CURRENT MISSION

To practice mindfulness in all parts of my life.

ABOUT ME

This is why I travel (below):

If I didn't have this experience, I would still be thinking I could "make the world a better place" instead of realizing the world really is a better place when we learn to embrace it for what it is and be mindful of others and their culture. Maybe the world doesn't need to be "changed,” but our minds revolutionized.

*This was written 10 years ago 🤓**

I spent a year studying grad work in Ghana. The experience changed my life in so many ways. I used to dream of changing poverty and making the world a better place. However, after traveling more I realized that "the world" wasn't such a bad place and maybe the parts I thought needed changing really didn't, and the parts I didn't really do. I grew up and went to school thinking there are parts of the world that "need our help." So I decided to go to grad school in Africa to study development (African Studies, M.A.).

What I learned, was that Africa doesn't need our help. There needs to be African solutions to African problems. We've been "helping" for decades and we have made things far worse than better. There are parts of the world that are still colonized, only not physically but economically and ideologically. We look at villages and slums and think, "they are undeveloped." Culturally, these places are very significant to their communities. They hold so much pride and beauty in ways WE will never understand. Yes, they need clean water and maternal health, and I completely support service projects at grassroot levels, but I don't believe people from outside their culture know how to run their country or even understand their society. Culture is something that needs to be embraced, and if it is ignored then horrible things happen. I spent a year in Ghana and it wasn't close to enough time to truly get a grasp on Ghanian culture. So why did I think I could go in being an expert? That I was someone who could contribute and offer any help towards "development"?

When I went to Ghana I had to empty my mind. I thought I knew everything. I thought I was going to do well in my classes. But quickly I realized I had less and less to contribute and more and more I just needed to sit there and listen. My experience gave me an entirely new perspective. While Ghana and other countries in Africa are progressing (not "developing" because that term is so incorrectly used!), in many ways the United States is moving backwards. We have so much that it becomes so little. Many consequences of our lifestyle are coming to light and we have serious problems here. We can no longer point the finger at other "developing countries" and say that they have serious issues, they must need help. Because here we have serious issues too. Some that cannot be reversed.

When I spent time in villages in Ghana, I saw kids happy and running around and contributing to their community. Something I don't see anymore in this country. Kids are choosing to stay inside and play video games rather than play outside with their imagination. Parents are paralyzed with fear and won't let their children walk a mile into town because they believe they will get abducted. Child obesity and diabetes is on the rise. Heart disease and obesity related problems are the biggest killers in this country. People go out to dinner or on vacation just to stare at their phones. Our food is fake. Everything we use is filled with toxins.
Tragic mass school shootings have become a pattern.

At this point, I'm scared to live in my own country. I believe that WE need help. And my journey to Africa was meant to happen, as difficult as it was, so that I could learn this. I am intrigued by other cultures and I have been very blessed with opportunities to travel. I just always wanted a way to combine work and travel, so I studied Global Studies in college and started to dive into the world of Social Business and international development. But after everything, I am going to stay right here. If I truly want to make a difference I am going to invest it in my own culture, my own country, with people I share a mutual, cultural understanding with. That is my choice. I will still participate and support grassroot initiatives and I plan on building wells for clean water with Rotary International, but I will no longer believe that I have knowledge that is going to solve their problems. Only they hold that key for themselves.

So, I am going back to school to be a teacher. Watch out kids!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I LOVE Couchsurfing! I love to host and I love to meet local people from the places I travel. I love to meet strangers. Couchsurfing has been a big part of my life for the past few years and I hold many great memories because of it.
Looking forward to many more!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I love when someone I couchsurfed with becomes a really great friend! I have definitely had life changing experiences. And now a really great friend and important person in my life. (And that's how I moved to Portland. Story to be continued...)

Interests

Cooking
Hiking
Painting
Swimming
Sharing stories
Laughing
Dreaming
Exercising
Volunteering
Learning
Singing
Loving
Helping

Always interested in discovering something new! The possibilities are limitless

• culture
• singing
• beauty
• dining
• cooking
• exercise
• running
• video games
• traveling
• painting
• investing
• hiking
• swimming
• business
• teaching
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Allen Stone and Mumford & Son
s

The Big Lebowski

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I received a scholarship to study my Master's at the University of Ghana. It is provided by the Rotary International Foundation. I am most proud that I believed in myself through the entire process. I knew that I was destined to be a part of this opportunity, that everything I have been working toward was meant to contribute to this experience. In Ghana I am working on formulating research on women and work. I study this because I want to help women discover better opportunities to work. I believe that by focusing on women, you can change the world.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Brazil, Morocco, Panama, Peru

Countries I’ve Lived In

Chile, Ghana, Virgin Islands, British