I'm a third year nursing student at the university of Delaware in the US, and I hope to go to grad school for women's health (midwife, women's health nurse practitioner). I lived in Ontario, Canada when I was younger, but apart from that I have never really done any traveling, and this is one of my last summer's before I really have to commit myself to schoolwork so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see more of the world. I've been a vegetarian for 5 years, vegan for 1, but I haven't held myself to any restrictions while traveling because I don't want to miss out on soaking up any unique cultural experiences I wouldn't get at home :). I am not super outgoing, and appreciate time to be alone, but I like to find a good balance between meeting new people and experiencing things for a first time myself. I like to think of myself as fairly adventurous, and am willing to try most things at least once!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

While traveling in hostels has been fun so far because it's been great getting to meet people from all over, I have really loved getting to know local people and hearing about their perspectives on their own country. My best memories have been sitting down and talking with local people over a beer about the differences in where we're from and getting a real perspective from an individual person that I never would have gotten from any tourist pamphlet or museum. I also think these decentralized types of organizations that depend on each user's own responsibility and generosity are such an amazing idea because they offer a chance for people to really see the kindness and similarity between people wherever they are, which I think can only be a good thing. I would love to be a part of a community that fosters these feelings of connectedness between people from different continents, and I can't wait to start hosting people myself!

Interests

I love nature and anything to do with being active outside. I am am avid snowboarder, and I enjoy running, yoga, camping, and hiking. Even though I've been a vegetarian/vegan for a while, I love good food and trying new things and really won't say no to trying any new dish and will most likely enjoy anything. I enjoy clubbing and going to big parties from time to time, but that's mostly just because I love dancing, and any type of dancing. Apart from the dancing, going to clubs really isn't my scene as much as sitting at a chill bar with a group of people and having a good discussion over a few beers.

• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• vegetarian
• vegan
• yoga
• running
• partying
• clubbing
• traveling
• socializing
• hiking
• camping
• snowboarding
• teaching
• nursing
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I love reading, and my tastes have only gotten broader since I started working at my university library (which is a job I love!). My favorite books in terms of most read are probably the lord of the rings trilogy, with these being my childhood favorites. My most recent favorite fiction was freedom by Johnathan Franzen, and favorite non fiction was the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Stephen King is a huge guilty pleasure author for me, and I am working on reading everything he's written. In terms of movies, one of my roommates and my favorite thing to do is sit down with a glass of wine and watch a corny/classic action movie. Some recents have been Jaws, Predator, Terminator, the Thing, Alien, Die Hard, all of the Jurassic Park movies, etc etc. We also love watching nature documentaries such as the planet earth series, the cove, blackfish, and the blue planet series. My favorite movies are lost in translation and kill bill. Sadly, I've never been too involved in music and my favorite is probably classic rock such as Led Zeppelin and Elton John.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Last summer I traveled to Haiti and worked in a women's health clinic as well as taught a women's health education program that I helped develop with fellow nursing and pre med students in a remote village in the mountains. While I think these type of organizations are controversial in terms of whether they actually hurt the area more than they help (especially after being a part of one) I like to think that the education program hopefully brought some good to the women in the village, and at the very least the experience started my passion for helping women in need throughout the world in impoverished communities.

Teach, Learn, Share

Unfortunately my life experiences are still pretty limited so I don't have much to teach, but if anyone is interested I can give some insight into the problems in the US medical community and how these policies and political issues may be impacting the rest of the world. In terms of learning, I'm all ears! My interest in couchsurfing really came from a desire to learn from other people, whether it is just about their individual life experiences or specific knowledge they may have, I can't wait to hear what other people have to say! In terms of sharing, hopefully I can make some good vegan dishes and possibly open people up to the life style a little bit since I know people in the US are mostly completely bewildered by it :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

As mentioned above, I don't have too many life experiences that would make my stories too interesting to hear, but I can share my perspective on the US politically, mostly in terms of the medical community which is what I know the most about. I can also cook some good vegan dishes and would love to share the life style a bit with anyone who is interested :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, Greece, Haiti, Norway, Poland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United States