehina, houmus, goldstar, sahlab, all the aubergines!
Thailand: khao soi, sai ua
The Netherlands: hagelslag (on buttered toast), drop (black licorice, especially salmiak), homemade pindasaus
The US: I tend to really dislike classic American food. I really have no clue what to put here. But red velvet as a flavor combination is quite tasty.

**But, recently I've developed an autoimmune condition and am now allergic to all sugars and carbohydrates. So, I am no longer able to eat out at restaurants anymore, preparing all my meals at home instead. My diet mostly comprises avocado, coconut milk and oil, and lots of veggies now.

• cooking
• coffee
• yoga
• reading
• music
• food
• nature
• spirituality
• aikido
• buddhism
• biking
• activism
• exploring
• veganism
• lucid dreaming
• local culture
• fermentation
• local cuisine
• baking bread
• flânerie

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
The Dispossessed
Letters to a Young Poet
The Sympathizer
Revolutionary Suicide
The Autobiography of Malcom X
The New Jim Crow
Kitchen Confidential
What the Buddha Taught
Polishing the Mirror
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
My Dinner with André
Giovanni's Room
The Fire Next Time
Into the Wild
Like Water for Chocolate
The Alchemist
Siddartha

Cookbooks (I'm still dreaming someday some couchsurfer will recognize one of these): The Sioux Chef, On Va Déguster, anything by Ottolenghi, The Brother Hubbard Cookbook

Music: I enjoy cultivating an eclectic music taste and love hearing what other couchsurfers I meet listen to.

Films: Unity by Shaun Monson

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sliced my finger while chopping a small carrot, stole a McDonald's sign from Montreal and took it back to Philly, poached and ate a goose egg on a farm! Also biked through Philadelphia naked for 2 hours with thousands of other naked bikers for the Philly naked bike ride. One of the best experiences of my life -- it was so absolutely liberating.

Teach, Learn, Share

Share: I have an extra bike! If you're as obsessed with biking as I am then this will be a really wonderful gift.

West Philadelphia offers remarkably diverse and affordable options for eating -- Ethiopian, Laotian, Thai, Indian, Senegalese, Lebanese, Pakistani. Yummm.

Random facts and thoughts:
- I can put my leg behind my head
- rhubarb is an awesome vegetable
- inadvertently stepping on a snail and hearing the shell crunch beneath your feet (as you kill the snail) is one of the saddest feelings in life
- burnt vegetables are AWESOME

What I Can Share with Hosts

Energy and presence.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Cuba, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States